By a Fraction of a Degree
by findthetiger129
Summary: An altered flight path causes the Turks to find Zack and Cloud before the army does, but don't think things'll be perfect just because Zack's still alive. The Turks have their own problems to contend with, and let's not forget about Sephiroth and Deepground. Runs from the end of CC to where AC would have ended. Pairings mostly canon. Everything changed when Reno sneezed...
1. Captured? Begin Part I

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

What would have happened if the Turks had managed to find Zack and Cloud before the Army did? After seeing some of the gameplay from Before Crisis, I got curious as to what might have happened if things had gone differently. So I started a spreadsheet to see where things went. This is the result.

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spinoffs. That honor goes to Square-Enix. If I did own them, would I be posting this here? I don't think so.

**Part I: Crossfire**

* * *

><p>Chapter 1, Captured?<p>

**September 21st [ ν ] – εуλ 0007**

"So we're couriers now? Delivering packages to fugitives, huh?" The incredulity in Reno's voice hung in Rude's ears over the whir of the helicopter blades. He had to admit, it sounded silly even to him, but what with the way things had been going in Shinra nowadays, he wasn't surprised. Being the taciturn individual that he was, he decided he'd let Reno's comment be the last word on the matter.

All thought of debating the meaning of their mission was swept away when Cissnei's voice came in over his headphones. _"Reno. Rude, status?"_

"We got nothin'," Reno answered back.

"You?" Rude interjected the question without preamble.

_"Likewise,"_ Cissnei said disappointedly, and then added _"I'm headed to point 235. You two take point 120."_

"Roger."

"All right." Reno pulled the helicopter about to head in the direction Cissnei had indicated. "Let's get going," He finished.

The remainder of their flight would have continued uninterrupted. It should have under any normal circumstances. However, no one could possibly have predicted the repercussions of the seemingly innocent event that was about to occur.

Reno sneezed.

While unimportant in and of itself, it was a sneeze of a decent strength, significant enough to slightly jar the flight stick in his hand. This in turn altered the helicopter's course by a fraction of a degree to the left.

Rude had been looking out the window when Reno's sneeze had knocked the chopper temporarily into the different flight pattern, and as Reno was about to correct it, he spotted something almost at the edge of his vision.

"Bogey at nine o'clock," he said.

"Real classy Rude," Reno quipped as he reached for the handkerchief in his pocket.

"Wasn't a joke," Rude gestured that they turn around.

"Yeah I know," Reno brought the helicopter around with his handkerchief-free hand to fly in the direction Rude indicated and then clicked on the radio. "Cissnei, we've spotted something on the highway. Probably a truck or something. We're going to do a flyby before getting back on course."

_"Understood,"_ Cissnei acknowledged. _"Let me know what you find."_

Rude shot Reno a questioning glance, and at the approving nod, he took the copilot's flight-stick in hand so Reno could do what he needed to do with the handkerchief.

Reno replaced the used cloth in his pocket and looked out the window at what they could both now see was a flatbed truck in the distance. At least one person had definitely hitched a ride in the back… They were getting closer and Reno squinted against the glare from the sun. No… wait… there were two …

"Fly higher Rude, they may not have spotted us yet, and we can't have'em panicking," he said, turning to the controls for the camera that was built into the chopper's nose. He'd be sending pictures back to headquarters.

Suddenly the radio crackled again. _"You found something?"_ Cissnei asked, and Reno caught the hope in her voice. It seemed she had stayed on their line after all.

"I'm getting some surveillance photos and then I'll send them in. I'm hoping we're far enough away that we haven't been spotted," Reno answered. He pressed the appropriate buttons on the console and though he couldn't hear anything from the camera, the screen revealed the zoomed in images the camera had managed to take.

Hot damn… the two men were exactly as Cissnei had described them after coming back from the failed retrieval mission near Nibelheim. One of them was definitely Zack. The other… Reno didn't know, but it was probably the infantryman, in spite of the fact that he was wearing a SOLDIER uniform. Regardless, that head of spiky blonde hair stood out as much as people said his own did.

From the overhead shots, it was now quite apparent that Zack was sitting next to his friend in the truck bed. It was good they'd moved when they had. He had looked up warily after a moment, but in none of the photos did Reno see any evidence that the man had looked in the direction of the helicopter. After a moment, Reno keyed a command into the dash computer and the pictures were sent. The helicopter flew a ways away and took a matching flight pattern just out of sight of the highway.

Not even two minutes later, Tseng was on the line.

_"Reno. Rude. I'm sending the rest of the search party to assist you in retrieval of the targets. You are to rendezvous with the others ten miles from your current location. I'm sending you the coordinates and I want that road blocked in five minutes, understood?"_

"What's the hurry boss?" Reno asked as Rude waited for the coordinates.

There was silence for a moment and then a ping as the computer displayed the received information, and Rude spoke. "Coordinates received. Adjusting our flight pattern." He immediately began increasing their speed.

_"There's a sniper team forty miles down that road, and a trooper detachment waiting to move in. They're headed into an ambush,"_ Tseng finally answered.

"We're playing keep away with the army too?" It was the second time today that Reno had received orders that surprised him. He glanced at his partner and his voice was drenched in sarcasm when he spoke. "This is gonna be a fun afternoon."

Rude seemed like he was going to stay silent, but as they drew closer to the coordinates Tseng had assigned them he neatly summed up his agreement with Reno on the matter in two succinct words.

"No shit."

* * *

><p>Zack was leaning against the side of the truck bed, feeling a little more relaxed now but still alert for any change in the ambient noise around him. He really hoped he'd been wrong when he thought he'd heard the sound of a helicopter over the noise of the truck. He hadn't found its origins, but it made him nervous just the same. "We may need to hitch a different ride soon," he said, standing up to look out over the cab of the truck again.<p>

Cloud remained silent.

Zack looked back at his friend and gave him an understanding smile. "Yeah, I know you'd feel better if you didn't have to move, but don't worry. I'll give us a few minutes before we get off, and then it shouldn't be too much more of a walk, even if we do circle around a bit." Zack moved back over to where his friend sat and adjusted his position so he was more upright. "We'll probably still make it to Midgar in at least another day, and then we'll find somewhere to lay low for a while before getting to work. I've got some gil left, maybe we'll stay at an inn. How about that, Cloud? Hot food, warm beds. It'll be great."

Still no response.

Zack put an arm around Cloud, and contemplated the right moment to tell the old geezer in the front that they were going to get out. He didn't want to get the guy in trouble for helping them of course, and the longer he dallied, the more likely that might happen. He was about to knock on the back window of the truck cab when he noticed that the man was starting to slow down. Upon noticing this, he looked up to see why the change in acceleration had occurred and that was when his blood ran cold.

Right in front of them, one on either side and one parked in the middle of the highway, sat three Shinra helicopters. Fanned out in front of them, their coat tails blowing in the hot breeze, stood not three, not four, but six Turks, each of them brandishing a weapon, with the exception of one martial artist in sunglasses. The dust blown across the ground nipped playfully at the legs of their dark suits. Zack had to give them credit, they clearly weren't taking chances. And they shouldn't. He wasn't planning on handling any such encounters quietly.

He then realized that a number of them looked rather familiar. Out of the six of them, he was able to pick out four. Cissnei he recognized, as wells as Reno and Rude. He also recognized the slender game huntress with copper-colored hair in a long ponytail. He'd met Freya in Icicle Inn when Essai and Sebastian had died, and he vaguely recalled seeing her at Nibelheim too, though her primary weapon was slung over her shoulder like she wasn't planning on using it. He couldn't put names to the bespectacled man with a scar on his face who was carrying a katana, or the man with two handguns and closely cropped dark hair, but it didn't matter. He grimaced as he realized he'd already waited too long and it was too late to tell their ride to floor it, or even turn around. Even if they did, the helicopters would catch them before they'd passed the horizon, and he didn't want to think what would happen to the poor guy driving this truck at that point.

He swallowed hard. "Hey pops, pull over to the side by that ledge over there and let us off. I don't want you involved in this."

The man didn't answer Zack but did as he asked.

There was still a little time before the Turks would be able to get over here, he only hoped he could deal with them. He didn't think Cissnei would let him off this time, but if he could at least get out of this without having to kill any of them... Whatever the outcome, he had a feeling he wouldn't like it.

The truck ground to a halt and Zack leapt out the back, pulling Cloud along with him. After finding a rocky overhang to sit him behind, he positioned himself a little ways away from the other man, in a location where the Turks would have to get through him no matter what they did.

Reno approached first, flanked by Rude and the guy with the katana. The other three were fanned out behind them, forming a perimeter around the choke point. Even though they had their weapons drawn, he saw Reno raise his right hand to signal that he wanted to talk.

"Zack, long time no see! You look terrible man!" he called out as he and the rest of the Turks covered the gap between the helicopters and the spot where the truck had pulled away.

Zack did not return the greeting. "What do you want, Reno?"

Reno gave a shrug. "Hey, I think you oughta know what our orders are by now."

"Just what makes you think I'm gonna let you take us back?" Zack growled, bristling at Reno's words. "There's no way in hell we're giving up our freedom again."

Cissnei looked troubled. "Zack, please. Even if you managed to escape us, the army's waiting for you down the road, and they don't have orders to take you alive!"

"And what do you think will happen to Corporal Strife?" Freya added softly. "It can't be good for him to travel in his condition and if they…"

"Shut up," Zack snarled, edging into a defensive stance with his hand on the grip of the Buster. "What I went through was nothing compared to what Hojo did to him, and I am not going to stand here and let you insult him by saying that our surrender is in his best interests."

Cissnei opened her mouth and began to say something more but Reno put up his hand in a peaceful gesture that silenced her. "Hey, easy, we're not insulting anyone." He tapped his EMR rod over his left shoulder. "Here's the deal. We're giving you two choices. One," He held up the first two fingers on his right hand as he counted them off. "You surrender quietly and we go back to Tseng to have a little talk. Or two, you don't surrender quietly and we'll have to kick your ass and bring you with us anyway. I don't particularly care for the second option myself, but there's six of us and only one of you. It's up to you Zack, decide quick."

"I think you already know how this'll go down." In a motion too fast for most people to see, Zack brought the Buster Sword around in a two-handed swing from the left. Even as the man with the katana blocked it, the force of the blow sent him sliding over the dusty ground and Reno and Rude hopped back to avoid being caught in the sword's arc.

Just as quickly, Zack brought the sword up with his left hand to block oncoming projectiles almost before hearing the gun go off, while using his right hand to send forth a Firaga at the retreating Turks on the front line. The man with the katana dropped and rolled out of the way as Reno and Rude swerved to the side in opposite directions to avoid getting burned by the blast.

Zack ducked as one of Cissnei's shuriken flew by his head, mindful of where the man with the gun was as he did so. He could tell from the sound of the projectiles hitting the Buster Sword that he was shooting darts. He didn't know what they contained, but he could guess and he didn't want that guy coming around from behind while the other Turks had him distracted. It was then that he noticed Reno and Rude attempting a pincer attack while he'd been distracted. Hoping to hit Zack's left arm with his EMR rod, Reno was edging around his sword, but as he struck, Zack lifted the Buster to block just in time, glad that the red leather grip was sufficient to serve as a buffer from the shock as he heard the rod clank against the other side.

Rude was not so lucky. Trying to make use of Reno's attack to knock the sword away, he instead rammed into the flat of the now-electrified blade and seemed to have been stunned.

Taking advantage of this, Zack punched him back towards the other Turks and out of his space with his right hand before bringing Buster Sword back to a standard two-handed position and using the flat of the blade to push Reno between him and the guy with the dart gun. Hopefully, he wouldn't be so quick to fire now. He spared a sideways glance to notice Rude was still up, though possibly still a little rattled, and the man with the katana had also stood a few steps behind the martial artist, slightly singed, but otherwise unscathed from the previous blast.

That was when he looked directly in front of him and realized that Freya was casting a spell, and judging from the sudden drop in temperature, he was guessing Blizzard or one of its cousins. Without bothering to look over head he stepped to the side to avoid the falling ice shards and started to fire off a Wall spell, but the man with the katana raced forward, forcing him to abort gaining the extra protection in order to block and press the other man backwards again, regaining his position in front of the chokepoint.

He shot a Thundara in Reno's direction with his left hand as the red-headed Turk raced forward to try and stun him again, but it wasn't long before he had to duck once more as Cissnei tossed another shuriken at him, this one much closer. This was getting dangerous. He really didn't want to kill any of these guys, but he knew he might be forced to if things were allowed to continue further. With that in mind he looked over at Reno to see that he'd managed to evade the Thundara by hitting the ground and as he moved to evade Rude one last time, he raised his hand to cast Stop on the guy with the handgun, using his sword as a shield once more…

That was when he felt three jolts of pain right below his collarbone on the left side and cursed. The man with the handgun had been faster, and now he saw three darts sticking out the front of his shoulder. He'd slipped up. He couldn't hold back, if he did, it would mean the end. No more time for sentiment.

With a snarl, he raced at the man with the handgun, sword raised to strike. Had he backed up any later, he would have been cleaved in half but even as it was, the edge of the sword left a line of red across his shirt and blazer. Having forced the gunman to back off, he whirled around and saw that Rude was edging towards the choke point, followed by the man with the katana and he lunged in their direction with another wild swing forcing Rude to duck away.

The swordsman knew by now that he could not wield enough force to hold his ground against the Buster Sword and instead slid under the huge blade, slicing the katana viciously at Zack's right leg. He felt it burn but he refused to yield. Instead reaching down to grab the Turk, he threw him left-handed with all the strength a cornered SOLDIER could muster. Cissnei dropped her weapons as the man landed virtually on top of her, only just adjusting his sword so he wouldn't skewer her on impact. He heard her grunt in pain but forced himself to ignore it as Rude attempted to come around between him and Reno to stun him from behind. He brought the sword around, forcing the man to retreat yet again.

His vision was starting to swim and then he realized that the darts must have contained tranquilizers. If it had been a spell effect he might have been able to cast Esuna, but drugs were a completely different matter. He tried vainly to shake it off as Freya cast another spell at him and this time, he wasn't able to dodge. He didn't realize what the result was until he attempted to cast Wall again. Damn it, she'd cast Silence on him.

It probably wasn't necessary. His knees felt like they might be about to buckle as the world spun. He saw Rude and Reno attempting another rush and tried to swing the Buster Sword again but it felt heavy in his hands. He swung fast enough to make them back away, but only just. He wasn't going to make it. The Turks were hanging back now, waiting for him to go down like Guard Hounds waiting for a kill, even as he fought tooth and nail against himself to stay up. He backed towards Cloud, sword still in his trembling hands, and he could feel the blood running down his leg where the katana had nicked him. He was barely ten feet away when he collapsed, turning to look at his friend. "C…Cloud… move…" He wheezed, praying that the impossible would happen and his catatonic friend would somehow understand.

To his utter shock, he saw that the man he was reaching for had raised his head. His expression was dazed, but terrified. That was the last thing he saw before he lost consciousness.

* * *

><p>After Zack collapsed, Cissnei ran over to him and checked his pulse. The others approached and watched her for a second before hearing a sound from where Cloud was seated. Though he seemed almost incapable of forming words, the piteous cry was filled with worry and fear. "Zz…za…" Freya looked up and saw he had weakly raised a hand towards the prone form of his dark haired companion. She left her fellow Turks and hurried over to his side, kneeling in front of him to assess his condition and balance him if necessary. It looked like he might fall over if she left him too much longer.<p>

"Corporal Strife?" She asked calmly before using his first name. "Cloud, calm down."

"Zz…Zack." His eyes had not left the man's body, even as she took his hand in hers. He wasn't able to fight her off, but she could see that in his terror, he'd started trembling.

"He's okay," she tried again. "Cloud, look at me." She directed his face up with her other hand so that his sky blue, mako-bright eyes were level with her light brown ones, which still carried the faint glowing traces of her own near-fatal brush with mako poisoning. "Calm down. It's me, Freya, do you remember? He's going to be okay, and so are you. Nothing's going to happen to either of you, all right?"

Cloud's face was not capable of showing the most expression right then but he'd gone silent. Through the fog of confusion she caught traces of an incredulous look on his face as he opened his mouth again. "T-tu Turksss…" He finally forced out.

"That changes nothing. Stay with me Cloud. Everything's going to be fine." She gave him a small smile, smoothing his bangs with the hand that had held his face. If he was talking, it was a good sign… even if he didn't trust her. She couldn't blame him for that. Sadly it didn't last in spite of any of her entreaties for him to stay conscious. Attempting to contemplate the shock of everything that had just happened, and the idea that they would very likely be sent back to Hojo seemed to take too much of a toll on Cloud's mental stamina. As Freya looked away to see Rude and Tanjuu, the man with two handguns, approaching with a stretcher from one of the helicopters, he slumped over, descending once again into the hazy delirium that was far safer than the waking nightmares the man anticipated returning to…

* * *

><p><strong>September 22nd [ ν ] – εуλ 0007<strong>

When Zack came to, the first thing he noticed was that he was in the all too familiar confines of a Shinra holding cell, and after sitting up, he noticed that his hands were cuffed. He'd been in one of these cells with Cloud for a while, early on in their imprisonment in Nibelheim, after their wounds from Sephiroth had been treated. It'd had sterile white walls too, just like these, and a fluorescent light that shone down unforgivingly on the cell's occupants.

It made his heart ache just thinking about those early days, trying to keep Cloud in the present as Hojo had been doing more and more unspeakable things to the poor kid. Seemed like every other time he saw Cloud back in their old cell after being dragged out, he'd have one more suture site where the man had cut into him, be near convulsions from physical shock, or edging closer to delirium from mako exposure. It had been a slow and painful thing to watch, right up to the point where they'd both been stuck in the tanks, and things started to blur after that…

His mind snapped back to his current situation as the next obvious attribute of the cell came into focus. There was only one bunk in here. He was sitting on it, and Cloud was distinctly absent.

Terror played at the back of his mind as unanswered questions flew to the front. Had he already been sent back to the labs? Was Hojo hard at work on him even now, or sticking him back into that poison? Where was his friend? Even if Cloud wasn't much company, conversation-wise, his safety had been such an integral part of Zack's concerns for the last few years that to simply not have him nearby was… well, not quite unthinkable, but damn near close.

He fought down panic, trying to breath, and get his mind back to considering his situation rationally. This wasn't a mako-tank, this was a cell with a reinforced door. He couldn't break out on his own. He would have to wait for someone to come to him. With that thought, he pulled himself fully upright and looked down at the cuffs. They had to have been designed for a SOLDIER, because they certainly weren't flimsy. The bands around his wrists were thick and hung heavy on his arms. He could still use his hands, and they would probably only slow him down if he decided to try something, but for a Turk, that was all they would need to subdue him, especially that guy with the tranqs.

Zack groaned in disgust at himself. He should have seen that one coming. No, he shouldn't have even bothered trying to make a stand there. He should have taken Cloud right off the truck and run without looking back. Maybe they would have lost him in the canyons… The guy with the handguns should have at least had a hard time aiming once he had entered the long range targeting margin... Yeah right. He was a Turk. Besides, fighting off the Turks would have been much harder one handed and encumbered by an unconscious man. They could have overtaken him before he got to the first ravine.

He shook his head. Thinking like that was getting him nowhere. Best to focus on what was going to happen now, and how he was going to get Cloud and himself out of this.

As if in answer to his thoughts, he heard a faint thud off in the distance, followed by a single set of light footsteps. Someone was coming towards his cell.

He waited patiently as he heard muffled voices outside. The door slid easily into the wall and revealed the person who had approached to be Tseng. To Zack's eyes, the Wutaian looked a little older than he remembered. Understandable. It had been five years after all, and yet he still had his hair tied back and that small black dot on his forehead. Aside from the wear of time, he seemed almost identical to the man Zack had asked to look after his girlfriend before leaving for the mission to Nibelheim. He noticed the man was carrying a box in his hand with a yellow piece of tape across it, but his attention was not drawn to it right at the moment. He had much more important things on his mind. Behind Tseng, he noticed Cissnei and the man with the katana were standing in the door, and he also noticed that they were both holding dart guns in the event he became hostile. Better to play this cool, it seemed.

"Where's Cloud?" he asked coldly. "What have you done with him?"

"We have not done anything with him. Right now, there are things to discuss."

"What's there to talk about? You're going to send us back to the labs, aren't you?" Zack accused.

"We have received no orders to do so. Fortunately for you, the only orders issued to us were to subdue you. Hojo hasn't made any demands over those of Shinra's higher executives. Therefore, we have no obligation to do anything."

"Meaning?..." Zack wasn't sure he believed what he was hearing.

"It means that barring anything unforeseen, we could be holding you indefinitely. You aren't a free man by any stretch of the imagination Zack," Tseng allowed an extremely rare glimmer of relief into the tone of his voice. "But at the very least, you are alive, and out of Hojo's clutches."

He reached out to Zack with the sealed box in his hand. "I've been saving these for you."

Zack examined it as Tseng placed it in his hand, and he suddenly realized that the contents were a stack of letters, addressed to him, in Aerith's hand writing. They had been written by Aerith as she'd wondered what had happened to him, and why he'd never written back, when he'd been imprisoned in the depths of hell. "Is she all right?" he asked.

"She's well. She sells her flowers above the plate every now and then."

"How many of them are there?" he asked, trying not to choke on his emotions as he remembered what Aerith had written in her final letter.

"Eighty-eight," Tseng answered quietly. "But before you read them, we are moving you somewhere else. While you are there, you will be under guard at all times. Never forget that. Don't even consider trying to run again. It will just complicate matters." With that, he walked out the door, leaving Cissnei and the man with the sword standing in the doorway.

"Come on Zack, let's go," Cissnei said kindly.

"Where are we going?" Zack asked.

She answered his question with one of her own. "You wanted to see your friend, didn't you?"

"You're taking me to him?"

Cissnei nodded.

Zack stood up and compliantly waited for them to take formation in front and behind him. As he watched, two more Turks approached to be part of the escort, a blonde girl with a handgun and a red head that wasn't Reno but carried an EMR rod. As they walked slowly down the corridor towards an elevator, Zack noted that this must be the Turk headquarters, because there were no other employees around. He'd never been up here before, even when he had made 1st Class. He wasn't in the mood to enjoy the scenery though. After a moment, he spoke up softly. "Cissnei."

They walked a few more steps before the young Turk answered him. "Yes?"

"…How is he?"

"Freya could tell you better. She's been assigned to guard him since we got back, but from what I understand, he hasn't woken up since we caught you."

Zack continued walking to keep pace with his escorts, thinking back to his last moments of consciousness, and that was when he remembered looking up and seeing the first actual expression of emotion Cloud had shown in… he couldn't remember how long. "It wasn't my imagination… that he looked up at me… was it?"

As they reached the elevator, Cissnei punched the call button and smiled at him gently. "No. It wasn't."

At those words, Zack couldn't help but feel encouraged, just a little bit. Things were far from being okay. He had no sword, no materia, was a prisoner of the Turks, probably wouldn't be able to escape right now if he tried, and he didn't know where Cloud was. But his friend had moved, raised his head, showed some sign that he was aware of the world around him, for the first time in at least four years. Sure the expression in his eyes had been fearful, and no surprise there, but to get a response… _any _response from him… It gave Zack hope. For now, that would have to be enough.

* * *

><p>The rest of the trip in the elevator passed in silence. At first, Zack had thought they would be going somewhere else inside the Shinra building, but when it opened to the garage where the Turks kept their land vehicles, he realized that was not the case.<p>

"Just how far are we going?" he asked.

"Not far," Cissnei answered. At that point, the blonde girl pulled out a set of keys and wordlessly headed towards one of the black vans. They waited patiently as she backed it out and pulled it around so the red head could pull the back doors open. Once this was finished, he gestured that they get inside. The Turks ushered him into the van and then each of the three took a guard position, one on either side of him, with Cissnei on the seat opposite his. Once they were seated, the red-headed Turk who had taken the position closest to the doors, pulled them to, and they were away.

It didn't take much more than ten minutes before the van pulled to a halt again. Zack didn't think it sounded like they'd even pulled onto a highway at any point. As the red-headed Turk stood to pull open the rear door, Cissnei reached out and placed a white handkerchief over his cuffed hands.

"Where are we?" Zack asked as she too, stood and gestured that he follow her.

"We're at a hospital in Sector 2." Cissnei explained, hopping lightly out of the van and waiting for him.

"Oh. Why here?" Zack stepped down onto the asphalt and looked around, noting that they appeared to be in a very well-to-do business district, though it seemed they'd pulled into a back alley behind a very large building.

"Well, Shinra has its own infirmary," the red head spoke up. "But we tend to prefer somewhere more private. We have our own little annex here."

"You guys get hurt often?" Zack asked, curious now.

"It happens more than you think. Some of the crazier ones practically live here on occasion."

"Like you, Rod?" The blond haired woman appeared behind the red head, having cut the engine on the van.

"That's not fair Lou, I haven't crashed a bike in months," Rod retorted.

Lou gave Rod a wry smile before walking up to the back door of the building and gestured that they go inside as Zack stifled a chuckle at their discussion.

As they filed through and found themselves in a stairwell, Rod spoke again, leading the way up the first flight of stairs. "Incidentally, the two of you should be honored. This has got to be the first time anyone other than a Turk has been treated here."

"It's the first time I can remember." It was also the first time Zack had heard the man with the katana speak.

"Well you've been here forever Mao," Rod quipped.

Zack looked back briefly at the man who had just been identified as Mao before realizing that if he didn't look where he was going on the stairs, he might lose his balance.

"Not forever," Mao corrected. "But long enough to get better pay than you."

Rod looked like he was trying to think of a good comeback to that, but by now, Zack had stopped listening. He just hoped they'd get to where they were going soon. They traveled up three more flights of stairs before Cissnei opened another door and they filed out into a sterile white hallway. Down the right side of the hallway, Zack could see a line of doors with orderlies passing back and forth between them and the offices, but to the left, he noticed that the hall was distinctly empty and short until it hit a corner that seemed to turn right. It was along this hall that Cissnei directed them.

Once they were around the corner, they found themselves face to face with a pair of double doors to another silent corridor. Rod pulled ahead and pushed one of them open, and as they passed through, Zack found that to his right there was a line of three or four empty hospital beds. However, to his left, he saw a set of three doors, the closest of which clearly had a nameplate on it, and the room it was attached to could easily be seen through a set of observation windows. Obviously someone's office. The next door down was where they were going.

Standing guard outside, was the man who had shot him up with tranquilizers out in the wastes. He'd obviously gotten himself a new suit and a Cure, since Zack saw no sign of the injuries to his clothes or himself. Even so, he shot Zack a wary look. To the Turks, working for Shinra and doing the company's dirty work was supposed to be an impersonal job, but they knew better than to think their targets always felt the same way.

As they approached, Cissnei pulled ahead and asked "How are things here?"

"Nothing to report," the man answered.

Cissnei nodded and then said "As you can see, we've brought Zack. Tseng has ordered Mao and I to stay with you and we are to guard the prisoners in shifts." The man nodded again and Cissnei beckoned Zack towards the door. After a moment, he passed her into the room.

He immediately felt the nervous weight in his chest ease somewhat when he saw Cloud. While he wasn't awake, he did look better off, relatively speaking. Sure, he was lying in a bed off to the side of the room, with an IV snaking under his blankets from a stand nearby, but Zack could tell that in his absence, someone had given Cloud a bath and he looked like he was wearing a clean hospital gown. The worn SOLDIER uniform he had been wearing lay neatly folded on the counter nearby, completely free of dirt and dust marks. Upon coming closer, he saw that his friend didn't seem to be uncomfortable in any way, so he began to take stock of the place they were currently in.

Cissnei had entered after him and was watching him. Freya was sitting in a corner with a book in her hand, but she had placed a bookmark in it and closed it. There was a door to a bathroom at the end of Cloud's bed and a small window, about the height and width of a couple of stacked bricks, letting in some light from the back wall. He also noticed a bed had been set up in the opposite corner, but still close by, probably where he was supposed to sleep. He placed the box with Aerith's letters on it and waited to see what the Turks would do.

Mao shut the door so it was only the four of them in the room and Cissnei spoke again. "Zack, you probably already know this, but while you're here, you won't be permitted to leave this room without our permission. That will go for Cloud too, when he wakes up."

She pulled out a key that looked like it might fit his handcuffs and Zack gave her a confused look as she lifted the handkerchief from his hands. "What's there to keep me from hurting you and breaking out of that window right now if you take those off? You know what a SOLDIER can do, right?"

"I know you won't," Cissnei said bravely and looked over at Cloud. "You wouldn't leave him, and if you tried to take him with you, it would hurt him more than it would help him. Also, that window is much too small for you," she finished, allowing the shadow of a grin to play at the corners of her mouth.

"I guess you do have a point," Zack admitted.

"Besides, with four of us here, I don't think you'll have a chance."

"I would if I had my sword."

Cissnei reached out with the key and fitted it into the slot. Soon Zack felt the bindings release and as she caught the handcuffs in her hands, he rubbed his wrists, glad that the weight was gone. Then she looked up at him giving him a look of unguarded understanding that didn't befit a Turk.

"I know you're afraid. You have every right to be. But nothing's going to happen to either of you here. You're safe."

"What happens when he gets better?" Zack asked bitterly.

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Cissnei answered.

Zack walked over to his cot and sat down, thinking. There wasn't much else to do, and his gaze fell on the letters. He really, really, wanted to read them, but not while he had an audience. After a few more moments of uncomfortable silence he spoke again. "Uh… do you think you could leave us alone for a little while?"

Cissnei nodded and headed towards the door, with Freya behind her. Before she left, the taller woman turned around and said "We'll bring you some lunch later, all right?"

With a small wave, Freya vanished behind the door and he heard the sound of a lock clicking into place.

After a moment, he stretched his arms, stood up again and walked back over to Cloud's bed, noticing a pair of bleary, unfocused glowing eyes. "It's been a long morning Cloud," he said.

No response.

Zack heaved a sigh. "I sure made a big mistake letting them get close to us before we could run, didn't I," he observed, but then tried to turn his attention to more positive things. "At the very least it looks like they took good care of you while I was out. The hospital's never fun but it probably feels good to be clean."

Still silence.

"I'm sorry if I scared you back there, when they caught us." He reached out and ran a hand through Cloud's hair, ruffling it. "But things are gonna be okay." He had to admit he was partly saying that to himself. That was when he thought of what Cissnei had confirmed to him and pressed on, feeling a little stronger at the new thought. "They will, I promise. I saw you move on your own, man! You keep that up and we'll beat this mako poisoning thing yet! Once we get past that, getting out of here ought to be easy. I just know it."

Cloud remained silent and after a moment his eyes closed again, but Zack figured he probably needed the sleep more than anything right now, so he decided to let him be. In the meantime he walked back over to his cot, kicked off his boots and stretched out on it, taking his time about opening Aerith's box of letters. He was determined that he was going to read each and every single one before the day was out.

* * *

><p><em>Hope you've enjoyed this first chapter!<em>


	2. A Less Intolerable Situation

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spinoffs. Square-Enix owns them, and they merchandise until the cows come home.

Dr. Owen is an original character.

**Part I: Crossfire**

* * *

><p>Chapter 2, A Less Intolerable Situation<p>

**September 26th [ ν ] – εуλ 0007**

The first three days at the annex passed uneventfully for the most part. Not surprising when there was really nothing to do. The Turks had been true to their word so far when it came to their assertion that nothing would happen to either Zack or Cloud, and some of them appeared to be going out of their way to make their imprisonment easier to bear. It was a little disconcerting, but Zack supposed that it had been well known back before Nibelheim that he and Tseng had a decent rapport with each other. Being that the Turks were Tseng's organization now, Zack could only take this as a sign that their old friendship still meant something.

This seemed to extend to their guards. Mao and Tanjuu, the man who carried the two handguns, preferred to spend more time outside the room, on alert, but Cissnei and Freya would come inside to sit with him, run errands, bring Zack food, and would sometimes talk to him about what had been happening since he'd been in Nibelheim, and/or on the run. There had even been a morning when Freya had walked in and offered him a newspaper to read. He had asked the older female Turk once if she was worried about him hurting her or taking her hostage, should he try to escape, but her answer was about the same as Cissnei's.

Cloud's condition had stayed pretty much the same. He opened his eyes every now and then, and whenever Zack noticed he'd try to talk to him as much as he could, but he hadn't seemed too much more aware of his surroundings than on the first day. Owen, the doctor who presided over the Turk annex didn't seem to think this was terribly unusual. He had made it clear to Zack that while his actually moving out in the wastes was definitely a good sign, the best anyone could do right now was keep Cloud comfortable and wait for him to come out of it on his own. The real question was what condition he'd be in once that happened, and that could be a whole different can of worms.

It had been four days now and Owen had once again entered the room. If Zack had not known who paid his salary, he wouldn't have pegged him as belonging to the Turks. The man was in his mid-sixties, with greying, dark hair and a demeanor that reminded Zack of someone's grandfather. He wasn't a tall man. Zack had him beat by several inches and he may have even been shorter than Cloud. It was hard to say. But he was well built like some of the more robust troopers he'd worked with in the past, and it was quite possible he might have been in the military prior to working here, though he never said.

Zack had been sitting on his own bed, doing the crossword in the newspaper that Freya had brought him, but he looked up when the man entered, and once he knew who it was, he stood up.

"Good morning, Zack," the doctor greeted.

By now, Zack had gotten used to the man coming and going, though he still kept an eye on him as he neared Cloud's bed to check on him.

The first couple of visits had been something of a trial for Zack, mainly because he'd been fighting down bad memories of Hojo, and trying to rationalize the fact that Owen had been charged with trying to help Cloud recover. It was nothing personal, but even now, he didn't completely trust himself when it came to those memories, and he didn't totally trust Owen either. That was why he had not mentioned S-cells until the doctor had specifically asked why it looked like Cloud had SOLDIER enhancements, and his concern that it might be a factor in why Cloud wasn't showing more improvement won out.

He could not forget that as an employee of the Turks, Owen was still paid by Shinra. This was also why he had taken to placing himself in a location where he wouldn't be in the man's face and could allow him to do his job, but could still send a clear message that he wasn't to try anything funny. Sure, he was able to stand at his friend's side now instead of being locked in a mako tube or a cell, unable to do anything but watch him suffer, and he believed Owen's goals to be very different from Hojo's, but Cloud's life was still very much in the hands of someone else. It was a feeling that reminded Zack far too much of Nibelheim for his peace of mind. After a moment, he stood and made his way around to the other side of Cloud's bed so he stood across from the doctor.

"Anything interesting going on out in the world?" he finally asked, making a stab at conversation.

"Not much. The weather's been a little wet but there's little else of note," Owen answered him before turning his attention to his patient. "So how are you this morning Cloud?" The doctor briefly shone a light in one of his eyes to check for a response. There was none, but at the very least his eyes were open.

Owen handled it like the professional he was, and went on to checking his pulse and other vital signs. It didn't take long for him to finish the familiar routine and once he was done he made some notes on his clipboard and spoke again. "Okay, so no big changes, but you've got a strong pulse, and a little more color to you, that's good." He gave Cloud's hand a soft pat before looking up at Zack, who was marveling how the doctor could tell on that last count when Cloud was naturally very pale to begin with.

"Tseng is on his way to see the two of you. He should be here in a little while," he said.

"Any reason?" Zack asked guardedly as the doctor adjusted the stethoscope around his neck.

"Apparently he's bringing in someone who wants to talk to you."

"Oh. Anyone we know?" His suspicions were already driving him crazy.

"Maybe; he just told me he'd have a guest with him." He took a moment to switch out the IV bag and turned to leave. "Of course, contact me if there's any problems. If not, I'll see you later." With that, he walked out of the room. Shortly afterward, Freya entered with the book she was reading in her hand and took a seat in her accustomed place by the door.

He looked down at his friend contemplatively. "I wonder what that was about?" he mused. "Still, glad to see you're awake." He looked over at Freya and shot her a grin that belied his current mood. "So how goes the guard duty?" he teased. Allowing the situation to get the best of him was not going to help anything or anyone. Better to save his energy for when he could actually do something.

"Boring," she answered cheerfully, tucking a few of her bangs behind her ears as she did so. "I'm going to need a new book soon, this one's almost finished."

He chuckled as he went to pick up the word puzzle he'd been working on and pulled the other chair in the room closer to Cloud's bed, in the unlikely event his friend might want to see what he was up to. "Well, the newspaper's been handier than I thought. I didn't used to like crosswords that much, but when there isn't anything to do…" He didn't finish the sentence, but instead turned back to the current question. "Hey Cloud," he said, after checking to see if his friend's eyes were still open. "You wouldn't happen to know a seven letter word for 'huge', would you?"

No response.

"I think I might," Freya answered, after she felt enough time had passed.

"You do, huh? Well, what do you think it is? It can't be gigantic, because that's eight."

"No, it's definitely not that one," Freya agreed. "But how about I make you guess?"

"Okay, should we play this like twenty questions?"

"Sounds fine to me, though I'm sure it'll take you forever." She grinned.

"Hey, I've got Cloud in my corner too," Zack said. "He's always been the quiet type, but I'm sure he'll speak up if he wants to."

"All right, let's see what SOLDIER and the army can do against me."

"Okay, so, yes or no questions…" Zack thought on what his first question was going to be for a bit and then finally, "Does it have more than two vowels?"

Freya gave a look of mock surprise. "I'm shocked you even know what a vowel is. But yes."

"Hey," Zack defended with a chuckle. "Gongaga may be out in the middle of nowhere, but we aren't backwards, we had grammar just like everyone else. So is it more than three vowels?"

"No," Freya answered, still grinning.

"Okay, does it begin with a letter that isn't a vowel?"

"Yes."

Zack nodded. "I think I got this one, does it start with the letter T?"

"How did you know?" The Turk gave him another look of mock surprise.

"Lucky guess. Would it be 'Titanic'?"

"All right, Gongaga's education system is not backwards," Freya agreed. "Or at least, it wouldn't be if it actually had a school."

"Well, I thought my folks did a good job," Zack said, and he felt a pang of guilt as he wondered how they were doing. He hadn't been able to see them when he'd stopped by his hometown, no thanks to the Turks.

"I'm sure they did," Freya said, quietly.

Zack wrote his answer into the word puzzle before putting it down, and thought carefully for a minute before saying "Okay, I've got one." He looked over at Cloud and saw that his eyes were still open. "You can ask a question too if you have any ideas."

No response.

Zack was grateful that Freya seemed to understand exactly what he was trying to do, instead of being put off by the fact that it was just a game. She waited for an appropriate amount of time and then spoke up. "This thing you're thinking of, is it alive?"

"Yes," Zack answered.

"Is it a human?"

"No."

"Hmm…" Freya thought on that a bit.

"Is it a plant?"

"Yes… kind of."

"It moves?" Freya asked, curious.

"Yes," Zack said. "You're up to four now."

Freya smiled as she thought about her next question.

"Is it dangerous?" she asked.

"Yes, unless you're good at fighting," Zack said. "That's five."

"Does it live in… say… a jungle?" she asked.

"No."

"A… desert?"

"Yes," Zack answered, "and that's seven."

"It's a Cactuar isn't it," Freya decided.

"You got it," Zack said.

They went back and forth a few more times, going through things as frightening as a Tonberry, and as random as the rocket in the Shinra display room. It may have been a silly kid's game, but it worked wonders to clear the tension in the air. Even though Cloud had remained silent through the whole exchange, Zack hoped that on the inside, if nothing else, he was laughing at their absurdity. His eyes had stayed open, it seemed. It wasn't unusual for that to happen, but it gave Zack hope that he might have been at least a little engaged.

"Okay, I've got another one," Zack said after they had finished chortling over Freya's last pick, which had ended up being a Chocobo. He'd been a little confused because at one point it had sounded vaguely like she had settled on Cloud's hair.

"All right, is it alive?" Freya asked.

"No," Zack said. "Definitely not."

"Is it an object?"

"Kind of..."

"Okay…" Freya looked around the room, thinking and then looked down at her book. "Is it something you can read?"

"Yes, you can."

"Is it a book?"

"It can be in a book." Zack nodded.

"It's not a novel, or a storybook," Freya observed.

"No," Zack agreed.

"All right… hmm… could it be… a play…. Maybe?" Freya was starting to smile as though she thought she knew what the answer was going to be.

"Yes, a specific one," Zack answered.

"Well then, I think its…" Freya had almost spoken the name of the play she was thinking of when the door swung open revealing Tseng. Freya looked up at her boss. "Hello sir."

Tseng nodded to her and then turned to the SOLDIER. "It's good to see you haven't changed Zack." Zack was tempted to grin when he saw the wry smile on Tseng's face, but upon seeing the bespectacled woman with brown hair in a lab coat behind him, any mirth he might have felt suddenly quieted.

"I've brought someone to see the two of you," Tseng said.

The woman pulled in front of Tseng and gave both him and Cloud an appraising look before speaking. "Now I remember where I heard that name," she said quietly, and then noticed that Freya was here as well. "Corporal Strife was on the escort mission where we met. Cloud… He was that blonde boy who protected me and helped you fight those men from AVALANCHE."

Freya nodded. "Good to see you Doctor."

The woman returned the gesture in greeting. "I'm glad to see you're in much better health than the last time I saw you, Freya."

"Haven't had a problem since. If anything, my aim has improved." Freya made a motion that resembled the unloading of a spent shell on an invisible shotgun with a grin.

Zack didn't quite know what to make of the situation. This woman knew Cloud? And Freya? "So what brings you here?" he finally asked.

"Oh, that's right, you probably don't remember me. I'm Dr. Rayleigh," the woman finally introduced herself. "Tseng asked me here as a consultant. He's called on me before on matters pertaining to SOLDIER enhancements and mako related issues, and I am here because he wants to know about you. It's been a very long time Zack, but you look like you've grown into a fine young man."

"You know me too?" Zack asked suspiciously.

"We've never actually spoken, but I was on your enhancement team when you first joined SOLDIER. I took part in the procedure to implant your JENOVA cells."

"So that means… you aren't with the Science Department are you?" He wasn't even trying to conceal the emotions he felt over that particular entity.

"No, I am not with Hojo, if that's what you are worried about. But I am here to take a look at the both of you."

Immediately, Zack's expression darkened. "If you think we're going to be nice little lab rats for Shinra again, you are dead wrong." Almost unconsciously, he stood, placing himself in a defensive position in front of Cloud.

Tseng took a step forward. "Zack, Dr. Owen told me you mentioned something about S-cells to him. We don't know the specifics, but if we could learn more about what Hojo did, it will help us to understand what happened. And if it helps Corporal Strife recover faster than it's in both of your best interests…"

"How do I know that's not a lie?" Zack asked, keeping his voice quiet. "After all, you're the ones who left us to Hojo in the first place." It had been the elephant in the room for a while, and now that someone had acknowledged it, everyone had gone silent. He noticed that Freya was biting her lip nervously. "You probably had orders. But you knew what was going to happen to us, didn't you?"

"We didn't actually know until it was too late," Freya said, her voice soft as though not sure what the reaction to her words would be.

"I'm sure you suspected though." Zack shot her a glare.

"It's true that we did walk away," Tseng admitted. "But as a SOLDIER, how many times have you been ordered to look the other way or do something distasteful when Shinra decided it was in their best interest?"

Zack's thoughts drifted to a quiet village with dumbapple trees as it went up in flames, but he firmly pushed it to the back of his mind. "That was different. No one ever asked me to leave someone I considered a friend behind to be experimented on by a madman." Someone had however, deliberately placed him in a situation where he had to kill his mentor… Once again, he forced himself not to ruminate any further.

The tone of Tseng's voice was unflinching. "Right now, this situation is different. As our prisoners, your health, and that of your friend have become our responsibility, therefore, it behooves us to find out what Hojo did to you."

"It's not idle curiosity," Freya spoke up again, having regained her professionalism as the subject left Nibelheim. "If you can't consider it friendly concern, than at least think of it as our job."

Zack thought about what she said, though he hadn't moved from in front of Cloud. After a moment, he turned his attention back to the doctor. "So just what do you plan on doing?"

"Not much until we have more information," Rayleigh admitted. "But once I've spoken to Dr. Owen, I would like to examine the two of you and collect blood samples. That's all."

"I still don't like it," Zack said, doing his best to keep his voice calm and even lest one of the Turks in the room decide he was getting out of control.

"It would be better if you cooperated willingly," Tseng added, as he turned to leave the room, Rayleigh behind him. "You have until we are done speaking to Owen to decide how this is going to go." With that, the door shut, and Zack was alone with Freya and Cloud again. She watched him warily from her seat. It amazed Zack just how one little conversation had shifted her normally friendly attitude to one of being all business again, although even the former may have been an act to set him at ease.

He had no doubt that if she was comfortable enough to be reading and playing word games while in a room with a prisoner with SOLDIER strength as an attribute, she was confident enough in her Turk capabilities to take him down on her own if she needed to. Or at least confident in the belief that it wouldn't be necessary. Part of him admitted she was right. Not with Cloud the way he was, and especially not if they were providing him appropriate care to speed his recovery. It was a disturbing thought just how easily the Turks had managed to put Zack in a situation where they could control him simply because Cloud _needed_ their help. It was so deceptively subtle, and yet somehow, a very Turkish thing to do.

He could tell by now that Tseng was very prepared for the possibility that he was unwilling, and that Rayleigh's request was more of a non-optional edict. He weighed the situation in his mind carefully, sitting down on his own bed to mull it over.

"Zack," Freya said after a moment. "Please don't make this harder than it needs to be."

He gave her another glare before going back to considering the situation. His experiences with Hojo were nightmarish in their own right. He'd been cut and had bled at Hojo's hands too. The scars were there. The very memory of that pain made his hands shake, much more than any injury he'd received on the battlefield ever had, and he'd been the lucky one. It wasn't just his problem either. There was Cloud to consider too. The idea of allowing Rayleigh to do what she wanted with either of them fell dangerously close to reminding him of memories he didn't want to revisit, even if by comparison, her request was quite mundane.

"Is there any chance I can ask them something first?" He asked after a little while.

"I don't see why not," Freya answered.

They waited a little longer and then when he heard the door open, Zack got to his feet. Tseng and Rayleigh reentered and he noticed that Cissnei, Mao, and Tanjuu stood ready to come in if he gave them trouble.

"Well?" Rayleigh spoke first.

"I have three conditions," Zack said. "If you want me to go along with this."

"You aren't in a position to negotiate," Tseng observed.

"No, maybe not, but if you hear me out it'll make things easier." If the situation were any different Zack might have found this funny, arguing over whether or not he made a fuss over something, but to him, this was serious business. This was a situation he had no control over, but he could at least use what little leverage he had to make it less intolerable.

"Very well," Tseng said. He had no desire to start a fight if he didn't have to, though admittedly he was probably willing to give Zack a little more leeway than most.

"Number one. I go first." Zack started counting his points off on one hand for emphasis.

"Number two, I want to be there when you look at Cloud." That should be reasonable, he thought, after all in Cloud's current condition he couldn't defend himself. Like hell was Zack going to leave him at someone else's tender mercies, old acquaintance or not. The third one seemed like the hardest to fly past this crowd, but he had to say it.

"Number three. If I notice you doing something I don't like, don't trust, or don't understand, I will want an explanation, and if I'm not happy with that…" Before he could continue he heard a click from the doorway and noticed that Tanjuu had raised his dart gun. Gaia, was he really that threatening? He glared at the man before taking a deep breath and continuing slowly. "…then I will…" He heard another click and noticed that Mao was also holding his dart gun at the ready. "…politely…" He nearly choked on the word. "…ask you to stop, and I will expect you to listen." He didn't want to think about what he might do if Rayleigh didn't stop. Hopefully they would never get that far. He didn't want the Turks to get too trigger happy either. So once he was finished naming his conditions, he walked over to Cloud's bed again and waited for Tseng and Rayleigh to think it over.

To his surprise and by all appearances, everyone else's as well, Rayleigh gave him an understanding smile. "That doesn't sound unreasonable at all."

Tseng walked outside issuing instructions to the other Turks. Rayleigh looked up at Zack and said "There's a room with better light down the hall, if you would bring Cloud with you." She went to the door and waited for them there. Zack saw that Freya had gone into the room's closet and had brought out a wheelchair. Well, he had agreed to this, however grudgingly. Best to make it as painless as possible. He took a deep breath, and looked down at his friend. Cloud's eyes were still open, he noticed. Zack had almost hoped he'd gone back to sleep. "I guess we gotta move." He reached down and lifted the man to a sitting position before pulling him into the chair Freya had brought around for him. She had taken the IV bag off the stand and was attaching it to an extension on the back of the chair.

"It'll be all right, this won't take long." Zack was fighting down his own dread as he wheeled Cloud out of the room. He saw that Tanjuu had disappeared, but the other three Turks were on full alert, in case he tried anything. Rayleigh saw them emerge and then ushered them down the hall in the opposite direction from the doors leading out. Soon, they were by another door which she opened and gestured that they go in. Freya took a position outside as they did so, and Zack saw that Tanjuu was waiting inside, leaning against the wall. He supposed Tseng had picked him because he seemed to have the least reservations on intervening if one of them got difficult. He tried not to think about it as he pulled Cloud into a corner nearby and took in the rest of the room while he waited for Rayleigh.

The table in the center of the room looked nothing like the one in Hojo's lab. His had been cold and metal, this one was padded and did not have restraints. No… he didn't want to think about Hojo right now. He blinked as though that would push away the horrors, and tried to focus on other things. It was a standard exam room. The usual cabinets with supplies and a sink in the corner. A dispenser for disposable gloves hung on the wall, over the cabinet… and that was when Rayleigh entered and Zack found that his heart was beating awfully fast, as though he was scared… which he suddenly realized he was. There was no logic to it, he knew. Rayleigh wasn't Hojo, he knew that. Even if he suspected her motives, she wasn't him! After a moment he shut his eyes and breathed in, attempting to center himself. It was not something that could be done discreetly and when he opened his eyes, he saw that Rayleigh and Tanjuu both were giving him a curious look.

Rayleigh shut the door and asked "Are you all right?"

"Just… give me a second." Zack placed a hand on the table for support as he forced himself to breath. Inhale… Exhale… Inhale… Exhale…

Slowly, but surely, he felt himself begin to calm down, until he heard Rayleigh speak again. "I'm surprised you haven't torn the annex apart yet, if that's the reaction I get."

"They left me alone until now," Zack said, looking determinedly at the far wall so he didn't have to see her or the labcoat she wore until he was ready. "And I've had Cloud to think about, so I couldn't afford to lose it."

"You really care for him don't you." He heard her footsteps as she walked over to the sink and the sound of a tap being opened, then falling water as she washed her hands.

"He's my friend," Zack said. "It's what friends do." Once he believed he'd found his resolve again, he looked down at the slender woman who was now reaching for a pair of gloves.

"Well, you don't have to worry. I'm just taking a cursory look over to see what we have, so just try to relax and… erm… why don't you try thinking about something else if that happens again? We can't have you passing out on us now can we?" She had finished with the gloves and had moved towards the table, gesturing to it. "Would you sit please?"

Zack pulled himself up so that his legs hung over the side and waited for Rayleigh to make the next move, while continuing to focus on breathing. It helped… sort of. The anxiety was still there, but he had it under control at least. He searched for a topic of conversation to distract himself with and his eyes landed on Tanjuu.

"So how did you get a name like Tanjuu?… It's Wutaian isn't it?" He asked, though he nearly jumped away when he felt Rayleigh's hands at his wrist, about to take his pulse, maybe? He was too busy trying not to think about Hojo to care.

"It means 'Gun',"Tanjuu said in a deadpan. "I got the name when I was with the Wutaian syndicate before they were purged for hiding spies. They thought it suited me since I could shoot a faster than most of them could blink."

"Oh…" Zack mused. "So… uh… How did you end up partnered with Freya then?"

"We joined around the same time," Tanjuu replied and left it at that.

"I see." Zack was beginning to think that Tanjuu did not care for this topic and decided to try thinking of something else when he felt something cold on his back as Rayleigh instructed him to inhale. "Hmm… have you been anywhere interesting as a Turk?"

Tanjuu looked further annoyed, but he said "I was in Wutai for a while when we were dealing with rebels."

"You don't say. I got sent there too, when I was with SOLDIER…" Zack warmed up to the subject and tried to think of some of the happier stories he remembered from before Fort Tamblin and Angeal's desertion. It kept him mentally occupied for quite a while as Rayleigh carried out her work, most of it being the kind of thing one saw in a standard physical. He had almost exhausted the subject of Wutai when she spoke up again. "I'll need you to take off your shirt if you would please."

Zack cringed. This was the part he'd been dreading. He reached down and slowly peeled off the T-shirt he was wearing. His SOLDIER uniform had been taken to be washed as soon as he'd changed into something else, and even though he had it back now, he'd also been provided with some extra clothes so he wasn't stuck wearing the same thing all the time. As the fabric pulled up in his hands, he heard Rayleigh suppress a gasp.

He held the shirt in his lap, flinching as he felt a hand reach up to the nape of his neck. There was a scar there right below his hairline, where it was normally concealed by his SOLDIER turtleneck, he knew, and three more at key points along his spine. There were others too, but those were the most obvious. He felt a chill as she ran her hand over each of them and he recalled being thankful after he woke up in the cell, nearly paralyzed from the physical trauma, that he'd blacked out after the first one.

Rayleigh felt him tense underneath her hand and paused before clearing her throat. "He closed these without materia," she commented.

"Yeah," Zack answered bitterly.

"All of these are along the old marker scars from when we implanted your JENOVA cells, and I can see a couple of more, in non-standard locations, here… and here." She tapped a couple of places near his shoulder blades.

"Marker scars?" Zack asked.

"Usually when JENOVA cells are implanted we heal the incisions with Cure materia, but often we'll leave a tiny scar mark to show where we placed the cells just in case there's an issue with the site," she explained. "If you recall from your initiation into SOLDIER, we implanted the cells and then you had a regimen of mako injections to balance out their effects, before getting the full showering with mako at the end."

"I remember those."

"Well, Hojo definitely tampered with the old sites. You can barely see the old scars from your first treatments, but these others are newer." She walked around to his front and silently gestured that he lean back so she could get a better look at his chest and abdomen. Having not found anything of note there, she walked to the door and leaned outside. "Could I get a camera in here please?"

She walked back over to the table, writing something in her notes. "While we're waiting, I'm going to take that blood sample, all right?"

"I guess."

Rayleigh had just finished prepping the needle with the collection tube and she paused. "So what was that I read in the reports about these S-cells?"

Zack shook his head for a moment, eyeing what she held in her hand and feeling the anxiety starting to rise again. "I'll tell you in a bit. For now, I think I'd like to talk about something else."

"All right." She deftly moved forward and after tying off a tourniquet over his right bicep, she began to swab a place on his right arm. "What would you like to talk about?"

"Has SOLDIER changed much since I've been gone?" It was just a shot in the dark… so to speak, but he hoped that would keep them going until well after she was done.

"Not too much. We've taken fewer recruits lately." She went in for the kill and Zack let out a soft grunt as the needle found his vein before she continued. "But we actually have a few more 1sts now. After we lost you and the big three, I started to wonder if anyone would last to retirement age. Some of them have disappeared, and others, I have to admit, I worry about them."

"Is that so?" His voice was pinched slightly. "Did you know any of the guys who got promoted after me?"

"There were a few. Ramius… Bradley… Kunsel…" She glanced down at the vial to see if it had filled enough.

"Kunsel…" Zack thought of the old messages he'd found on his phone when he'd first escaped and in spite of the pain in his arm, he smiled. "He was a good friend. He deserved it."

"He's not the most decorated. They don't send him on a lot of missions, but they love him for training the rookies. I honestly don't know why the director doesn't just put him in charge of that part of the job."

"He always was good at that," Zack agreed. "Even taught me a few things I hadn't figured out yet as a 2nd."

It was at that moment that she pulled out the needle and pressed a cotton swab to the spot where it had been. "Hold that for me, would you?" He obeyed, applying pressure to his arm.

Just then, he noticed the door open and Freya peeked in, holding the camera Rayleigh had requested. "Sorry it took so long. Owen had a little trouble finding it."

"All right." Rayleigh took the camera from her and then turned back to Zack as the door shut again. "I'll be done in just a minute and then we can take care of Cloud, all right?"

Zack nodded and shut his eyes again, trying to find a well of tranquility within himself from which to draw the strength he would need for the second half of this ordeal. The camera clicked several times behind him, and he tried to ignore the noise. After a while the sounds stopped, and Rayleigh told him he could put his shirt back on.

Once he was fully dressed, he saw that Rayleigh had taken a position behind the table again, waiting expectantly.

Zack looked over at Cloud and saw that his eyes were still open. "I'm impressed Cloud," he said, trying to put as much positive energy into it as he could. "This is the longest time you've been awake in a while. We'll just keep what happened when the Doc walked in between the two of us, okay? I'd rather not let that get spread around." He rolled the wheel chair over towards the table and lifted Cloud up so he was sitting in the same position, and then carefully settled him on his side, minding the IV as he did so.

"All right, now if you could, roll him a little more towards you. I won't have to do nearly as much with him since I already have the information on his vitals and physical condition from Owen."

Zack did so, and watched warily as she undid the back of the hospital gown, his composure regained in the need to be there for Cloud. After a moment, she pulled back the folds of the gown revealing the scars Zack knew to be there.

"It's exactly as he said," Rayleigh muttered, "These are also definitely scars from SOLDIER enhancements. Although it looks like there are some other marks here too..." She ran a hand over a scar on the left side of the man's ribs. "This looks like a sword wound."

"Sephiroth did that," Zack confirmed grimly. "When we faced him in the reactor."

"Oh…" Rayleigh's answer was barely above a murmur as she regarded the injury.

Zack nodded, sadly remembering another friend he had lost and noticed that the doctor had gone for her camera again. He held his friend steady as she snapped photos of the individual scars.

When she put the camera down, she spoke again. "Right. Now let's get him on his back."

Zack complied, and once his friend lay flat, Rayleigh pulled the gown along Cloud's body, leaving it high enough that it still protected his dignity, but didn't obscure her view of his chest and lower torso. The other side of the wound where Sephiroth had speared him with the Masamune was clearly visible, as were a number of other surgical scars.

"Some of these look like Hojo might have been trying to see the effects his work was having on his internal organs." Rayleigh commented. "These smaller scars here, along the lines between the individual muscles, are common for such procedures. Some of these other scars though..."She shuddered involuntarily. "I really don't know. Some of these are just cruel."

"It all was," Zack commented.

Rayleigh reached for the camera again, to record her findings, and then asked "Are you ready to tell me? What you meant about S-cells, I mean."

"To tell the truth I only heard it from someone else," Zack admitted. "While we were on the run, we bumped into Genesis and Hollander. They were pretty far gone by that point but they were going on about how Hojo had been working with 'S-cells' and how the ones Cloud supposedly had were pure. I ran into Genesis again later and he said I carried a part of Sephiroth in me. I don't know much more beyond that, or even if they were in their right minds when they said that stuff, but I think the S-cells had something to do with Sephiroth." Zack looked down at Cloud and noticed he was shivering slightly. "Can we hurry this up a little bit? He's getting cold."

"This won't take but just another second." She snapped the last of the pictures and then Zack pulled the gown back up so Cloud was wearing it properly again.

"So Professor Hollander's still alive?" Rayleigh asked, and Zack noticed that she was carrying the needle for the second blood sample and another tourniquet.

"Afraid not. I ended up having to kill him."

"Well, alive or dead, Hollander probably would have known about things like that better than anyone aside from Hojo himself. I'll definitely look into it once I have the chance to run your blood work." She moved to place the tourniquet on Cloud's arm as she spoke.

"I really hope you aren't going to do anything else with those." The defensive edge was back in Zack's voice again.

"I'm not Hojo, Zack," Rayleigh answered evenly. "You have my word. All I've been asked to do is find out what's going on. That's all I'm going to do."

Zack gave her a frown to show he wasn't sure he believed her word was sufficient, before taking Cloud's hand in his own. "We're almost done," he said, patting Cloud's shoulder with his free hand.

"That we are," Rayleigh agreed, swabbing the spot on Cloud's other arm where she planned to stick him. "This'll only hurt for a little bit, and then it'll be all over." Cloud didn't make a sound or even jolt when the needle sank into his skin, but Zack continued to grip his hand anyway, trying not to hold it too hard. After a while, he had to look away from the small vial filling with dark red. It was making him a little nauseous…

"…Zack?" He blinked and saw that Rayleigh was holding a piece of cotton to Cloud's arm. "You can take him back to the room now. We're done."

"Okay." Zack looked away from the doctor again, and took another deep breath before looking back down at his friend. "That wasn't so bad, was it?" He said, adopting his most cheerful voice as Rayleigh walked towards the trashcan and began to remove her gloves.

Zack did not need further prompting. Without another word, he picked Cloud up again and lowered him back into the wheelchair, shooting a questioning look at Tanjuu to see if he was ready to let them go. He had opened the door and gestured that they exit. Once they were through and headed back towards their room, Zack felt relief flow over him in a wave. Their situation had not changed, but the ordeal was over. Hopefully not to be repeated. He also noticed as he walked Cloud back that Tseng seemed to have left.

Freya and Cissnei followed him into their room. "How did it go Zack?" Cissnei asked after a moment.

Zack busied himself with getting Cloud back to bed, hoping he wouldn't have to answer. The whole scenario bothered him.

That was when he noticed that Rayleigh was looking into the room and had apparently heard Cissnei's question because she took the opportunity to answer for him. "They handled it just fine."

Zack felt gratitude for the woman which also annoyed him because it further confused his sense of what side everyone was on. In the end, he settled for continued silence.

"I'll be back with the test results in a few days," Rayleigh said. "Zack, you and Cloud take care, all right?"

Zack acknowledged her farewell with a nod and looked out the window. There wasn't much to see, and it was raining out there, so he turned disappointedly to see who was left.

"Are you okay?" Cissnei asked.

"Should I be?" Zack volleyed the question back at her.

Cissnei thought about it before saying "I don't know."

The silence was deafening. Finally, Zack couldn't take it anymore. So he did the only thing he knew how to do when he didn't want to think. He started doing squats.

Cloud had shut his eyes again. He had probably been just as strung out as Zack was from Rayleigh's visit. Zack hated this. He felt constricted. He wanted to leave. To go somewhere far from here. As he worked his muscles, his thoughts drifted to a church in the Sector 5 slums, and he sorely wished he was there right now, talking with Aerith and admiring her beautiful flowers.

After a while, Cissnei looked down at the clock on her PHS and saw what time it was. "So, are you hungry?"

"A bit," he said, not stopping his exertions.

"I'll go to that shop down in the lobby. What will you want?"

Zack told her, and after taking requests from the other Turks, she was gone, leaving him alone with Freya again. She'd been quiet since he'd reentered the room, and now, she walked over to Cloud's bed. Zack noticed her smoothing his hair away from his face before she went back to her seat.

"You can trust Rayleigh, you know," she said after a little while.

"Why should I? She belongs to Shinra just like you," Zack accused, pausing in his squats to shoot an accusing look at the lady Turk.

Freya paused just as she reached the chair, then walked over to the light switch by the door and turned it off. The room darkened, with the exception of the tiny bit of light filtering in through the window, but as his eyes adjusted, Zack saw something he hadn't expected. They were a far cry from the strong mako-enhanced glow of his own, but Freya's light brown eyes were glowing faintly in the darkened room.

"You can't tell it unless you look close, or it's dark, but I had mako poisoning too once." She turned the light back on, and Zack realized that it was true. The glow in her eyes had nearly been invisible under normal conditions. He only saw it now because he knew it was there.

"It happened when the Corel reactor blew," she continued. "I was just like him for three years." She gestured to Cloud for emphasis. "Tseng got the best people he could to take care of me, and they were Rayleigh, and Owen. Now if these are the people Tseng trusts to take care of the Turks, don't you think you could at least give them the benefit of the doubt?"

Zack didn't know what to say to this. He rubbed the back of his neck. "I can think about it… I guess." He couldn't give the Turk a straight answer.

* * *

><p><strong>September 27th [ ν ] – εуλ 0007<strong>

"L-loveless…"

Zack blinked.

It was the evening of the next day and Freya had been sitting with them again, a new book in hand. Zack had been doing squats again, since he'd thought Cloud was asleep and he had nothing better to do. That was when he had heard that soft male voice… it was so familiar… and yet he hadn't heard it in years.

"…Cloud?"

There was silence for a few moments, and then, just when Zack thought he'd been hearing things…

"That… play… just now… it was Loveless… wasn't it?"

That was when Zack remembered their interrupted game and laughed. "Cloud, that was yesterday." He walked over to the bed and saw that while Cloud's glowing blue eyes still looked a little bleary, they were looking around the room, and finally, they rested on him.

"…Z-Zack?"

Zack felt tears well up in his eyes. Cloud had recognized him. Responded to him. Said his name even! "Welcome back, buddy." He reached down and gently ran his hand through his friend's hair. "I missed you."

Cloud seemed completely confused, but Zack didn't care. He was awake. Really awake, and that was all that mattered.

Withdrawing his hand, Zack looked away briefly, wiping away his tears. When he was finished, he turned back and gave his friend the biggest grin he could muster. "How do you feel?"

"Weird… it's hard to think…" Cloud answered, his voice halting as though both the mental concentration and the physical effort speaking required were causing him difficulty. He looked around the room again, unable to get his bearings. "Where… are we…?"

Freya stood up and joined them. "You're at a hospital in Midgar, Cloud. This is the Turk annex. We brought you here a few days ago after we found you in the wastes. Remember?"

Suddenly Cloud's expression turned fearful. "The Turks… Zack, you were… they shot you…" He frowned, willing himself to remember and then looked up at Zack, blue eyes wide with concern.

"Don't worry about me. I'm okay." Zack said, grinning. "They wanted us alive so they used tranquilizer darts. I was none too happy about it. Still not exactly pleased."

"So we're…"

"Prisoners again? I'm afraid so." Zack couldn't lie to his friend. "But at least they've been a lot more understanding about you being sick." He left the comparison to Hojo unspoken. He didn't want to bring back bad memories right now, for either of them.

"Sick?... I guess I am… I don't feel… right."

"Well, that's what we're trying to do something about," Zack said. "Can we get you anything?"

"…Water?"

Before Zack even moved, Freya had grabbed a glass off a nearby shelf and walked into the bathroom. She returned shortly afterward. Cloud still seemed pretty weak, so Zack helped him to a sitting position, keeping an arm around him so he wouldn't fall over. After Freya handed him the glass, he slowly brought it to his friend's mouth. Cloud swallowed a few sips and then pulled away, indicating he was finished. He didn't say any more after that, and eventually Zack realized he'd fallen asleep again.

He sat there for a minute or two, almost wondering if he'd wake up himself and realize it had all been a dream. But then, carefully, he eased him back down on the bed. Once he was finished, he said quietly. "Don't wait so long to wake up next time, okay?"


	3. Results and Reunions

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spinoffs. That honor goes to Square-Enix, and they'll never let us forget it.

Dr. Owen is an original character.

**Part I: Crossfire**

* * *

><p>Chapter 3, Results and Reunions<p>

**September 28th [ ν ] – εуλ 0007**

"Tifa!" It was the following day and Zack was working on a new crossword while Cissnei sat nearby when he heard Cloud's voice again. He nearly jumped out of his skin because when Cloud had called out, it sounded sharp and frightened. Zack looked over at the bed and saw that Cloud seemed to be trying with great difficulty to pull himself up. He hurried over.

"Cloud?" He put a hand on his shoulder, trying to calm him down.

Cloud stopped struggling and looked up at him with terror in his eyes. "Zack, where's Tifa? Where's Mom?"

Once he was sure Cloud wasn't fighting him anymore, Zack removed his hand. "They aren't here," he said doing his best to keep his voice calm.

"But, Nibelheim… it was burning… Sephiroth… what happened? Where are we?"

That was when Zack had a terrible thought. "Cloud. Do you remember waking up yesterday?"

"Of course I do… we were at the inn… weren't we?"

"That was five years ago," Zack corrected him. He didn't want to upset Cloud any more than he had to, but he didn't want to lie to him either.

"What?" Cloud looked totally stunned.

"Yeah, you've had mako poisoning for the last few years. You came to last night, remember?"

Cloud thought about this for a moment and then looked back up at Zack, as though not sure what to believe. Finally he asked, "What happened to Tifa?"

That was when Zack realized something else. He didn't know what had happened to Tifa. The last time he'd seen her, she'd been hurt by Sephiroth really badly, and Cloud had been holding her in his arms before picking up the Buster Sword to charge at him. He really hoped she hadn't suffered their fate. He shook his head sadly. "I don't know. I wish I did."

Cloud's eyes widened in grief as a sudden realization came to him. "Mom died… " He said it barely above a whisper.

Zack nodded sadly.

"Sephiroth killed her." Cloud spoke as though he were seeing it unfold in front of him, freshly drawn on the canvas of his mind. "We went to the reactor… He hurt Tifa… and…" He reached up a hand and felt at the place where he'd been skewered by Masamune.

Zack watched a flurry of emotions play across his friend's face, and wished he knew what to do.

After a while, Cloud looked up at him again, having finally regained a hold on the present. "You said the Turks had us… That's right… they shot you…"

Zack sighed. "Yeah."

Cloud frowned. "What happened? I-I remember the reactor and Sephiroth… but after that… I don't know…"

"Don't try to force it," Zack said quickly. "We were prisoners for a long time, and you got mako poisoning really bad. I broke us out, and we came here. That's the important part. We'll worry about the details when you're better, okay?" He was perfectly happy not to remind Cloud of the lab right now, especially given the state he was in. Better to wait until he was in a more lucid frame of mind.

"I guess." Cloud still looked troubled.

"So, are you thirsty, or hungry or anything?" Zack asked.

"I think I'm… a little hungry."

"All right." Zack turned to Cissnei, who had been watching them from her seat. "Hey Ciss, do you think we could get some soup or something in here?"

"I'll see if we can." Cissnei stood and walked to the door.

"So, would you like to sit up?" Zack asked.

"I can try." Now that he had calmed down, it seemed he'd regained a little coordination, because he slowly pulled in his arms and began to push himself up. To Zack's surprise, he didn't do too badly. He made it about halfway up before he swayed a little, unsteady from not having moved on his own for so long. Zack moved in at that point and helped him the rest of the way up before adjusting the pillows behind him.

Once that was finished they waited for Cissnei to return. Zack made small talk about various things and tried to see if he could get Cloud talking some more, but mostly his friend just listened until Cissnei returned with the requested bowl. Cloud's dexterity was not quite sufficient to handle the delicate operation of using a spoon and Zack ended up helping him with it a little. But considering the difficulty he'd had trying to keep him fed on the way to Midgar, it was an incredible accomplishment to see Cloud actually eating something and not choking on it.

Before being captured, it had been a trial and a half just to keep him from suffering dehydration. When Zack had been able to get food into him, it had usually been limited to something with a liquid component, and he had always been slightly uncertain whether or not his friend's swallowing reflex would kick in at the right moment. A situation which had caused him no small amount of concern.

Eating did seem to take up what little energy he had though so it wasn't long after Zack had put the bowl away, when Cloud fell asleep again, still propped up on the pillows. Tseng and Rayleigh arrived sometime later, to find Zack watching him thoughtfully, and when he heard them enter, he looked up.

"So what's the word?" he asked.

Rayleigh gave Cloud an appraising glance before she spoke. "Well, I took a look at those samples. I expect you'll want to know about that."

Zack nodded. "Go ahead."

"To be honest, I don't know what to make of what I found," Rayleigh said, taking a seat in the chair Freya liked to use. "Most of the blood work came back normal for a pair of SOLDIERs. No chemical imbalances, nothing out of the ordinary aside from Cloud having a very high mako percentage, even for our recruits. That definitely explains why he's got such bad case of Mako poisoning and it suggests that Hojo may have used a much less diluted regimen of injections than normal, even considering the time you spent in those tanks. Your percentage is a little higher than normal too, but it's not as high. I think he may have discontinued his work with you around that point in the process due to your resistances. You were right when you mentioned those unique cells though."

"Oh?"

"Yes. When we utilize Jenova cells, they are implanted in such a way that they will spread and adhere to the subject's bones, nerves, and muscle tissue until the body is saturated. You had already been through such a procedure once since you were a SOLDIER prior to this, but I also found a different set of cells in your blood. They look like Jenova cells, but there are aspects to them that are different. These… 'S-cells' as Hollander called them were much less concentrated in your sample. I think because they were so similar to the initial Jenova cells, your body didn't alter itself very much upon the introduction of the new cells."

"In Cloud's sample, on the other hand, I exclusively found S-cells, and they are highly concentrated. I have no idea how it will affect either of you in the long run, unfortunately."

"I see," Zack said.

After a moment, Rayleigh went on. "I do have a hypothesis that I would like to explore further though."

"And what would that be?" Tseng asked.

"Well, Sephiroth was always of special interest to Hojo. That much is common knowledge among SOLDIER's staff. He was a very powerful swordsman, someone the President would love to have recreated. Based on what I've seen, Hojo may have been trying to use you and Cloud in an attempt to recreate a super soldier of his caliber using these modified cells. Naturally, the only way I could prove this hypothesis would be…"

"No," Zack said flatly. "I told you before, we're not…"

"Shh." Rayleigh held up a hand as though she was demanding silence before meshing her fingers together on her lap and she spoke as one who is trying to explain things to a child. "Zack, _I_ told _you_ before, I am not Hojo. I don't know what you thought I was going to say, but I am sure the reality is nowhere near what you're probably imagining. Now what I was going to say, before you interrupted, was that the only way to know for sure would be to talk to Hojo personally, which I can't say I'm keen on doing, given how protective he is of his research. He also might want you back, which is undesirable for all of us. The other alternative might be to try and find Sephiroth's medical records. If I could find a sample of his blood to compare the S-cells to, that would be better, but it would probably be very difficult considering that Sephiroth is no longer with us."

"I will have clearance to authorize your use of those records if they are in Shinra's database," Tseng said.

"Well, I guess we can hope they are then." Rayleigh said. "But knowing Hojo, I'm not holding my breath."

"So let me get this straight, you're just going to waltz in there and demand that information, just like that?" Zack asked Tseng, raising an eyebrow.

"It is my prerogative, as the director of the Turks," Tseng answered dryly.

"Isn't that a little risky? I mean you said the president lets Hojo get away with everything. If Hojo finds out, doesn't that mean he could get you in a lot of trouble?" Zack asked.

"He won't," Tseng answered. "And even if he did, it is in the interests of Shinra that the Turks have this information, due to the fact that we have you in custody on Shinra's behalf."

"Besides, we have our ace in the hole, right?" Zack looked up and saw that Freya had come in time to switch out with Cissnei on the watch. She entered the room as Cissnei left.

Tseng ignored her, but instead turned to Rayleigh. "If you come with me, Doctor, I can get you the clearances you need to search."

Rayleigh nodded, and stood up, heading towards the door.

Zack stood up too at that point and turned his attention to the director of the Turks. "Hey, Tseng?"

Tseng faced him, his expression neutral.

"Have you seen Aerith recently?"

Rayleigh paused at the door, but Tseng waved her along indicating he would be with her in a minute. "As I said when you got here, she's well. We do still have her under surveillance after all."

"It's just…" Zack rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. "I came all this way to see her. After seeing all those letters… I wish I could have talked to her. I know that's probably something I can't do right now… and she stopped writing to me a year ago. I've just been thinking about her a lot… is all."

Tseng was quiet for a moment, and Zack suddenly felt really dumb. What was he doing? This wasn't Tseng, his Turk friend who he'd asked to look after his girl. This was the Director of the Turks, who had other priorities to think about, and was holding them prisoner, to boot. He shouldn't be gushing his sorrows to him. If anything, he should be trying to help Cloud get back to his old self so they could be plotting their escape together as soon as possible. To his surprise, even though the man's expression remained impassive, he answered, "I understand, Zack. I know this is hard."

"Is there any way you could… let her know I'm okay, and maybe deliver a letter to her for me, once I've written it?" he asked.

"We'll see," Tseng said, and with that, he left the room.

"So I guess Rayleigh just gave you her results, huh?" Freya asked.

Zack nodded as the door shut and he turned to check on Cloud before walking to the window, lost in thought. After a moment he looked back at Freya as he remembered something. "What did you mean, when you said the Turks had an ace in the hole?"

"Well, Hojo might get territorial about his research, but even he has no choice but to answer to the president," Freya said, taking the seat Rayleigh had vacated. "And we've got something dangling over President Shinra's head right now that prevents him from doing anything openly drastic."

"What's that?" Zack asked.

"The Vice President, his son, Rufus, was funding AVALANCHE under the table in a ploy to take over the company. We have him under house arrest at our headquarters in the Shinra Building. He was right down the hall from where Cissnei was ordered to put you until you woke up, in fact."

Zack blinked. Then he opened his mouth, closed it again, and finally opened it again to speak. "No way!"

Freya laughed. "But don't think for a second this is the only thing we're working on. We've got plenty of other concerns besides you to worry about that we might need him for."

"Like what?" Zack asked.

"Who knows? I might tell you one day."

Zack rubbed the back of his neck again, thinking. "Man, its complicated being a Turk, isn't it?"

Freya shot him a playful grin. "If only you knew."

* * *

><p><strong>September 30th [ ν ] – εуλ 0007<strong>

For Cloud, the last few days had passed in something of a blur. Sleep was a constant companion, and when sleep retreated he still spent much of his time barely able to string two ideas together into a coherent thought. There had been instances of clarity. He remembered the fight well enough. The point where Zack had fallen and he realized that they were both at the mercy of the Turks was a stark moment of terrifying reality in a vast ocean of dream-laden mists. There had been other things that had stood out of the fog too. Warm water… A game with a question he knew the answer to… Voices arguing… Being moved… More talking… Cold… Pain… He also remembered the sensation of Zack ruffling his hair when he'd woken up again, how surprised he'd been to find Zack was okay, and the water moistening his throat as Zack talked to him, and he'd heard Freya also talking nearby… Next had been a nightmare about Nibelheim, and then hot soup. It felt good to actually be able to eat. There had been something about being prisoners and mako poisoning in there too, somewhere… Zack had been trying to explain something to him… perhaps what was wrong with him. He knew something wasn't right…

There was an unfamiliar hand holding his left wrist, and at the sensation, his eyes opened fully. In a split second his gaze moved up to the hand's owner, and terror cut through his muddled thoughts like knife. He pulled his arm away as he thrust himself in the opposite direction from the man. That was when he backed into the person behind him, who had apparently come up against the side of the bed to stop him from falling. A strong hand caught his shoulder preventing him from struggling any further.

"Whoa, Cloud, it's okay. It's just Owen." He glanced up when he heard Zack's voice, and then looked back at the man with the white lab coat.

"Sorry if I startled you, Cloud," Owen said apologetically. "I just wanted to check your pulse and vital signs, all right?"

Cloud did not move. Something about this… he couldn't remember what or when, but something had happened before that at the very core of his being he did not want to happen again… "Stay away…" he whispered.

He felt Zack's hand tighten on his shoulder. "Believe me Cloud, I totally understand why you don't want him here, but he's not gonna hurt you, okay? He's been taking care of you for a while now." Cloud leaned against his friend as he tried to get his bearings, though he did not take his eyes off of Owen nor did he allow himself to relax. He and the doctor stared each other down for several seconds.

That was when a sharp stabbing pain suddenly assaulted the inside of his skull. He collapsed back into the sheets, curling in on himself and cradling his head in his hands. "Cloud! What's wrong?" That voice sounded far away. There were other voices too, one older and male, the other, young and female, but he didn't know what they were saying, he was too occupied with that aching throb…

Then it faded, almost like it had never been there. Slowly, he opened his eyes, looking around. "Cloud?" Why did he feel so disoriented? Only then did he realize someone was rolling him onto his back. He was too confused to resist. "Cloud, are you okay?" Odd… That voice… why couldn't he put a name to it? His vision cleared and he saw… three people he didn't know? That couldn't be right. There was a tall man with dark spiky hair to his right, and shorter one in a lab coat to his left. Another girl with long curly hair stood a ways off but he couldn't see her very well.

"Who are you…?"

The question was barely past his lips when the dark haired man on his right interrupted. "Come on, that's not funny. You know who I am… Don't you?"

"Do I…?"

Judging by the man's worried expression, he must have looked as confused as he felt. "Yeah, it's me, Zack!"

He shut his eyes as he tried to think, but couldn't seem to make any progress, which was a problem because the younger man calling himself Zack was acting awfully familiar with him. He'd put his hand on his shoulder like he was trying to comfort him but he felt so overwhelmed by everything he really didn't want to be touched. Why was it so hard to think? He pushed the man's hand away. That other man with the lab coat was a problem too. For whatever reason, just seeing him made Cloud feel ill. "Get away from me," he groaned, a little louder this time.

At that point, the man in the lab coat backed away, but as he did so he spoke. "All right. But at least tell me, are you in any pain? You were clutching your head a moment ago." Something had definitely hurt, but it didn't anymore, he was sure of that much. He just couldn't make sense of anything anymore.

"No… Leave…"

The man in the lab coat did not leave immediately. "Keep trying to talk to him. I'll be right back."

"What's going on?" the man called Zack asked.

"Normally, I would have thought it was delirium caused by the mako and that may still be the case, but it looked like he was having some kind of intense headache, though it seems to be gone. For now we just want to calm him down, all right? I'll be back in just a minute, there's something I need to get."

Cloud didn't let himself relax even after the man in the lab coat had exited from the room. "You really don't remember who I am." The man calling himself Zack seemed stunned. "Do you remember who you are at least?"

Cloud eyed him suspiciously, but thought about the question. He knew his name was Cloud though he had no idea what he was doing here… The man calling himself Zack seemed to take his silence to be as close to an affirmative as he was going to get. Either that, or he was used to silences.

"All right then. Listen here buddy, I don't know what's going on, but we just got you back, and I'll be damned if I lose you again, so if that means I have to remind you what's going on every time you open those bright blue eyes of yours, that's what I'm going to do." He looked like he was going to try reaching out to put a hand on his shoulder again, but on seeing Cloud flinch, he thought better of it. "So why don't we take it from the top. As I told you, I'm Zack. I'm your friend, and we're here because you've been very sick… otherwise, we'd probably be in a cell in the Shinra building… but anyway. We were in the Shinra military, and we met on a mission to this place called Modeoheim. We got to talking because we were both country boys, and, you know, us country boys gotta stick together…"

That was when it clicked back into place. Almost as though something had unlocked itself in his mind he distinctly remembered walking next to a SOLDIER 1st on a cold snowy mountain, and talking about reactors outside of Midgar. It had been such a brief lapse, but it had to be one of the most frightening feelings in the world. For a few terrifying moments, his friend had been erased from his memory, like he had never existed.

"Zack… I think I got it now…" He reached out and put a hand on Zack's arm to tell him he was okay. "Gongaga… right? So backwater…" He tried to laugh though it rang hollow. He was really getting tired of being tired but he could already feel the haze floating back to claim him again as the anxiety faded.

As Cloud slowly lost his hold on wakefulness, Zack grasped at the jibe as though it were a life preserver. "Ditto Nibelheim."

* * *

><p><strong>October 1st [ ν ] – εуλ 0007<strong>

SOLDIER 1st Class Kunsel frowned at the map he had hung up on the wall of the office he'd set up in his quarters. It was a situation that he had become used to but absolutely loathed. He lacked information that he badly desired. That was not anything new. Working on rumors was not the best way to chart someone's course across the planet. It left him making inaccurate assumptions, the best information he had was always out of date, and the worst part about it was the fact that for weeks and months at a time, it felt like he was in an information blackout. He had his resources, but even those had not led to a satisfactory result. It hadn't been the only thing Kunsel had been doing by a long shot. Even before the report of the two escaped samples from Nibelheim, he'd been biting at the bit to find a mission nearby so he could go investigate, but Shinra had denied him even that.

So now, here he was, worrying about a friend who may have died last week, for all he knew, and about a myriad of other little problems that he might have acquired trying to find the information. At first, when he'd heard about the Nibelheim escape, it had been a desire to find a way to make amends for the guilt he'd felt at not being able to do anything while his friend had been left to rot in some lab. Now, it had become an obsession. An obsession only made worse since Luxiere had disappeared. The 2nd Class soldier had been sent on a mission that was supposedly black ops, but Kunsel suspected it had something to do with rumors he'd heard of this Shinra project called Deepground. He'd looked into it in between looking for Zack, and that was why he had a feeling he was being watched. He didn't know when he'd bribed the wrong person, or where, but it made him worry that he might disappear too one of these days. It was this, more than anything that had given him the resolve to find Zack even more. And once he did, he would leave Shinra for good.

At least that was how it should have worked. He traced what he'd seen of Zack's trail along the pushpins he'd carefully stuck into the map. From Nibelheim, he'd managed to chart them through the areas around Cosmo Canyon, Gongaga (that had been a miracle in itself that he'd even found that old geezer who'd seen a man with a giant sword nearby), and Kalm (by way of some traveler at the Goblin Bar). He had absolutely no idea what had possessed Zack to take the long way around so that one guy had spotted him headed towards Banora though. Never mind how he had found a ship to get him to the Mideel area where the ruins of the village was located or from there to the Eastern Continent for that matter.

Even so, the evidence spoke for itself. Zack was headed for Midgar. Then there was that rumor he'd heard from one of his trooper friends. Apparently, a large detachment had been sent out into the wastes to intercept two escaped samples. The mystery of it was that it appeared nothing had ever shown up for them to intercept. It gave Kunsel hope that Zack might still be out there somewhere, but on the other hand, it provided him no confirmation of anything.

Kunsel donned his helmet and sword, and walked to the door, thinking he'd go down to the slums and see if he could find anything new. He might check on Aerith too. He'd looked in on the girl on occasion, during the first year or so of Zack's absence, though not recently. It had probably been just a coincidence that a couple of mornings ago he'd found her out above plate selling her flowers, but it had put her back on his radar so he thought it might be nice to see how she was doing. For all he knew, maybe she had heard something.

* * *

><p>It was just as Dr. Rayleigh had feared. When she had gone to check out the Shinra archives a couple of days ago, Sephiroth's medical records had not been on file. She learned from the keeper of the archives that Hojo apparently kept his files separate in locked file cabinets in his office, for security reasons. Asking Hojo himself for the records did not strike her as a good idea, and so, at that point she had started weighing her other options. Tseng would have sent a team to Nibelheim already, but there had been a lot of AVALANCHE activity lately. Not to mention, they were having internal troubles at the moment. She sincerely wished things would quiet down soon, because she was hoping that Nibelheim might provide the pieces she did not yet have to this puzzle.<p>

She had considered asking Zack's permission to take bone marrow samples to explore further in the meantime. But given that he was paranoid enough already, and justifiably so, she was very reluctant to strain what little trust she had managed to gain from him, if she could call it trust. It was more like begrudging cooperation under duress.

Eventually, she had decided it might be better to wait on the details of the experiments and their relation to Sephiroth and instead focus on learning more about the S-cells. After isolating the various cells in both samples at a centrifuge in one of the smaller labs where Hojo was not known to spend as much time, she had prepared three petri dishes, one for each of the samples of separated cells from the two men, and the last with a control sample of Jenova cells from the SOLDIER stockpile. It had been a painstaking process, but she had discovered that they did basically what Jenova cells did, except at a higher rate and greater output. She had gone through a large number of amoebas and other microscopic organisms, testing the change rates after exposure with incredible results.

The problem was that like the Jenova cells, the S-cells seemed to act like a disease under normal conditions. If left unneutralized by a higher than normal Mako percentage, such as the one Cloud had currently, the S-cells could kill the test subject very quickly without prior exposure, such as what seemed to have happened with Zack and his previous exposure to Jenova cells. It wasn't a new phenomenon. There were vaccines based off of that premise after all.

Still, it painted a chilling picture. There were reasons normal SOLDIER recruits also needed sterling psychological profiles along with being physically healthy. Normal mako percentages among SOLDIERs were difficult to handle for the best of them upon first exposure. She had been given Cloud's SOLDIER application along with all the other information the Turks could find on him and Zack when Tseng had first approached her. Though Cloud's profile hadn't been anything the kid should be ashamed of (there were plenty of recruits who got passed over due to a lack of self-confidence), from what she could tell, the experience of going through what amounted to a SOLDIER enhancement process on steroids had mentally torn him apart from the inside out.

The memory of that young infantryman, only fourteen years old at the time, who had picked up a sword he barely knew how to use and run out of that train car to help Freya with those people from AVALANCHE, tore at her heartstrings. Owen had been sending her updates of course. It seemed Cloud's sense of time had remained confused. He was awake more and more, but he was still spending a lot of his waking hours in something of a daze, and occasionally, he'd forget where he was… or sometimes when he was. The episode Owen said he'd had, involving a stabbing headache and temporary memory loss had been especially worrisome, but Owen hadn't been able to ascertain the cause, even with the hospital's resources and Zack reluctantly allowing him to try.

It wasn't just Cloud they were worried about either. Even though he'd done his best to be strong about it for his friend's sake, Zack had been greatly distressed by the whole event and after everything else the two had been through…

Rayleigh did her best to put these thoughts aside as she continued her work. She only had this lab for another half an hour, and while she had done what she had come here to do, she wanted to make sure it was properly cleaned before anyone came in here. She was taking a big enough risk as it was, using the equipment here practically under Hojo's nose, but it couldn't be helped. Even if the SOLDIER infirmary had enough medical equipment to handle actually treating injured SOLDIERs, it wasn't a laboratory. Having properly cleaned her workspace, and sealed everything that could be a biohazard, she gathered up the folder containing her photos and notes, and the insulated lunch box with a fresh scoop of dry ice she was using to keep the samples from spoiling, and walked out the door.

She made her way down a secondary hall of the Science Department towards the main exit, hoping she wouldn't have to talk to anyone on the way out. She had as much right to be here as any one of them, but she didn't want to attract attention if she could help it. Luck was not with her today. Upon coming out on the main hallway, she accidentally brushed past one of Hojo's assistants as he was carrying a tray of surgical implements. While there was no accident, it had been a very near miss, and she paused, looking back at the young man to apologize.

She saw Hojo approaching from a distance, issuing some tirade about how they should both be more careful with his precious equipment, so she mumbled an apology and something about being in a hurry before exiting the Science Department and quickly walking to the elevator. She breathed slowly as she thought of how close that had been. When the elevator dinged open on her floor, she walked out resolutely, hoping nothing would come of that encounter.

It was not until she had returned to her office, that she realized a photo she had taken of one of the surgical scars on Cloud's back was missing. It was one in which the scar he had received from the Masamune was clearly visible…

* * *

><p>When Kunsel arrived in Sector 5, the usual smells of garbage and motor oil filled his nostrils. It wasn't an especially pleasant smell, but he'd been down here plenty of times hunting for information and was used to it. It didn't take him long to find the church, but when he arrived, he saw someone he wasn't expecting.<p>

Walking to the door, almost reverently, was Tseng, the current director of the Turks. Kunsel was aware that Zack had been friends of a sort with the man before his promotion, but even with that knowledge, seeing him here made Kunsel wary. What business could Tseng possibly have with Zack's old girlfriend after all? As the man entered the church, Kunsel crept to the side and peeked in through a cracked stained glass window.

Aerith was indeed there, wearing a pink button down dress and a red jacket. She stood in front of the flowers at the end of the aisle, waiting for Tseng to approach. "Well this is an unexpected surprise. What brings you here today Tseng? Are you going to try to convince me to come back to Shinra again? It won't work."

Tseng closed the gap between the door and the flower bed. "Actually no."

Aerith was surprised at first and then she had this odd look on her face as though she was assessing the Turk director. "You're worried about something." It was not a question.

"I can't hide anything from you can I?"

"As long as I've known you? Don't even think about it." Aerith grinned. "Now what seems to be the trouble?"

"I've come with some news, about Zack."

Aerith's eyes widened and Kunsel expected his had probably done the same thing. Then he saw a look on her face that was clearly one of sorrow and worry. "Where is he? Why did he never write me back?"

"He couldn't," Tseng answered.

"_Of course he couldn't!"_ Kunsel thought angrily, _"Not with Shinra leaving him to rot in a lab!"_

"And what about now?" Aerith asked.

"He asked me to tell you he was okay." Tseng spoke the phrase as though repeating it verbatim. "Although, if you wish to hear it from him directly, I can take you to him."

Aerith gave him a suspicious look as though judging his sincerity and then asked "Why would you do this without condition? Your job is to bring me back to Shinra, right?"

Tseng nodded. "That is true. But at the moment, there are other priorities that are taking precedence."

"Where is he?" Aerith asked.

"He's at a hospital in Sector 2, we can take the train if you don't trust me to take you by helicopter."

"I appreciate that," Aerith said. She reached down, gathered some more flowers to put in her basket and then followed Tseng out the door.

Kunsel stood there in dumb silence for a few moments. Zack was in a hospital? What was going on? Was he hurt? More importantly, why had it been Tseng who had brought Aerith the news? Did that mean he was under their protection? Or that he was their prisoner? Either way, this situation had just gotten a lot more complicated. With that thought, Kunsel quietly followed after the departing flower girl and her escort.

* * *

><p>Today had been a reprieve of sorts. Cloud seemed to remember where they were and what was going on, though his speech patterns were still halting and slow. At least he could sit up on his own now, and Zack had taken advantage of this to get him out of bed and sitting in a chair near the window. It had been a nice surprise to discover in transit from bed to chair that Cloud was actually helping him along rather than hanging limp like he used to. Though he was still pretty weak, he was definitely trying to take as much of the burden for himself as he could.<p>

Right now, Zack was sitting on his own bed, across from Cloud's chair, and for once, they were alone. Freya had gone off on some errand, and Zack figured Cissnei was with the others outside the room. It was nice to have at least a little privacy once in a while, though sitting in one place for so long made Zack restless. He decided to try putting that energy into something productive. Escape was not a current option, seeing as Cloud was still not in any condition to help, so he settled for attempting to write a letter.

Zack had never been all that great at writing letters. The problem being that he never knew what to put in them, and this particular kind of letter… he didn't know how to categorize it really, because he certainly wanted to get across to the girl to which he was writing that he still cared even though he had not been able to write her back for five years, but he had no idea how he could possibly explain to her on paper exactly why this was. Maybe there wasn't a good way to explain it.

Even so, this might be the only chance he got to contact her, assuming Tseng even allowed it. Resolutely, Zack began to write.

_Dear Aerith,_

_I hope you are doing well. I know it's been a really long time, and I'm sorry if I worried you. The truth is, I only just got your letters from Tseng a few days ago. I really wish I'd seen them long before now…_

Zack paused, thinking and then continued.

_I read every one of them and I'm happy to hear you've been doing so well with the flowers. Tseng says you're even going above-plate to sell them sometimes. I guess that means you're not afraid of the sky anymore, right? _

He chuckled at the memory of his girlfriend looking up at him with wide green eyes. He'd been a little hurt at the time when she'd suggested that SOLDIERs were scary too, but she must have gotten a little braver as she'd grown up.

"What's so funny, Zack?" He looked up and saw that Cloud was watching him.

"Just remembered something."

"Oh…" Cloud's voice trailed off as he looked back out the window, watching the activity on the street below in a quiet daze. It had been mostly clear today, even though they were stuck indoors and a beam of sunshine played across the floor, warming the room.

Zack went back to his sheet of paper.

_I think that's really great even if it meant I had to miss out on showing it to you myself._

_The truth is, even though I never was able to write you back, I never could stop thinking about you. There's so much I want to tell you, and I don't know where to even begin…_

He paused. It was true, he didn't know where to start. The fact that he'd spent so much time trying to get back to her, only to be captured by the Turks, when he was so close! It was so unfair. She was down in the Sector 5 slums right now; he could have gotten to her in less than an hour from here.

_I really wish I could talk to you face to face, but it seems I've gotten myself into a situation where I can't do that at the moment. Don't worry, I'm all right, and if I had my way, I'd be there right now, granting all twenty three of those little wishes…_

He heard the sound of a door opening beyond the confines of their room, and footsteps approaching. It was probably the Turks or Owen moving around in the main part of the annex, so he turned his attention back to the letter.

_I hope one day, I'll be able to make it up to you. I've had a wish of my own for a long time now, and I think it may be the same as yours if it's still what you want…_

That was when he heard the sound of their own door creaking open, and to his surprise and shock, he found himself looking across the room at the girl he had traveled so far see. He folded the sheet of paper, and stood, noticing that Tseng was behind her. What was going on?

He looked at her face. Her beautiful green eyes were looking back at him, taking in every little detail just as he was. She must have gotten a new dress. He didn't recognize this pink one she was wearing, but even so, the old ribbon he'd bought her was still tied in her hair. After a moment, he let out in a breath "Aerith? What are you doing here?"

She smiled. "I came to see you, silly. Tseng brought me here." At that moment, Tseng's PHS started ringing and he walked a ways away to answer it. Tanjuu, who was on guard outside, shut the door.

Zack looked at her, completely dumbfounded, until he found his courage again and approached her, slowly, as though not sure what her reaction would be. But Aerith took the initiative at that point and she too approached. "Where have you been?" she demanded, and he noticed that she had tears in her eyes.

Zack's mind raced as he felt his own eyes began to water, but he couldn't come up with a way that would answer her in the time he had taken her in his arms. He just held her, not quite sure he believed she was really here and that it wasn't some illusion. They stayed like that for a while, before suddenly, another voice entered their awareness.

"Zack... is this the girl?… the one you brought us to Midgar for?"

Zack laughed. For a moment, he'd actually forgotten Cloud was in the room, and he looked back to see his friend watching them. He may have had mako poisoning, but Zack could tell that wasn't preventing him from feeling awkward about the situation.

"Oh, sorry. Yeah, this is Aerith. Aerith, this is Cloud. He's a friend of mine."

Aerith nodded politely. "Hello Cloud, it's nice to meet you."

"…Likewise," Cloud answered, offering a small smile. "Zack talked about you a lot."

"You remember that?" Zack asked him.

Cloud frowned, thinking. "I know you… talked about it… that was why we were coming here… right?"

Zack sat back down on his bed, surprised at this revelation. Maybe his friend had been more aware on the trip here than he'd thought. All the better.

After a moment, Aerith placed her flower basket by the foot of the bed, and walked over to him. "You came here for me? But where have you been all this time? Why did you never write back to me?"

"It's a long story, but the end result, as you've seen is that we're technically under arrest right now."

Aerith smoothed her skirt as she seated herself next to him. "And?" Clearly that was not sufficient.

"Well, do you remember when you called my PHS that last time and I told you I'd come visit?"

"Yes."

"Shortly after that, things went bad… Really bad. Sephiroth… the General went crazy, and Cloud and I, we had to stop him." He looked over at Cloud to see what his reaction would be, and on one level he was relieved to see the recognition in his expression, but on a different level he felt really guilty for having to remind his friend of two of the worst things that had ever happened to him. He could tell Cloud looked very uncomfortable about what he knew was coming, but it looked like he had resigned himself to it.

"He burned Nibelheim to ashes, and nearly killed everyone before going after this thing he called Jenova that was being stored at the mako reactor. He was obsessed with it, calling it an Ancient and convinced it was his mother." Zack shivered at the thought before continuing. "We managed to stop him eventually, though we were both really hurt. After that, we ran afoul of Professor Hojo."

"You never… mentioned that…" Cloud said.

"Well, you were upset about Nibelheim when we talked about it," Zack admitted apologetically. "And I didn't want to stress you out. Do you remember any more?"

"Not really… so there was more to it?" he asked.

"What are you saying?" Aerith's voice was soft as she asked the question, and for the first time, she sounded afraid. He couldn't be sure if he'd caught a spark of recognition in Aerith's expression as he mentioned the professor, but he could already see the concern in those bright green eyes, and it made him wish from the bottom of his heart that he could tell her it was all some joke. He looked to his friend again and saw that Cloud was listening with rapt attention, and the way he was gripping the arm of his chair told Zack exactly what he suspected. He wanted the truth as much as Aerith did.

Zack took a deep breath and plunged onward. "I don't get what he was trying to do with the experiments, but the problem was, he was using us as test subjects."

Aerith put a hand over her mouth as her expression changed from scared to horrified. Zack looked away from her, as he got the feeling if he kept looking her way, he might not be able to keep going. Cloud's expression had not changed.

"It was pretty bad. We managed to escape but it took us four years. We weren't in great shape by that point. I was able to fight still, but Cloud had mako poisoning really bad. Anyway, we were on the run for about a year before we made it back to Midgar. But when we got here, the Turks were waiting for us."

"Well, I guess that explains why you couldn't write," Aerith said, and then after a moment, she gave him another hug, and Zack felt an even stronger twinge of guilt when he realized she looked on the verge of tears again. "If only I'd known."

"Hey," Zack looked back at her seriously. "You didn't do anything wrong. If anything, you gave me the strength to keep going. I should be thanking you."

"That's not the point," Aerith said. "You were gone for so long, I thought you'd forgotten about me or found someone else when all this time… they were hurting you."

Zack put an arm around Aerith, trying to be comforting. "It's all right," he said. "At least it's going to be."

He looked up at Cloud, trying to gauge his reaction to all of this. He didn't seem angry at the very least, but he did look very uncomfortable at having to watch Aerith's display.

"I don't know where we go from here, but we'll figure it out."

Aerith seemed to have calmed down a little bit. "You did make it back at least," she said.

"Exactly," Zack agreed, figuring it was time to move out of the dark. "So… How have you been?" he asked, probably trying too hard to change the subject. "This is hardly the place for catching up, but I saw in your last letter that the flowers were selling really well."

"Yes, they have." Aerith went to collect her basket, apparently having decided to just roll with this change in tack for now. "Actually I brought some with me."

She showed him the basket's contents and Zack selected one of the yellow flowers and held it in his hand, sniffing it. "I remember these." He grinned. "I still feel kinda bad that I fell on them when we first met."

"You fell… on her flowers?" Cloud asked curiously.

Zack warmed up to the topic now that his friend seemed to be showing interest in the conversation. "Yeah. See, she grows them in this church down in the Sector 5 slums. The first time I met her, it was kind of an accident. I fell through her roof."

Cloud stared at him. "…How did that happen?"

"Well, it was around the time Angeal left with Genesis. I was trying to talk some sense into him at the Mako Reactor above plate and he knocked me off a bridge. He wasn't quite himself then. But anyway… I fell for a while and then everything went black! But then, out of nowhere, I heard this voice… saying 'HelloOoo!'"

Aerith gave him a playful push. "I don't sound like that."

"Hey," Zack said. "I thought I did you justice!" He grinned. "Anyway, when I woke up, there was this beautiful angel looking down on me, so I asked her if I was in heaven."

At that point, Cloud and Aerith both chuckled, and he joined them after a bit. It felt good. Especially since it seemed the Turks had the good graces not to intrude. He didn't know if they had some way of listening to the goings on in here, but Zack didn't intend on bringing voice to any of his plans for escape, nor did he particularly want to go back to exploring his memories of Hojo's lab. Instead, he kept the conversation to happier things. Time flew as they talked, telling Cloud stories about their adventures in the slums. It was about an hour later when Freya walked in.

"Well, long time, no see Aerith, I didn't realize Zack's girlfriend was you."

"You know Aerith?" Zack raised an eyebrow.

"We've met. She ran afoul of AVALANCHE when I happened to be near her house a while back."

"She what?"

Aerith giggled when she saw the look on his face. "It was okay, she chased them off. Actually, she fell in my flowers too."

"It wasn't the most graceful entrance. Shears, one of their leaders, he chased me up into the rafters and knocked me off." Freya grimaced at the memory. "It hurt, but at least the flowers broke my fall."

"Does everyone… fall in your flowers?" Cloud asked, another small smile playing at his lips.

"Well, you haven't yet, so I guess we haven't determined that for sure," Aerith quipped back. Zack laughed, though he made a mental note to ask Aerith about what she'd been doing that would result in an encounter with terrorists at a later time.

"Speaking of flowers, Freya, would there happen to be a vase here, so I could leave some for them?" Aerith gestured to the two men.

"Why don't you ask Owen? His office is the door immediately to the right after you leave this room."

Aerith nodded and walked out the door. Upon her departure, Zack regarded Freya suspiciously. "Why did Tseng do this for me?" he asked.

"Do what?" Freya said evasively.

"Bring Aerith here. I know the Turks watch her. I know what she is, and I know Tseng. He wouldn't just go out and do something like this just because it's a nice thing to do."

Freya shrugged. "Sometimes I don't understand him either. But it seems to me, that he decided it would be in Shinra's best interest."

"How so?" Zack asked.

Freya folded her arms in front of her and shook her head. "You may be a nice guy, but even if I did know, I can't be telling you ALL our secrets."

Zack gave her a fake pout before Aerith returned with a pitcher in hand. She walked to the bathroom to fill it with water. Once she was done with that, she carefully placed a decent arrangement of her flowers in it before putting it on the night stand next to Cloud's bed.

"That ought to brighten the room up a little." Aerith admired her handiwork, nudging one flower over a little bit when she noticed a spot in the bouquet that was a little spare.

"They look… very nice," Cloud said.

Aerith beamed. "Thank you."

They talked for a little longer before Aerith decided it was time to go. Cloud was starting to get tired anyway, so Zack reluctantly agreed. At that point Freya stood and got Aerith's attention. "Tseng instructed me to walk you to the church when you were ready, however he says you have clearance to come back if you wish."

"Really?" Zack asked, and Aerith seemed a little surprised too.

"Yes. As long as it's during the hospital's normal visiting hours," Freya said.

"That's great." Zack grinned and then his expression became serious. "Um… do you think we could have a little privacy while we say our goodbyes?"

Freya nodded and walked to the door. After it shut Zack looked at Aerith, and then over at Cloud. He had a feeling his friend had looked back out the window right then because he didn't want to intrude on them and that was the most privacy he could offer.

"So when'll you come back to see us?" Zack asked.

"I'll come in a couple of days," Aerith said.

"Okay," he answered her.

Aerith put her arms around him. "I'm really glad you're back."

"Yeah, me too." In a moment of inspiration, he leaned down and pecked a short kiss on her cheek as he returned the hug. "Be careful out there." His voice went to a whisper, which he hoped was low enough not even a hidden microphone could pick it up. "And we'll join you soon. Once Cloud gets better, we're busting out of here and then we'll go somewhere not even the Turks can find us."

Aerith gave him a mischievous look before whispering back "Tseng won't take kindly to that, you know."

"Well, he'll just have to deal with it, won't he."

"I guess so." Aerith pulled him tighter into the hug before letting him go. She then walked over to Cloud and tapped him on the shoulder to let him know they were done. When he looked up at her she offered him one last smile. "I've got to go now Cloud, but I'll be back to visit soon, all right?"

He nodded. "Thanks. It was nice… meeting you."

She went to reclaim her basket and after stealing a moment to give Zack a small wave, she was gone.

* * *

><p>Tseng was on his way out of the hospital after leaving Aerith at the annex. He needed to get back soon. There had been a call from Reno giving a status report. Apparently while he'd been out, Scarlet had discreetly sent out some troopers to search for their hidden exit again. It couldn't be helped, not with this issue with Veld's daughter. Even if the President didn't know it, if the Turks couldn't find the last support materia first, before AVALANCHE did, and neutralize the threat from Fuhito, there might not be a Shinra left.<p>

Tseng had assured himself that he was still acting in the company's best interest by helping Veld, but it was becoming harder and harder to use the Turks on this particular plan of action when Shinra itself was increasingly convinced the Turks were in rebellion over the former director. All that stood between them and Turk Headquarters getting stormed openly was the fact that they had Rufus and the fact that the President didn't want the truth going public. If this continued, he feared even that might not be enough. The president had been hindering them by proxy through Scarlet until now, but that could change at the drop of a hat. It was one of the reasons he had decided to hold Zack at the Turk annex with Cloud. It would have been easier to keep him at headquarters, but in their current situation, it was far too risky. It would have increased the chances that he might be removed from their custody and possibly returned to Hojo, when he and Cloud both stood as chips in a game Tseng desperately needed to win.

Tseng had suspected before now that Hojo's goals were not the same as the company's. He had almost been talked into leaving Shinra for AVALANCHE at one point after all. Tseng had not been sure if he was acting out of self-interest, or if he was just crazy, but Rayleigh had given more weight to his suspicions on the latter point, when she'd given her report after examining the two men. The search for a new SOLDIER enhancement process he could understand, but the way it had been carried out did not seem beneficial in any way.

A strain of Jenova cells that was so potent it required incapacitating mako percentages to control was not conducive to making better SOLDIERs, and more than anything seemed like a disaster waiting to happen. Further, it sounded as though Hojo had gone out of his way to make the necessary procedures for his research as painful as possible, like he'd enjoyed it. Hojo had offered a lot to the company over the years. He'd given them Sephiroth, had been instrumental in the SOLDIER program's early stages, and had made groundbreaking progress on locating the Promised Land, but as things stood, Tseng hardly felt this line of experimentation set a desirable trend for the company. Even so, it could lead to a new beginning, thus he'd brought Aerith to Zack.

It was not for him, or for their friendship even, though the added benefit to both was not undesirable. Tseng thought that maybe, once this mess was over, getting enough evidence to get rid of Hojo and mending some fences with the Ancient might be the ticket to getting her back for Shinra willingly, and getting the Turks out of the hot seat over Veld. It was a gamble and, if he wasn't careful, could easily go very wrong, but if he could place the blame for Zack's troubles on Hojo in Aerith's mind, find a way to expose Hojo for the quack he was to Shinra, and then use Aerith as a trump card along with Rufus, maybe this whole nightmare might end. Those were the cards he had to play. He would use them to the best of his ability.

Now if they could find that last support materia before Fuhito did, maybe they could save the company, and the city before something really disastrous happened. That was when he got the call from Rude. Apparently Rufus had sent him some information that he'd gleaned through the Shinra network (the president had absolutely refused to revoke his security clearances for some crazy reason), and it seemed there had been AVALANCHE sightings in the desert below the Gold Saucer. That needed to be investigated immediately. Once Rude was finished, he dialed a different number on his PHS and let it ring. The person he called picked up and he heard a light female voice on the other end.

"_Tseng?"_

"Valerie, I have a mission for you in Corel Prison. I will need you to leave as soon as you are ready. You'll get the mission briefing as soon as I get back to headquarters, and Rude will provide you with the necessary equipment."

The woman on the other end didn't hesitate to answer. "_Will do, I'll be on my way in two shakes._"

Tseng hung up and began the walk back towards the Shinra building, taking a discreet route that would lead him to the secret entrance to headquarters. There was still a lot of work to do.


	4. Shinra's Internal War Escalates

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spinoffs. That honor goes to Square-Enix.

Dr. Owen is an original character.

Finally, a special note of appreciation is in order for HCloudXIII over on Youtube and Dark Angel from the website, Gunshot Romance. Without their phenomenal efforts to translate the Before Crisis game text and make the gameplay at least viewable to the English speaking world, I would have been so lost.

Now, when we last left our heroes...

**Part I: Crossfire**

* * *

><p>Chapter 4, Shinra's Internal War Escalates<p>

**October 1st [ ν ] – εуλ 0007**

Kunsel had been waiting for quite some time, when he noticed Aerith exit the hospital. He'd seen Tseng leave a while ago and Aerith was now being escorted by a tall woman with copper colored hair. Another Turk, by the look of it. It wasn't all that late in the afternoon, so he discreetly followed them to the train station, and once they embarked, he got into a different train car. The train they were on definitely went back to Sector 5, so he didn't think Aerith was in any danger. No, he had only stayed this long because he had found a lead on Zack, and he really wanted to ask Aerith what was going on, but he didn't know if he could with the Turks around. He was on thin ice as it was, and if the rumblings he'd heard from his friends in the regular army were true, and the company was having internal troubles with the Turks, then this whole situation was a powder keg that could blow up in his face if he wasn't careful. He had no business getting involved in Shinra's company politics when he was about to leave… unless Zack really was being held by the Turks. At that point he might not have a choice.

He rode in silence as the train pulled into the Sector 5 train station and attempted to fade into the throng as the passengers disembarked while keeping an eye out for Aerith's bright pink hair ribbon among the small sea of heads. As the crowds dispersed he nonchalantly walked at a steady pace, and pretended to be observing the scenery. The lady Turk stopped in front of the Church and saw Aerith inside before turning around and walking back the way she had come. They passed each other on the street and Kunsel made a point to walk a ways past the Church before circling back around. After he was sure no one had seen him return, he slipped inside.

Aerith had gone back to tending her flowers as though nothing had happened, but she looked up when she heard the church door and saw the SOLDIER standing at the opposite end of the aisle. She regarded him suspiciously before he took off his helmet, revealing a head of dust brown hair and glowing hazel eyes. He had done so the first time he'd walked in here five years ago, since she'd seemed intimidated by it. When she recognized him, she visibly relaxed.

"Big day for surprise visitors," she commented. "I haven't seen you for a while."

He walked down the aisle, stopping a few feet away from where she tended to the delicate blooms. "I've been busy," he replied honestly, and then continued. "I spotted Tseng near here earlier today and I saw him lead you off. Is everything all right?"

Aerith nodded. "Everything's fine…" She seemed to be debating how much more to say.

"Is it true what he said about Zack?" Kunsel asked impatiently.

Aerith looked startled so he decided to clarify. "I… guess I kind of eavesdropped too… sorry… I saw him come in here and I thought maybe he might know something. The thing is, I never stopped trying to find Zack, you know? I thought he was in trouble and I wanted to help, and that was the only solid lead I'd had in weeks."

Aerith gave him a smile at that. "He does have a knack for getting into trouble, doesn't he."

Kunsel nodded. "You should have seen him in cadet training. I could tell you some stories."

"Oh, I bet you could." Kunsel looked around for the new voice and cursed. The lady Turk stood in the rafters, aiming her shotgun right at him.

"I guess I wasn't as careful as I thought, huh?" Kunsel said, making it clear he wasn't going to move.

"No, actually you did pretty well," the Turk said. "I just happened to spot you getting on the train from Sector 2 and got suspicious."

"It's all right Freya," Aerith assured her. "He's a friend of Zack's."

The Turk backed away in the rafters and then disappeared briefly before reappearing on the ground floor behind the flowers. She had not lowered her weapon.

"Tell me. Is he all right?" Kunsel demanded.

Freya walked over to where they stood but didn't answer him.

Aerith spoke up at that point, clearly not wanting any fighting to take place in her church. "He's fine. Tseng took me to see him today, though I'm not sure why he did that."

"I wasn't entirely clear on that myself," Freya admitted. She looked Kunsel over appraisingly. "You've got some skill, I'll give you that. I was almost convinced you weren't following us."

"Well, 'almost' doesn't count," Kunsel replied, sitting down on one of the pews now that it didn't look like Freya was going to shoot him. "So what now? Are you going to arrest me too? Send me off to the labs like you did to Zack? Or are you guys too busy to worry about the fact that I've been snooping around?"

"How did you know about that?" Freya asked.

"It was easy," Kunsel growled. "The report was that there were two escaped specimens from Nibelheim. That was where Zack was reported dead. I don't know what happened there, but two SOLDIER 1sts don't just die without something serious going down."

At the mention of Nibelheim, he noted that Freya was gripping her shotgun very hard. Her knuckles were white, even though the calm expression on her face had not changed. After a while, she seemed to come to a decision. "Well, your knowing won't change anything now." Without another word, she walked to the door of the Church and was gone.

"I'm planning to go back and visit him in a couple of days," Aerith said after she'd gone. "If you'd like, I'll ask if you can come in with me."

"I've got nothing to lose at this point," Kunsel remarked, a frown knitting his brow. "Just what by the Planet is going on? I was so sure I was in for a fight."

Aerith walked over to her flowers and resumed the job of tending to them from which she had left off. "I don't know. It sounds like Shinra may not be completely aware of what's going on with the Turks right now. In that case, it may be better not to say anything to anyone else."

"Don't worry about that. I'm not going to tell anyone," he promised. "But if Zack needs my help, all he has to do is ask."

Aerith smiled. "I'm sure he'll be happy to hear you say that."

Kunsel stood up at that point and started moving towards the exit, since it looked like Aerith was busy with her flowers. At about halfway down the aisle, he stopped and turned back to look at her. "Before I forget, what time are you planning to go see him?"

"I was planning to leave around 3:00," Aerith answered.

"I'll be here," Kunsel affirmed, and then walked resolutely out the door, reaffixing his helmet as he went. As he made his way back to Shinra, he found himself thinking that maybe it would have been better if he'd come down to the slums in a disguise.

* * *

><p><strong>October 2nd [ ν ] – εуλ 0007<strong>

Two figures fought their way out of a passing sandstorm in the Corel Desert as they attempted to get closer to the AVALANCHE encampment. One of the women wore a dark suit and carried a set of throwing knives, and the other wore rugged clothes, sporting glasses, red hair, and an artificial arm. It was around midday, and Valerie was hoping she'd be able to at least get a report on AVALANCHE's movements before she reported in to Tseng. In spite of the distraction of having had to save her companion from dehydration earlier that morning, her current mission had been accomplished. The support materia sat in her pocket, waiting to be delivered to Tseng when the retrieval helicopter arrived.

"It's just a little longer," she called back to her companion, who had yet to give her name. "Then we'll get out of here."

The other woman said nothing, and instead continued on sullenly behind her. The trek would have continued in that fashion except at that moment, they crested over a hill and found themselves face to face with a whole squad of Ravens.

The AVALANCHE SOLDIER at the front of the pack cackled madly upon seeing them.

"Well, this is a problem," Valerie commented, pulling out her knives.

At that point her companion caught up with her. "They don't seem to like you all that much, do they?" she asked.

"It's nothing personal," Valerie answered. "I'm just doing my job."

"Then you know." To Valerie's surprise, she suddenly felt the barrel of a handgun at her back.

"Know what? And point that thing somewhere else, these guys aren't going to wait until we're done," Valerie hissed.

"You know that the Turks hurt me too."

"You have some nerve pulling a stunt like this in this situation, are you crazy?" The Ravens were getting closer and Valerie really didn't have time for this.

"My name is Shalua, and there's no way I can forget what you bastards did."

"What are you talking about?" the Turk demanded.

"You took my sister away in the dead of night because you said she was a good candidate for SOLDIER. So tell me, Turk, where do you take your SOLDIER recruits? I don't care if those guys over there do mess you up, you're going to tell me, now! Where is my sister?"

"I don't know!" Valerie exclaimed angrily.

At that point one of the Ravens lunged. Their time was up, and Valerie dodged as she struck him with a well placed knife.

"Stop!" Shalua called out, as if they would listen. "I'm not a Turk, I'm AVALANCHE like you!"

As Valerie expected, the Ravens just continued to giggle with insanity. As they closed in she spoke again. "So you were part of AVALANCHE."

Shalua nodded. "I only joined because I thought they could help me."

"Ah, well, these guys may be AVALANCHE, but they aren't gonna listen to you. They all belong to Fuhito now."

At that point, all talk ended as the Ravens swarmed in and the two women became immersed in the task of fighting them. Knives flew through the air and gunshots peppered the sand for several seconds. Unfortunately, there were far too many. After a while they were completely surrounded.

"We can't fight them all off like this!" Shalua exclaimed.

"It's gonna be tough," Valerie agreed. But as she was about to dive back into the fray with her last few knives, she spotted two newcomers on the scene. A man with a scarred face, wearing a grey business suit, and another man with brown hair in a white AVALANCHE uniform, and wearing a bandanna with camouflage colors over his brow. The next thing Valerie knew, there was a huge flash of light, and then all the remaining Ravens collapsed. She grinned as she called out to the man in the suit. "Director Veld?"

Shalua clearly knew the other man for she called his name too. "Shears?"

Shears approached. "It's been a while Shalua. Are you all right?"

The woman nodded. "I'm fine. Those underground doctors earned their reputation."

"I can hardly believe it. It's like you never got those wounds." Shears gave her an appraising look and then reached out a hand to take hers. "Come on, let's go."

"Why are you helping the Turks?" Shalua demanded.

"There are reasons."

Shears looked like he was about to say more but Veld interrupted. "Shears, it's too dangerous out here, explain to her later. I'll be the rear guard."

Shears nodded, and with that, he and Shalua headed towards the dunes. Before they were over them however, Shalua looked back at the Turk and the ex-Turk disdainfully. "It may not have been you specifically, but I still haven't forgiven what you did," she said. Then she was gone.

The Turk and the ex-director looked at each other and Valerie asked "Don't you want to know what that was about?"

Veld shrugged. Unfortunately, neither of them realized that there was a whole horde of machines being led over the next line of dunes by Shinra's head of Weapons Development.

* * *

><p>Tseng was in a helicopter flying towards Corel as fast as he could go. He knew he would probably be too late. By the time Rufus had told him that he'd found out what Scarlet was planning through his perusal of the security network feeds, she was already marching her small army towards Corel Prison, and they already knew Veld was there. But he still had to try.<p>

He scanned the ground below for any signs of life, hoping against hope that he hadn't lost anyone to his own company today. The desert stretched on for miles, bobbing up and down like huge sandy waves on an endless ocean. It was mid-afternoon so the sun was still high in the sky when he saw the Gold Saucer off in the distance, and he focused on the ground hundreds of feet below him with even more intensity.

Half an hour passed, and then the other half, and then finally, at the end of another, he spotted a figure lying in the sand off in the distance. He quickly slowed down his aircraft and after finding an appropriate spot to land nearby, brought the chopper in for a touchdown.

It was one of the rare times Tseng ever felt the need to run. He raced over the adjacent dune and slid down its crest until he stood by the fallen figure and swore. Valerie lay there bleeding and bruised. He could see a couple of fresh bullet holes in her suit.

"I was too late," he muttered disdainfully as he knelt by her side, checking her for any signs of life. "Valerie, are you with me?" he demanded.

"Tseng…" The injured Turk looked up at him. "I'm sorry… the Director… Veld's been…"

* * *

><p>It had been a quiet day at the annex relatively speaking. Cloud had slept through a large part of it, though after dinner, Zack had once again helped him out of bed to sit in the chair by the window. Already, he could tell that Cloud was getting his own strength back. He'd managed to eat a bit more than he had yesterday for one, and he'd stood on his own, briefly, before Zack helped him over to the chair. He hoped that if things continued this well, he might have him actually walking on his own a little by tomorrow. Cloud seemed to be looking forward to that prospect too, as he had unsteadily tried to take a step before Zack had to catch him to keep him upright. He hadn't said it in so many words, but Zack could tell that being in his current state frustrated Cloud greatly, when he was aware enough to comprehend it.<p>

Cissnei was in the room right now and he could hear Freya chatting with Mao outside, though it was too soft for him to make out any of the words. The ambiance was soon broken by the sound of the double doors to the annex swinging open and the relaxed chatting became rushed and serious tones.

The two men looked up towards the door, and Cissnei stood. After a moment, she walked to the door and opened it, flooding the more dimly lit room with a ray of brighter light from the main corridor of the annex. "What's going on?" she asked.

Zack distinctly heard Mao answer "Valerie was shot."

"What?" Cissnei asked.

Zack stood up and walked behind her. Mao and Tanjuu saw the action and lifted their dart guns, but he held his hands up to show he wasn't planning anything. Out in the main corridor, he caught a glimpse of Owen walking with a gurney carrying one of the other Turks he didn't know. The woman wasn't bleeding, but she still didn't look so good. Her skin was ashen and pale.

"She's still carrying a couple of bullets?" Owen was asking someone he couldn't see.

"I'm pretty sure. I used a Cure materia to stop the bleeding, but that was the best I could do." It was Tseng's voice.

Owen had moved out of Zack's line of sight again and he heard the sound of a door closing.

"What happened, Tseng?" Mao asked.

"Valerie was on a mission to retrieve the last support materia. She got it, but she also found Veld. Unfortunately, Scarlet found Veld too."

"Scarlet?" Zack was surprised. "Wait a second," he spoke loudly over Cissnei's figure in the doorway. "She's the director of Weapons Development. Why would she shoot a Turk?"

Tseng approached the group at the door. "I don't believe this is something that concerns you…" he was saying when suddenly his PHS went off. He answered it immediately. "Reno?"

Zack heard Reno as a quiet yet persistent murmur before Tseng walked down the corridor a ways and into another room. There was a noise that sounded like the chatter from a television and then he heard another door close. Zack frowned. "Is there something I'm missing here?"

The four Turks who had been assigned to guard their room; their prison, he reminded himself; looked at him and he could see the concern on each of their faces, but they didn't answer him.

A couple of minutes passed and then, without warning, each of the Turk's PHS's trilled. Freya and Cissnei, who had moved back into the room, checked theirs first.

"What?" Freya cried out in surprise as she saw the message played across the screen. "They can't do this!"

"They just did," Cissnei observed.

"But…" Freya's protests died on her lips as she suddenly looked up at the other two Turks. They too had gone for their PHS's. At that moment the sound of a door down the hall opened and Zack heard Tseng approaching again.

"Sir, what is the meaning of this?" Mao demanded.

Tseng walked to the door.

"What's going on Tseng?" Zack asked.

The director of the Turks looked around at his assembled subordinates and their prisoner standing in the door. "I'm calling a meeting, Reno will be patching us through to the other Turks waiting at headquarters." He looked to Zack. "This information is relevant to you also. You will be joining us."

Zack glanced back into the room. "Cloud too?" he asked.

"If he is coherent. It concerns him as well," Tseng agreed.

"All right. Hang on a second." He found himself rather glad now they'd gotten Cloud into some pajamas during the course of the last couple of days so at least he was wearing something decent.

"Zack?" Cloud asked as his friend walked over to where he sat. "What's going on?"

"We're going for a walk," Zack said. "It's not far though so just take it slow, all right?"

"Where are we going?" Cloud pulled himself up to a standing position, swaying a little bit and grabbing the back of the chair before Zack reached out to put an arm around him in order to keep him stable and provide extra support.

"Down the hall. I think we'll get some answers when we get there." The Turks made way wordlessly as Zack guided Cloud towards the door and out towards the conference room, letting him take most of the weight, but ready to lift more of him if he needed it. Zack couldn't help but be a little proud for him. He'd improved so much since first waking up. He was still poorly balanced and easily fatigued, but those issues probably wouldn't remain for too much longer. They soon made it down the hall and into the other room. Once there, Zack found that it contained a long table and a view screen, probably connected to a computer he couldn't see. He also found several chairs lining the side of the table opposite the screen, and so he picked one of the ones nearby and helped Cloud into it.

Freya took a seat next to Cloud while Zack took the chair on the other side. The other Turks filed in and sat down, while Tseng got on the phone with Reno again and started setting up the communication with Turk HQ.

At that point Cloud gave Zack a questioning look and Zack shrugged. He wanted to know what was going on just as much as Cloud did. Soon, the lights dimmed and the screen changed to a live feed of another conference room, in which Zack recognized Reno and Rude standing in the center of another group of Turks, none of which he knew aside from Lou and Rod.

"Did you see that, boss?" Reno asked.

"Yes, I did. We're officially on our own," Tseng said.

"They really did it," Freya said, the shock still not gone from her voice.

"Did what?" Zack demanded.

Tseng turned to him, and for once, Zack thought he looked tired. "The board of directors has disbanded the Turks."

For what felt like the hundredth time since he'd been here, Zack was dumbfounded. After spending a few moments trying to think of a good way to frame the thoughts racing through his head, he finally decided to suffice with a question. "What does that mean?"

"For us, absolutely nothing, our objectives haven't changed. For you, it means that we no longer have any reason to hold you. The two of you are no longer our prisoners," Tseng answered.

"Whoa, back up!" Zack exclaimed. "Just what is going on here? Sure I appreciate that we're not prisoners anymore, but could you explain to me why in the hell the Turks just got disbanded?"

"I'm willing to bet you aren't the only ones here who'd like to know," Freya observed.

"Start talking," Zack growled, and Cloud nodded in agreement.

"I can see you're as feisty as ever," Reno commented in the other conference room.

Tseng motioned for silence and then he walked to the center of the room, arms folded in front of him as he considered how he would begin.

"This is how things stand at the moment," he finally began. "Some time ago, our previous Director, Veld, left Shinra in search of his daughter, who we have identified as the AVALANCHE leader, Elfe." He paused for a moment and then went on. "Nobody leaves the Turks, and Veld's knowledge was dangerous to Shinra, so they ordered him to be taken out. However, there are complications." He pulled out a strange looking materia from his pocket.

"It seems that Elfe ran afoul of Hojo some time ago, after a disastrous attack on Kalm. The survivors including her and Veld were taken to Nibelheim and while Veld lost a hand, Elfe, or Felicia, as she was known at the time, had a summon materia implanted into her arm."

Zack shivered. Having personally been at the receiving end of Hojo's 'mercy', he could empathize with the girl.

"It seems that the current leader of AVALANCHE, Fuhito, is seeking to use the materia to summon a being called Zirconiaide. In order to do so he needs four of these support materia which will enable the Summon materia to gain enough power to activate." He held up the materia so that everyone could see it. "Unfortunately, because the summon materia is incomplete, it is currently draining away Elfe's life force and the only way to prevent it is to use the Summon. Veld seeks to control the summon to save her life while Fuhito seeks to use the Summon to destroy Shinra. If Fuhito succeeds, then Midgar will also be destroyed, and the planet will follow."

"That's pretty serious," Zack commented. "What does this have to do with you guys being disbanded?"

"Because Scarlet has captured Veld for the president. We are now at a stalemate. Even though Rufus is currently imprisoned in Turk Headquarters, the president apparently thinks that now he has enough leverage to outmaneuver us. All he seems to care about is that those who defy him are punished. In essence, we are in a situation where we are damned if we do, and damned if we don't."

"So what are you going to do then?" Zack asked.

"Finish the mission," Tseng intoned. "According to the feed from the board meeting Rufus just sent us, Veld is scheduled to be executed in three days. Our goals are simple, we intend to rescue him and stop Fuhito." Upon seeing the look of absolute disbelief on Zack's face, he added as an afterthought "No mission is impossible for the Turks."

"And where does that leave us?" Cloud asked.

"Well, you aren't our prisoners anymore…" Freya stopped, glancing at Tseng.

"We may have a use for you still," Tseng said.

There was murmuring among the other Turks.

"And what would that be?" Zack demanded. "You have a lot of nerve assuming we'll help you."

"Actually, since Shinra has cut us off, it makes this even easier to ask," Tseng answered. "AVALANCHE is probably going to be converging in the slums soon, as they will be searching for us and the materia we have in our possession. As a SOLDIER you would be perfectly equipped to aid in fighting them off should it come to that."

"In return for your assistance, we will allow you continued use of these facilities. This location was annexed by the Turks out of our own budget for discreet expenditures. It is also one of our safe houses. Corporal Strife is still recovering from Mako poisoning. It would be in your interest to have a place to hide, until he is sufficiently recuperated, especially since the army will be looking for both of you. We both have something to gain here."

"I can't say I'm too fond of the idea of helping Shinra again…" Zack began. "But on the other hand, I can't say I'd want Midgar, or the planet to get destroyed either. What happens after this though?"

Tseng gave him a wry smile. "We'll see."

That wasn't the answer Zack wanted to hear, but knowing how hard it was to get anything out of Tseng, he was surprised he'd even gotten this much. By his standards this was practically an information tsunami.

With that, the meeting continued as the Turks discussed their next move. Neither Zack or Cloud felt the need to add anything else at that point. It wasn't until the meeting ended and Zack helped Cloud back out the door, that he realized the Turks were no longer holding their dart guns at the ready in case he bolted, and Tanjuu and Mao had not resumed their posts in front of the door to their room. Tseng was being true to his word. As of this moment, he and Cloud were once again free men. The cynical side of his mind that had become more prevalent in recent years completely dashed that thought by asserting that in some ways, they still couldn't be more trapped.

* * *

><p>Zack breathed in Midgar's polluted night air as if it were the cleanest breezes wafting in from the ocean at Costa Del Sol. Tseng had left with Freya and Tanjuu some time ago to go back to headquarters. He didn't understand how that was a good idea, but he guessed that the fact the Turks had Rufus still offered them some protection until they abandoned HQ entirely, and apparently the regular military still had yet to find their secret entrance. Tseng had determined that he would evacuate everyone but Reno, Rude, and himself and then they would focus solely on using Shinra's data network to locate Veld. Or so he had said at the meeting.<p>

He took in the cityscape that lay out before him. He and Cloud were currently in an open observation deck that had been built on the roof of the hospital, and while their viewpoint had nothing on the giant skyscraper that stood at Midgar's center like the hub on a giant wheel, they still had a decent view of the city lights painting a mosaic against the green glowing backdrop of the Sector 2 reactor off in the distance. This was really getting messy, in ways that he had never anticipated in a million years.

"What now, Zack?" Cloud asked from behind him. He was sitting on a bench that was built into a low wall with a planter on the top to create the ambiance of a garden.

"I don't know. But I think we may have caught ourselves a lucky break at least." Zack walked back to Cloud and sank down next to him on the bench.

"So, you're going to help them?"

Zack grinned humorlessly. "I don't like it, but like I said, the world getting destroyed by a summon doesn't sound like a good thing. Shinra didn't exactly help us with those experiments, but there's a lot of people who are gonna get caught in the crossfire if we don't do something, including us. Rayleigh said you fought AVALANCHE before. You should know how little they care about collateral damage."

Cloud frowned. "Rayleigh… the name sounds familiar…"

"She said you'd met her before, something about a mission Freya was on," Zack supplied.

"Oh…" He thought about this new information for a little bit. "It sounds right… but it's not all that clear… did you talk to her, or something?"

"It's understandable if you don't remember when she came," Zack observed. "You were pretty out of it."

"She was here?" Cloud asked.

"Tseng brought her in to take a look at us." Zack admitted. "Said he wanted to find out what Hojo did. We didn't have much of a choice at the time. The Turks were ready to knock me out if I tried to fight them on it."

He noticed Cloud shiver next to him. "I really hate this," he heard him mumble.

Zack reached out and put hand on his shoulder. "You and me both."

Cloud seemed to be thinking for a moment and then he muttered a little more loudly. "It's almost like we were back at the lab again…"

"You remember?"

"No… not exactly. But it feels the same… if that makes sense."

"I can understand that, I think."

Having temporarily lost the thread of the conversation, they remained silent for a little while before they heard a door opening behind them and turned to see Freya and Tanjuu. It appeared they were working together to carry a large object.

"What brings you up here?" Zack asked.

"Since you aren't our prisoners anymore, we figured we ought to return some of your belongings," Freya said with some effort, before lowering the shrouded object to the ground, along with her partner. "Still, how do you lift this thing by yourself? It's so heavy!" She wiped the sweat from her brow as she took a step back so Zack could examine the items they had brought.

In a bag that Tanjuu had also dropped by the shroud, Zack recognized the materia he'd picked up over the course of their escape. It wasn't nearly as impressive a collection as he'd had before Nibelheim, but when you're on the run you take what you can get. Then he picked up the shrouded object and grinned. The cloth blew a few feet away as he held the Buster Sword aloft, and it seemed to glow from the ambient points of light in the distance. As the Turks backed away, he took a few practice swings with it, discovering that even after being separated from it for over a week, he was still able to wield it with practiced ease.

After watching him for a minute or two, the Turks started back the way they'd come. As they neared the door, Freya called over her shoulder "We'll see you two back inside."

Zack nodded in her direction before going back to practicing. It felt good to work his body in the rhythm of the familiar movements. He parried, sliced, thrust, and dodged against an invisible enemy for a while, allowing his thoughts to take him wherever they went. For whatever reason, they took him to the fight with Sephiroth at Nibelheim. He regarded it now with detachment. The pain of losing his friend to madness was still there of course, but it had been so long ago now. His memory of fighting the man in the bowels of the reactor, and seeing the utter loss of humanity in those slitted green eyes was haunting, but there was more to the memory than that.

Almost as though it had been tattooed into his mind, Zack could see the exact moment when as he lay on the stairs, Cloud had thrust the sword he now held in his hands into Sephiroth's back. He recalled marveling how the kid had even managed to lift the Buster Sword, not only once, but the second time too when he'd run at Sephiroth to finish the job. Then there had been that eerie stillness as Sephiroth had run him through with the Masamune, and the last thing he'd seen before everything had gone dark was Cloud falling down the stairs in front of him. Cloud had mumbled something about what had happened, later, when they'd been in the cell in Shinra Mansion in the short time between recovering from their wounds and their first introduction to Hojo's experiments, but now, it left him thinking.

He stopped practicing for a moment and looked over at his friend, evaluating him. Cloud looked back at him, as though curious over the attention. After a few moments, Zack balanced the Buster Sword on his shoulder, having come to a decision.

"Hey, Cloud."

"Yeah?"

"When you get better, do you want me to show you how to use a sword?"

Cloud looked surprised. "What brought this on?"

Zack gave him a serious look. "Well, I saw you, at the reactor, and I thought you did good, under the circumstances. Not to mention… now that…" He stopped himself, wondering how he wanted to word what he was about to say. Cloud hadn't questioned him about the experiments before but if what Rayleigh said was true, then he was as good as being SOLDIER now anyway. Teaching him how to use that capability could only be a good thing, in his opinion.

"What is it Zack?" Cloud asked him.

He breathed in and let it out slowly. It felt kind of off to be bringing bad news right after good, but he knew he'd have to tell Cloud sooner or later. Probably better that it was now, while he was lucid. "I… know you haven't looked in a mirror lately, and I haven't exactly pushed it since you haven't been yourself and I didn't want you freaking out… but… Hojo's experiments did more to you than just give you Mako poisoning."

Cloud didn't look surprised, but instead gave him a questioning look.

Zack continued. "Rayleigh said it looked like he'd been doing something with SOLDIER enhancements. Last I heard, she was still trying to figure out exactly what, but if that's true…"

Cloud sighed. "I should have guessed. Freya said she had mako poisoning once but her eyes don't glow nearly as bright as mine do." He held up his right hand, observing the blue glow reflecting off of it from his eyes.

"You're not… mad are you? That I didn't say anything?" Zack asked.

Cloud frowned at him. "I'm not happy about it, but it's not like there's anything I can do to change what happened." He paused, reflecting on recent events. "Is there anything else I should know?"

"Well, like I said, Rayleigh was still trying to figure out what was going on, but apparently it has something to do with these things called S-cells. I don't know what Hojo was doing, but apparently he tried it on me and it didn't work the way he wanted, so he started focusing on you. That's about as much as I know." Zack lowered the Buster so it rested on the concrete as he looked away, not wanting to meet his friend's eyes, or confront the pain he had unwittingly revisited, but if he kept running away, it wouldn't help either of them.

"It was pretty awful," He said simply. "Once Hojo decided he was done with me, up until we ended up in the mako tanks, he wouldn't leave you alone. Every day, you were fading a little more. You stopped talking, stopped eating, stopped… anything really… and… all I could do was watch. Afterward, when I broke us out of there, you were still pretty bad off. A couple of times along the way, I was afraid I might lose you for real. " He finally looked back at Cloud, and he noticed that his expression had changed, replaced now with sadness mired in confusion, as though he didn't know how to react. "I never wanted to keep it from you. But… I guess, I didn't want to think about it either… you know?"

Cloud regarded him for a moment. "I understand... I think…"

"Well, I'll try not to do that anymore," Zack promised. "The truth might not be pretty, but you of all people have a right to know."

He started gathering up his materia and other belongings as he felt a breeze blow across the roof. Cloud didn't look like he was getting cold yet, but he figured it might be time to go back in. At that point, he realized he'd probably have to make two trips since he wasn't wearing his sword harness right at the moment.

"Do you want to go in first or do you want me to come back for you?" he asked, although the real question, which remained unspoken, was more along the lines of "Do you want to be alone?"

"I'll be all right here." Cloud answered.

Zack nodded, and hefting his sword over his shoulder again, he walked to the door.

It felt a little odd, not just walking the hall alone, but to be walking it at all. Just this morning he hadn't even been allowed out into the annex. Still, he figured Cloud should be okay up there just for a couple of minutes. He'd been the center of attention for so much of the time that he'd been here, it was probably a relief for him, especially after that last part of the conversation, to have at least some time to himself. He wasn't willing to risk too much longer though. Cloud hadn't had any repeats of that strange incident with the headache, but on occasion he did still get confused, and Zack didn't want to risk someone not being close at hand for too long if that happened.

He walked purposefully along the corridor, the shroud back over his sword to camouflage its presence. He found some of the Turks still around, mostly near the bed at the far end of the corridor where Valerie was resting. Owen had apparently found all the bullets while they'd been in the meeting and had deemed them safe to remove but he wanted to wait until she'd recovered enough to be able to withstand the procedure, which he said would probably be the following morning. She had already needed a transfusion to prevent complications and didn't need the added trauma of surgery right now if it could be helped.

Cissnei saw him first. "Where's Cloud?" she asked.

"He wanted to stay out a little longer." Zack said nothing more before stowing his belongings in their room, and then turning around to head back.

He returned to the roof quickly. As he opened the door Cloud glanced back to see who it was.

"Okay, you ready to go in?"

"I guess."

Zack took up his usual position next to Cloud as he used the bench to pull himself up. They both knew he'd get tired long before they made it all the way back, but Zack didn't mind it if they stopped to rest along the way, and if he had to carry him a few more steps, it wasn't like he hadn't done that before. The days of not being able to stop due to being chased were behind them for the moment, and there was no need to hurry. They were almost to the door, when Cloud spoke again, half dreamily, like the daze he sometimes went into was starting to take hold again. "Hey Zack?"

"Yeah?"

"Did you really mean it, when you said you wanted to teach me how to use a sword?"

Zack grinned and it was a real one this time. "Of course I did. We'll start as soon as you're ready, and when I'm done, not even a 1st Class'll stand a chance against you."

The two shared a soft chuckle as they headed back towards the elevator.


	5. Meetings and Partings

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spinoffs. That honor goes to Square-Enix.

Dr. Owen is an original character.

A special note of appreciation is in order for HCloudXIII over on Youtube and Dark Angel from the website, Gunshot Romance for their efforts to translate the Before Crisis game text and make the gameplay at least viewable.

Now with that out of the way...

**Part I: Crossfire**

* * *

><p>Chapter 5, Meetings and Partings<p>

**October 3****rd**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0007**

"All right, we're almost there." It was sometime in the afternoon and Cloud had just reentered the room after having made it to the conference room unassisted. He'd had to lean against the wall a few times to rest, but Zack only had to catch him once. He and Freya simply stayed nearby, ready to step in again just in case, but it looked like this excursion had been a success. She'd been away a lot of the day but had come back in to see how they were doing.

Cloud looked from where he now stood at the door, to the open space that separated his current location from the one he was aiming for, and after a moment's hesitation, brought one foot forward and placed it firmly in front of him. Zack was resisting the urge to put his arm around him again as Cloud took another step, willing his limbs to hold him up. He was wobbling a little after the previous stint of physical exertion and the effort was clearly tiring him out but he was still trying his best to push his limits. He finally ended up reaching out and grabbing Zack's shoulder for support, before traversing the last few steps.

As he shifted his position to sit down, Cloud murmured "We made it."

"Yeah. That was great." Zack watched as Cloud transferred his weight to the chair and saw that he looked satisfied with the effort he'd made at improvement. "Maybe later today we can try it again, if you aren't too tired."

"Maybe…" Cloud agreed.

That was when it hit. Suddenly, Cloud dropped the rest of the way into the chair, and he curled in on himself, gripping his head in agony, gritting his teeth as he fought to keep himself from crying out. It only seemed to last a couple of seconds, but when it was over, Zack knelt in front of him, the enthusiasm gone to be replaced with seriousness and concern as he tried to look his friend in the eyes.

"Cloud, are you okay?"

"Am I…?" His voice had taken that halting cadence again.

"Is this what Cissnei told me about?" Freya stood next to Zack, trying not to crowd them, but staying close by if they needed her.

"Do you know who I am?" Zack asked, his tone broking no argument.

"Yeah… Zack… what…?"

"Do you know who you are?"

"Of course I do…"

"Do you know where we are?" Was his next question.

"We're… the Turks got us… but we're at a hospital… and we aren't prisoners… anymore." Cloud seemed certain, in spite of his slow response.

Zack let out a sigh of relief and his expression softened when he saw the concerned look on Cloud's face. "Sorry. The last time that happened, you got really confused, so I just wanted to make sure."

Cloud seemed to be breathing easier, but he hadn't changed his position otherwise.

"Should I go get Owen?" Freya suggested.

"I think… it's over…" Cloud said. The unspoken refusal was clear.

Zack could understand. While Cloud didn't seem to remember Hojo specifically, the apprehension and distrust were there, and possibly, unless Zack was mistaken, even more pronounced than his own initial unease. Zack had done his best to mediate during the doctor's visits, but Owen would probably never have his trust.

"We should at least let him know," Freya insisted. "I'll be right back."

Zack couldn't think of a good argument as she walked towards the door, even though there was probably very little Owen could do that they weren't already doing. Aside from the fact that memory lapses could happen during the event, and that it definitely hurt, there didn't seem to be any evidence left behind afterward as to what kind of event it could be. Shortly after the first time it had happened, Owen had gotten permission from Tseng after consulting with Rayleigh to take Cloud down to a bio scanner on one of the lower floors to check for abnormal brain activity and any other indicators as to what might have happened, but that had led to no definitive results.

As Freya left the room, Zack watched Cloud for a moment before asking a final time. "Are you okay?"

"I am now…" Cloud muttered, finally raising his head from his hands, and it looked like whatever pain he'd felt seemed to have disappeared as quickly as it had come.

Zack wasn't entirely sure, but he decided not to push it. It was bad enough that Owen would probably be coming in here in a little while if he didn't follow Freya back immediately to give his assessment on things. He didn't need to make that any more difficult than it would already be.

* * *

><p><strong>October 4<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0007, 3:00 PM**

When Kunsel reached Aerith's church, she was standing in front of the door, holding her basket, and had what appeared to be a staff slung over her shoulder. He didn't know she'd been training in combat, but he had to admit he was glad to see her with it. The slums could be dangerous, and it was good to know she could protect herself when Zack wasn't around. She waved at him cheerfully, and the two were soon on their way to the train station. They kept mainly to small talk until they'd bought their tickets and found seats on the train, and for a little longer they rode in silence.

Finally, as they neared the train station, Aerith spoke. "Nervous?" she asked, looking up at the SOLDIER who was still wearing his helmet.

"I haven't seen him in five years. Has he changed much?"

"Not really. He has someone with him though. I probably should have said something before."

"The report was for two samples, though they never specified who or what those samples were," Kunsel said uncomfortably. "Who's with him?" He adjusted the bag he was carrying. In it he had enough supplies to last him a couple of days. Just recently he'd gotten this feeling that he wouldn't be coming back to Shinra too many more times. After the alert came in that the Turks had been disbanded and should be arrested on sight, he wasn't about to be caught unprepared for anything, especially when he wasn't planning to be sticking around. He had talked to Aerith again upon hearing the news, but she apparently heard from Freya that Zack had not been moved either by the Turks or of his own volition so the only real change in plans was that the lady Turk had instructed her to come in from the back.

"A friend of his. They apparently knew each other before what happened, though I don't know if you know him."

"I might, what's his name?"

"Cloud."

"It sounds a little familiar, maybe Zack talked to me about him," Kunsel said.

"Well, he's been rather sick. I'll let Zack give you the details."

"I see." Kunsel felt the train slow down as it pulled into the station for Sector 2. It was not far from there to the hospital after they disembarked, though as instructed, upon seeing the front of the building they circled around towards the back. Aerith even managed to make a few sales from her basket along the way, smiling at customers as though nothing were wrong with the world. Kunsel couldn't help being cheered by it. Zack was a lucky guy, he reflected. He'd found someone else who even in the midst of so much wrong, could find something to smile about. They eventually found a driveway going back behind the building and turned down it. Once the space behind the building opened out they were surprised to find Zack waiting for them by a service door leading back inside. It was as though he'd stepped out of a memory, Kunsel reflected. Same happy grin, same SOLDIER uniform, same cross shaped scar and wild black hair.

"I thought you were being held prisoner," Kunsel said as they approached.

Zack shrugged. "Things change. At this point, we're all being hunted, so it doesn't matter who comes out to meet you. But wow, I never thought I'd see you again, Kunsel."

"Well maybe if you'd answered your PHS I might have been able to help you," he suggested, returning the grin in spite of being completely serious.

"I'm sure you can understand a guy not wanting to put his friends in danger if he can help it," Zack retorted.

"Yeah, well, this is the kind of situation where you ask for help. I don't know all the details, but I've heard enough to know something big's going on."

"No kidding..." Zack glanced around, and then said "How about we have this conversation inside, we don't want to attract attention."

"Of course." Aerith had hung back while the two friends talked, but now she approached and Zack put an arm around her affectionately before opening the door and showing them up the stairs. It wasn't long before they reached their desired floor, and they arrived at the annex soon after.

Zack pushed through the next set of doors before heading past an office with observation windows in which Kunsel could see a somewhat heavyset doctor in a white coat working at his desk. Kunsel noted as they went that aside from him, the place appeared empty. However, when they entered the next room down, he saw the Turk who had been at Aerith's church, and a younger man with spiky blonde hair. The two were sitting on either side of a folding table and appeared to be playing a game of checkers. What caught Kunsel by surprise was the fact that the man's eyes were glowing, like a SOLDIER's, though he knew he had never seen him at SOLDIER before.

Zack walked over to the pair and slipped behind the man to observe the game from over his shoulder "Who's winning?"

"It's hard to say," the woman admitted. "We haven't eliminated a lot of pieces yet."

Zack looked back at his other friends and beckoned for them to come inside. "Cloud, Freya, this is Kunsel, I knew him from SOLDIER, and I know you both remember Aerith."

Seeing that Zack's friend seemed a little unnerved by the helmet, Kunsel took it off and offered a warm grin. Cloud nodded politely but Freya laughed. "We've met," she said.

"That's some way of saying you were pointing a gun at me."

"What?" Zack looked between the two of them curiously.

"She caught me sneaking around Aerith's church a couple of days ago," Kunsel answered, somewhat embarrassed.

"Well you should have known better than to try outsmarting a Turk," Freya said, turning her attention back to the game, as Cloud took one of her pieces off the board. "You sure you wanted to do that?" she asked, her voice dripping with honey.

Cloud looked at her appraisingly as she planned her next move. "I think so," he said softly. It was the first time he'd spoken since Kunsel had entered the room.

Kunsel walked to the window, looking outside for a moment before taking in the rest of the room. The Buster Sword leaned against the wall near a bed he guessed had been set up for Zack, though it didn't look like he had too many other personal effects with him aside from a box with what looked like letters in it. The only other thing that looked out of place in the room, was a second SOLDIER uniform on the counter near the other bed. After looking at it, Kunsel saw that it was like a standard 1st Class uniform in every way, except the logo on the belt was slightly different. Something about it bothered him, like he'd seen it before… somewhere…

"Were you in SOLDIER?" He asked, thinking he might as well try to make small talk.

To his surprise, Cloud seemed taken aback. "No," he answered. "Infantry, actually."

"Oh." Apparently Cloud wasn't much of a talker. He didn't seem to care to elaborate.

Zack seemed to understand the unspoken question Kunsel was dying to ask, and no surprise. Those eyes would make anyone wonder. "He had Mako poisoning really bad for a while," he said. "He's doing a lot better though."

"You do look a lot better than last time," Aerith commented. "Like you've been eating more, maybe."

Cloud looked up at her. "Thanks… I think." Aerith laughed.

"He's walking a lot better too. I don't even need to help him around the room anymore," Zack said.

"That's wonderful." Aerith placed a gentle hand on Cloud's shoulder. "When you've got your strength back, maybe Zack can bring you to visit the church."

"Hey, that's a great idea," Zack said. "We'll go when this is over."

Cloud nodded in agreement. "I'd like that."

Kunsel decided to find somewhere to sit to watch the game. As Freya made her next move, he found an empty chair nearby. "Speaking of the current situation, do you think you'd care to explain it to me? For instance, how is it that the Turks captured you, and then just decided to let you go, yet you're still here? And that's disregarding the biggest question of all. What the hell did you do in Nibelheim? When I saw those reports about escaped samples I made the connection, but… Zack, why did they do that to you, of all people?"

Zack walked over to his bed and sat down, before finally answering. "I don't think it would have mattered if it was us or not. Rayleigh had some ideas, but she was still working on it last I heard…" He laughed. "Do you think we could answer those one at a time? I lost track of what you wanted me to start with."

Kunsel sighed. "A short summary is fine for now."

Zack rubbed the back of his neck, and then after a moment he sat up straight and nodded. "All right, this mess is a bit separate and we kind of got caught up in it, but for me and Cloud, as you guessed, our problems started in Nibelheim…"

The real surprise for Kunsel, as Zack related the story, was the fact that Sephiroth had gone crazy and that he really was believed dead, as opposed to Zack and Cloud whose continued existence had been covered up for Hojo's purposes. He could tell now was not the best time to ask Zack about said purposes, so he instead focused his questions and comments on the escape, and there were only a few things there, such as why Zack had been spotted near Banora when it was way out of the way from his apparent destination at the time, Midgar. The encounter with Genesis was touched on, though he didn't expand on it since it wasn't relevant to the current situation. The rest of it, up until the Turks had gotten involved, Kunsel had either confirmed for himself or at least guessed. That was when they got back on the subject of the current crisis.

After Freya had added in her insight on the political intrigues, which Zack had been somewhat vague about, Kunsel shook his head in disbelief. "I'm still a little surprised Shinra doesn't care that this is happening."

"Well, I'm sure they would, normally, except they're too busy shooting the messenger with this spat over Veld," Freya grumbled, the game long forgotten.

Kunsel ran a hand through his hair, not nearly as spiky as that belonging to either of the other men in the room, but still pretty wild, and considered the situation. "I thought internal politics at the company were crazy before, but that just goes beyond insanity."

"You're telling me," Zack agreed.

At that point, Freya's PHS buzzed. She stood up and walked out the door to answer it. After a few moments talking to whoever it was, she hurried back into the room. "There's a meeting with Shears at a place in Wall Market. Zack, they want you along too. We'll be discussing our strategy there. We'll need to leave now, I'm afraid."

Zack looked somewhat disappointed, and then after a moment, asked "What about Cloud?"

"We can stay," Aerith offered. "We'll keep him company for a bit."

Zack smiled gratefully. "I appreciate it."

"Owen's here too, in case he needs anything," Freya added. Zack walked over to where the Buster Sword was propped against the wall and after finding the magnetized sword harness, he attached it to the suspenders on his old SOLDIER uniform. After he was finished, with Buster Sword resting firmly on his back, he walked over to the others.

"I'm sorry to leave you guys," he said.

"We understand. You need to go be a hero," Kunsel teased before his expression became serious again. "I'd go with you, but I get the feeling you're trying not to attract attention, and someone's got to hold down the fort."

Zack looked down at Cloud. "Will you be all right?" he asked.

Cloud nodded, clearly trying to be reassuring, although at the same time, Kunsel noted that he sounded a little embarrassed by the concern. "I'll be fine."

"Glad to hear it. I'll be back soon, okay?" Zack looked to Kunsel and Aerith at that point. "Could you two come with me for a second?"

The two stood and followed him out of the room. "What's up?" Kunsel asked when they were out of earshot of the room.

"Here's the thing." Zack stopped and faced them, folding his arms as they paused halfway down the main corridor of the annex. "Cloud's doing a lot better than he was before, but every now and then, he sometimes gets confused."

"Because of the Mako poisoning?" Kunsel guessed.

"If anything happens… just talk to him, and remind him what's going on… okay?" The tone of his voice spoke more than the words ever could.

"We would have even if you didn't ask," Aerith assured him.

Zack rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. "I hate to put you on the spot like this…"

"It's cool. Go do what you have to do. We've got your back," Kunsel assured him.

"Don't worry," Aerith added. "We'll be fine."

"Thanks. We'll be back soon." Zack gave a short wave in farewell and then joined Freya outside the annex. Not long after, the two disappeared from sight.

* * *

><p><strong>October 4<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0007, 5:00 PM**

Dr. Rayleigh had not been able to quell the sense of unease she had picked up since losing that photo. She'd looked everywhere for it. She'd checked her office over several times, as well as the lab she had used in the Science Department, the floor in the main corridor and had even risked peeking into Hojo's personal laboratory while she knew he was out, to see if he'd picked it up. But there had been no sign of it. Aside from her searching, she had been keeping a very low profile. Especially once the Turks had been officially disbanded. She had gotten her report in to Tseng on her results before then, so she had fulfilled her responsibilities to them, but she could only hope her connection would not jeopardize her or anyone else. Another reason why she really needed that photo back.

She sighed as she packed up her belongings. It wasn't her turn on the night shift for the infirmary, so it was time to leave for the day. Since the encounter with Hojo, she had emptied her office of any trace of her records relating to Zack or Cloud, opting to keep them at her home from then on. Further, she had done everything she could to avoid going anywhere near the Science Department in the interim apart from her search for the photo. Going to her apartment near the Shinra building put even more space between her and the scientist, which she was perfectly happy about.

She walked the halls toward the elevator, reflecting on the tightrope she was now forced to tread. It wasn't just individual factions of the company she had to worry about anymore. If anyone looked too closely into her dealings with the Turks and found what she had been doing for them, she could very well find herself detained for questioning, or worse. Before Tseng had disappeared into the shadows, she could have at least counted on the Turks vouching for her, but now that they themselves were the enemy from Shinra's perspective, she had very little insurance of her safety anymore.

She pressed the button to call the elevator and waited patiently, noting a couple of her coworkers also approaching, apparently on their way home for the evening. As the double doors opened and she looked out on Midgar's sprawling metropolis through the tempered glass walls of the elevator, it reminded her how small she was in the grand scheme of things. It was a feeling she had never liked. It made her feel helpless. She stepped over the threshold, pressing the button for the ground floor as she went and spared a nod for one of the nurses she worked with before glancing back out at the city. She heard the doors shut behind her as the elevator slowly started to descend. The other man who had walked in with them was a technician she'd been with on a couple of SOLDIER enhancement teams, but he was apparently a lot more interested in flirting with the nurse, so she was largely left to her own thoughts as the two chattered away.

The glass cylinder delivered them ever lower, into the shadows cast by the setting sun as the bustle of the city's streets rose up to meet them. All too soon, it sank into the roof of the main foyer, and came to a halt on the ground floor. Adjusting her glasses, Rayleigh left the elevator with her coworkers and walked casually out of the main entrance to the Shinra building. She paused for a moment, breathing in the evening air before turning to her left, in order to walk to her apartment building.

* * *

><p>It did not take Zack and Freya long to get to the bar in Wall Market, even if they were moving stealthily to avoid any encounters with troopers. They couldn't use the trains, since Zack had no ID security would accept, and Freya's clearances had been revoked. However, her knowledge of the service elevators proved to be quite useful. Zack had to admit, they might have actually gotten there faster than the trains could have taken them, once one accounted for the number of stops on the rail line between Sector 2 and their destination. They made their way through the alleys, avoiding being in the open where possible until they found the entrance to the dive they were looking for.<p>

As they entered, they found the other renegade Turks near the bar, with the exception of Tseng, Reno, and Rude, who were nowhere to be seen. It was the standard sort of bar one might see in the slums, though it looked as though the owner kept it mostly tidy. There were a few photos on the walls, but aside from a couple of patrons on the far side of the room, the place was mostly empty outside those assembled for the meeting. There was one man in particular that Zack did notice, who unlike the dark suited Turks, sported the white uniform of an AVALANCHE leader, and a bandana with camouflage colors tied over his brow.

"Well, you must be Shears." Zack observed.

"SOLDIER?" Shears stood up and folded his arms. "What's he doing here?"

Freya narrowed her eyes at the ex-terrorist. "He's here to offer his assistance. We're all fugitives so what does it matter where we come from?"

"She's right," Tanjuu interjected. "We have things to do, so let's get this over with." Zack noted that the man looked unusually uncomfortable. Every now and then, he glanced at the door to the bar apprehensively, even more so than the other Turks, and he had positioned himself against a wall in a location where he could see everything in the room.

The other Turks murmured quietly among themselves for a while, making small talk as Freya walked over to the bar and took a seat on one of the stools. Zack followed, though he remained standing. Soon after, Mao and Cissnei approached them, also taking a position nearby. As they waited, Mao glanced around the room, and after a bit, he nodded to himself apparently deciding everyone was here. "All right, I guess we're ready to get started." He announced. It seemed that since he had the highest seniority after Reno and Rude, he was the de facto leader in Tseng's absence.

At that point all the Turks in the room looked up and the older Turk glanced around at his audience. "As of this moment, Tseng, Reno, and Rude, are still looking for Veld. The last update I had was that Shinra's security system keeps booting them out, but it seems they still haven't had any outside interference from the military so they're all right. Needless to say, once we've located Veld, chances are we will need to find transport to get him out of the city." The other Turks murmured their assent.

"The other problem we have to worry about is AVALANCHE. I did a sweep of the neighboring sectors on the way here, and while I've seen a couple of their operatives in the area, they've been mostly quiet. It does tell me, however, that they will start bringing Ravens in soon."

"It's already happened," one of the other Turks, a cold looking woman with long, light brown hair spoke up. Zack noticed that she carried no weapon, but instead wore a pair of fingerless gloves, probably a martial artist, like Rude. "I saw a couple of Ravens near here on my way from the safe house. However, I didn't engage them because there were Shinra troopers in the area, and I didn't want to attract their attention."

Mao folded his arms. "A wise decision. That is the other thing we need to worry about. As long as we remain in the city, Shinra plans to hunt us down."

"Join the club," Zack muttered.

He got a few understanding looks at that, but no one commented. Mao was clearly about to continue. "So the thing we have to figure out now is how we are to approach this scenario…" At that moment, the door to the outside opened and a blonde girl with pigtails, in a sailor uniform Zack recognized as belonging to the Shinra Military Academy, walked into the room. "I'm back!" She called to the bartender, and then she stopped, noticing the group assembled in front of the bar. "Oh, hello everyone." In spite of the greeting, the change in the tone of her voice clearly indicated suspicion. She walked to the bar, between Mao and Freya so she could talk to the bartender.

As she did so, Freya spoke up. "Elena, I thought you would have been done for the day."

"I just forgot something here." The girl answered coldly. She reached out as the bartender passed her a handbag that had been situated near one of the beer taps. As she retrieved it, Zack noticed her shooting a furtive look at Lou, who happened to be sitting a few seats down. The blonde Turk said nothing, but upon being able to compare the two women, Zack deduced that they were related. There was definitely a family resemblance.

"Forgot your purse again?" Freya commented. "You're starting to worry me a little bit."

"What's it to you?" Elena grumbled, as she headed to the exit. "It's not like I'll be joining the Turks or anything, anyway. So I won't be embarrassing you or my sister."

"I didn't say anything of the sort," Freya defended. "No need to jump down my throat."

"Well, I'm going." With that, the girl walked out of the bar in a huff.

"What's her problem?" Zack asked.

Freya shook her head and looked over at Lou. The other Turk simply shrugged and went back to a drink she was nursing. Finally, Freya said quietly "I don't know the details, but I think it's a sibling rivalry thing."

Zack nodded in acknowledgement and waited for someone to get the topic back to what the plan was. There was quiet for a moment as the Turks tried to regain the thread of the discussion before Shears commented "Well, we're screwed if the Turks are being targeted by Shinra _and_ AVALANCHE."

Mao sighed. "Veld's execution date is tomorrrow."

"And Elfe's life isn't getting any longer." Shears leaned back in his chair, worry creasing his brow.

"We do have an awful lot against us, don't we?" Cissnei remarked.

Freya shook her head. "As Mao said, we're leaving Veld to Tseng, Reno, and Rude. The main thing we should worry about is retrieving Elfe and the last materia, and making sure Fuhito doesn't get the ones we have."

"At least the fact that he's going to be coming after them saves us the trouble of looking for him," Shears mused.

"We should be careful though," Tanjuu spoke up.

Mao nodded in agreement. "With this in mind, we should search in our usual partner teams."

Shears stood up and approached the center of the group, looking at each of them appraisingly. "I also think we should divide up the materia, just in case Fuhito manages to get to any of us who are carrying them."

"He's right," said one of the other Turks, a rather muscular man with short brown hair. "It's better if we don't have all our eggs in one basket." Everyone voiced their agreement.

Once the vote was unanimous, Cissnei reached into her coat pocket and pulled out two small orbs. "How do we decide who gets them?" she asked.

"We could draw straws for them," Freya suggested.

Mao thought about it for a moment and then he took one of the materia out of Cissnei's hand and deliberately placed it in Freya's. "You will be staying with Zack, therefore, the materia should be well protected."

Freya slipped the materia into her pocket. "You can count on us."

Mao nodded again and then turned back to Cissnei. "You will hold on to that one and stay with me."

"You got it," Cissnei replied.

The man with the katana then turned to Tanjuu and said "Since Freya's with Zack, you're with Shears."

Tanjuu shrugged, and it was assumed he was in agreement. Shears stood and walked over to his newly assigned partner, looking him over as though to take his measure, before turning to Freya and Cissnei "Don't let Fuhito get his hands on them."

"He won't." Cissnei assured him.

"All right then. Is there anything else?" the Turk with long hair who had spoken earlier asked.

"No, we should head out," Mao said. "Depart in pairs. We don't want to attract suspicion by leaving as a group." And so it went. Valerie departed first with a young blonde man carrying nunchaku. Then the female martial artist left with her partner. The others departed in a slow trickle until finally, Mao and Cissnei were headed out the door leaving only Freya and Zack.

"Well, you ready to head back?" Zack asked.

"Yeah, we don't want to stay out in the open too long," Freya agreed.

It was at that point that they heard a shout outside, followed by some scuffling. As Zack crept to the entrance, drawing his sword, Freya prepped her shotgun, wary of the noises they were hearing. After a couple of minutes, the sounds stopped and then a Shinra trooper barreled into the bar, apparently not even seeing Zack because he'd been so close to the side of the door.

"Hey, there's another Turk in here!"

* * *

><p>Tseng was a very patient man by nature, so the fact that he was actually losing patience with Shinra's information network was a novelty in itself. It was probably due to stress, he reflected. Thanks to Rufus, they had been able to continue their work mostly uninterrupted, however, a 3rd class SOLDIER operative had attempted to get in at one point through the ventilation system to rescue the VP. Reno had caught him in time and had managed to knock him out. No small achievement, but no mission was impossible for the Turks, after all. That didn't make the situation any less serious. Apparently they weren't the only ones on this system attempting a hack.<p>

Tseng cleared his throat, doing his best to remain outwardly calm. "I've been kicked out again."

Reno ran a hand through his hair in consternation. "How many times has it been now?"

"That's not all. Apparently someone else is trying to access this terminal." He typed at the keyboard, his hands a hurricane of activity as he tried to figure out what the other person was doing.

"Are we being jammed?" Rude asked.

"No. It seems to be doing something else…" Tseng's voice trailed off and his hands froze over the keys.

Reno noticed and looked over his shoulder. "Hey, the program's running itself!"

It was true. Without even having asked it to do so, Tseng saw the program he'd been trying to use scanning its way through file after file after file on the screen until finally…

"A surveillance feed," Rude observed.

Tseng could quite easily see that it was a feed from a camera in the upper Midgar sewers. The service tunnels that ran through the underbelly of the plate, though without the coordinates there was no way to tell exactly where. In the feed, Tseng could clearly see a door with guards in front of it. Could this be where they were holding Veld?

"Who's doing this?" Reno wondered aloud.

It was at that moment Tseng realized exactly who was doing this. There was only one person who could, and at that same moment, that person's voice echoed lazily over the speakers.

_"Hmph, it seems you're having a hard time figuring out where Veld is."_


	6. What You Are in the Dark

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spinoffs. That honor goes to Square-Enix.

A special note of appreciation for HCloudXIII over on Youtube and Dark Angel from the website, Gunshot Romance for their efforts to translate the Before Crisis game text and make the gameplay at least viewable.

And with that out of the way, we can get to the part you want to see... I hope... ^^

**Part I: Crossfire**

* * *

><p>Chapter 6, What You Are in the Dark<p>

**October 4th [ ν ] – εуλ 0007, 5:15 PM**

Rayleigh was about halfway to her apartment building, walking between the blades of light and shadow cast by the smaller skyscrapers she passed. Most buildings in the area were tall, but unquestionably dwarfed by the Shinra building, which was visible behind her in spite of the distance she had traversed thus far. It was still warm in spite of summer being over, but as the day's activity was dying down, and the evening rush started to thin out, she felt that cold chill up her spine that told her she was being watched. That in itself was nothing new. In the Shinra building, everyone was being watched, and they knew it. But it was rare for that phenomenon to be so pervasive as to follow her home. She looked around her, trying to locate the stalker, but it was only when she felt a clammy hand on her shoulder and whirled around to face him, that she recognized the man who had followed her. Her heart might have stopped beating. She couldn't tell.

"P-professor Hojo, what a surprise." She dug into the deepest recesses of her resolve for the least fake smile she muster, and couldn't help but think that the worst case scenario had just occurred.

"Don't be so startled doctor, I just want to have a little talk." Hojo looked very much out of place on this street, with his lank dark hair and sunken eyes behind thick glasses perched precariously at the end of his nose. He was smiling at her, but there was nothing friendly about it. If anything, it looked predatorial. It was the most dangerous thing a person could see on his face at any given time.

"Oh? What about?" Rayleigh tried to keep the tone of her voice light and airy as though they were discussing the weather.

He gestured towards an alleyway in between the two nearest skyscrapers. "It won't take long but we should at least get out of traffic first." As he guided her towards the alley, he searched around in the breast pocket of his lab coat. Once they were off the sidewalk and standing between the two buildings, he found what he was looking for and pulled it out. "I was wondering if you could tell me anything about this fascinating photo of yours."

Sure enough, as Rayleigh looked at the photo, she saw the now familiar scar from Masamune on Cloud's back. She took in the rest of the details as Hojo held it in front of her, her mind racing as she did her best to think of a good response. After a moment, she answered "Oh, him. H-he was one of our SOLDIERs from the Wutai war. Had a nasty encounter with a battalion from… oh what was it? T-the Crescent Unit. That's right."

"Interesting." Hojo's smile had not dimmed. "He couldn't possibly have come to you for a problem with the sites for his JENOVA cell implants. If he was a SOLDIER in Wutai, any concerns over those would have died before he was even sent out into the field. And yet, I can clearly see evidence of other scars here. Perhaps you could tell me about them?"

"Um… It was something personal… private…" Rayleigh was grasping at straws, trying to find the best way to end the conversation quickly.

"No Doctor, I'm not asking about why he came to you." Somehow without realizing it, Rayleigh found herself backed against the wall of the alley. Hojo hadn't rushed in to grab her, but the feeling of being trapped was excruciating. "What I'm asking is what you can tell me about the techniques used to make these scars."

"Well, the sword wound came from an instance where he was impaled, in fact, I distinctly remember seeing where the entry point occurred on his chest." Rayleigh said, gripping her bag hard as she allowed her clinical analysis to distract her, hoping it would satisfy him. Lying about surgical methodology was out of the question with the professor. He would know if she left something out, and there was always the chance maybe the clinical analysis alone would satisfy him. "As for the other scars, aside from the JENOVA implant site in the photo, there's also what appears to be an exploratory incision below the rib cage. At a guess, his previous physician had cause to inspect his kidneys or maybe even the condition of his lungs. His left lung was likely collapsed when he was run through, so that's probably why. Apparently the doctor conducting the procedure chose not to use materia in the healing process. It's entirely possible that he or she may have had a need to open them again or maybe they weren't sure if they would have to…"

"It could also be that your story about the Crescent Unit is a complete fabrication," Hojo drawled. "Honestly, my dear, did you really think I wouldn't recognize my own work when I saw it?"

Rayleigh didn't even bother trying to hide her concern for her own safety. Hojo continued to leer at her. "It's not that I'm particularly affronted by your lies…" And that was when his expression darkened to that of a Zolom ready to strike. "What bothers me is that there are little mice scurrying about and poking their noses in places they don't belong." He placed the photo back in his pocket and approached the woman, grabbing the hand she held across her chest as he pushed his own sallow face closer to hers. "Now, I don't care how you came into contact with Specimen C, or what condition it's even in at the moment, but I do care that someone is conducting studies of my work behind my back. You know the power that I wield in this company, doctor. I want my property returned to me or at least to have its location by tomorrow, or things will get very uncomfortable for you very quickly. Do I make myself clear?"

Rayleigh stared into the madman's eyes, momentarily paralyzed by fear before finally answering. "C-crystal… Professor…"

The eerie smile returned as Hojo withdrew from her personal space, using his free hand to push some of her bangs behind her ears, more a show of the control he thought he had over the situation than anything else. "Thank you, my dear. Have a nice evening." With that, the professor left the alley and disappeared.

Rayleigh stayed leaning against the wall for at least a couple of minutes, waiting for the adrenaline to fade. Finally, she stood up straight and left the alley, trying her hardest to fight down the panic that even now was threatening to overpower her again. Even harder to dispel was the question screaming through her mind over and over with each frantic step back towards her apartment. _"What do I do now?"_

* * *

><p>After some feverish work on the part of the three Turks remaining at headquarters, a video feed had popped up showing a young man with blonde hair in a white business suit.<p>

"We've got visual," Rude confirmed.

Tseng took one look at the man who was staring back at them out of the computer screen. "I knew it." Rufus simply scoffed at him as he continued. "It was you…"

Shinra's Vice President was unperturbed. "Veld's execution is scheduled for noon tomorrow. Do you think you can save him?"

"We're going to do everything we can," Tseng asserted.

Rufus smiled, his eyes half lidded, and Tseng knew that as far as this instance was concerned, their captive was the one holding all the cards right now. "I've pinpointed the exact location he's being held."

"Really?" Reno exclaimed, leaning in behind Tseng's chair so he could get a good look at their prisoner.

"Of course, and I don't mind telling you where he is either." Rufus's smile was now becoming a very pronounced smirk.

"Sir?" Rude was looking to Tseng for guidance and Reno, for once in his life, didn't seem to have words for the occasion. Tseng, meanwhile, was dealing with the fact that his thoughts were racing as he sat in his chair. Could Rufus be trusted? It was probably the only chance they had right now.

Rufus waited a moment before speaking again. "I do have a price for this information however."

"What are your conditions?" Tseng's eyes narrowed slightly. Enough to show that he was serious, but not enough to convey any other emotion. He had long ago mastered the art of a complete deadpan that would put even stone statues to shame.

Rufus scoffed again before speaking to the other two Turks. "Reno, Rude, leave us." The two looked to Tseng, the unspoken question obvious in their expressions. Upon seeing the pause, Rufus continued "I am only negotiating with Tseng on these terms." He turned his attention to his negotiating partner. "How about it Tseng, Director of the Turks?"

The silence that permeated through the empty headquarters was heavy as the standoff held for several seconds. Tseng weighed the options in his mind with the care of a chemist mixing explosive components. At last he looked to his subordinates. "Fine. Reno. Rude."

"Sir." The two exited the room.

Rufus scoffed after them one last time as they left before he began laying out his terms to Tseng, and as the Director heard him out, he couldn't help being impressed despite their current problems. It seemed that Rufus had managed, even from his prison, to out-Turk the Turks.

* * *

><p>Freya uttered a curse as a Moth Slasher floated in behind the trooper. Neither of them seemed to have noticed Zack who had found a blind spot behind the door leading outside, but he clearly did not plan on sitting there long and was only waiting for the right moment to get the drop on their guests.<p>

"Your friends may have escaped, but don't try to resist," the trooper growled. "We've got orders to dispatch the Turks and if you try anything funny, I'll set this thing on you."

Zack chuckled darkly as he crept up on the grunt and the robot. "Well, if you've got orders to kill her anyway, why even bother threatening her?" With an echoing *shing*, the Buster Sword cut the robot clean in half, and the trooper dropped soon after, taken out in a second downward swing.

At that point two more troopers walked in through the door, and they could see another Moth Slasher on the way. Naturally, the troopers could see Zack now, and if they hadn't been wearing helmets, Freya would have been sure their eyes were bugged out. They at least paused when they saw the Ex-SOLDIER with the frigging huge sword before one of them sounded the alarm and the other attempted to fire his gun. "Code Red! Repeat! Code Red! The subject is armed and accompanied by a SOLD…urk!" Both troopers were dispatched by Zack in a single blow, and then he waited for the Moth Slasher to enter the bar.

Realizing that this could get ugly really quick, Freya backed off and found the bartender who had wisely ducked behind the bar. "Do you have a back door to this place?" She asked.

The bartender didn't bother answering with words, but simply pointed to his right, past the restroom. Freya nodded and then called out to the SOLDIER. "Zack, we're going out this way, you go first and I'll cover us." She gestured in the direction the bartender had indicated.

Zack had destroyed the second Moth Slasher and he spared a moment to nod in her direction before backing away from the door and heading for the exit as Freya readied her shotgun to cover their retreat. As she followed Zack out the back way, three more troopers entered the building and she fired a shotgun shell in their direction, causing one of them to collapse to the ground, clutching his leg. She heard the back door open behind her and followed Zack as he crept along their escape route. By the time the detachment of troopers had gotten around the back of the building, the SOLDIER and the lady Turk were already gone.

* * *

><p><strong>October 4th [ ν ] – εуλ 0007, 5:30 PM<strong>

Cissnei hoped that Freya and Zack made it out of the bar all right. She and Mao had barely made it away themselves after being spotted by some troopers who'd been patrolling the area. More likely than not, actively looking for them, now that the Turks were considered enemies of the company. She reflected that now she could say she had an idea of what it had been like for Zack when he'd been on the run, though by comparison this was only a small taste of what he'd been through. They had reached a part of Sector 6 that was fortunately quiet, but unfortunately near the Honey Bee Inn. Ignoring the cat calls of a couple of the house's patrons, the Turk followed her partner down the street in search of a route back to their safe house. She and Mao would be helping in the search for Elfe of course, but with their primary concern being the safety of the support materia she carried in her pocket, naturally that would need to take precedent.

The pair made their way toward the edge of Sector 6 in silence, wary of their surroundings, and hoping they wouldn't see any further signs of Shinra troops. The setting sun cast its rays into the normally darkened slums, just low enough to illuminate the pillars and cast long shadows. The further away they got from the normal crowds, the two Turks started creeping deeper into them, away from the main thoroughfares, and soon, they were quickly navigating the alleyways. Cissnei followed Mao as he hurried across an opening between two buildings and then suddenly, he paused, holding out his right hand to stop her from going out in front of him. She noticed that he had pushed up the hilt of his katana with the thumb of his other hand which held the weapon in its sheath.

That was when she realized what she saw before her. There were three Ravens poking around in the next alley, and the twice-damned AVALANCHE SOLDIERs were all giggling madly, just as Valerie had described them. It had never been clear to her whether or not Ravens still had any semblance of their minds left. They seemed capable of following orders, and communicating if necessary, but not much else based on what her compatriot had reported upon being cleared to leave the infirmary. The two Turks pressed themselves against the wall of the building, hoping they hadn't been spotted. Mao glanced back at her, using a hand signal to tell her they were going to try and circle around. If Ravens were in the area, Fuhito might be too, and while that was good to know, it also might mean a fight. The Turks slid their way back into the alley they had been traversing, mindful of any litter or debris that might crackle under their feet if they were careless. Once they were out of sight, Cissnei turned around to watch the direction they were going while her partner covered the rear.

It was when they were almost to the gap between the buildings they were creeping behind when she heard the familiar singing of her partner's blade as it left the sheath. She spared a glance behind her to confirm what she already knew. A Raven stood in front of Mao, wielding a sword and his laughter became crazier as he anticipated the heat of battle.

Her shuriken were already in her hands, in case she needed to join the fray, but as Mao and the Raven crossed swords, she heard him growl a single word. "Go!"

Knowing better than to question the swordsman, she fled the alley, stowing her weapons again as she ran. Upon seeing a ladder up to the roof of one of the buildings she stood between, she shimmied up it with the grace of a ninja. Once she reached the top, she pushed herself into a full on run in the direction opposite the one the Ravens had come from. She had raced rooftops before, and in the slums, the buildings were often so close together that hopping from building to building was an easy task.

She cleared a gap over to the next building and slid under some air conditioning pipes before climbing up a low wall to see a slanted roof of one of the more residential buildings looming ahead of her. She didn't hesitate but took a running start and vaulted over a second low wall that separated the current building she was on from the next one. As her shoes creaked upon impact, she realized she was not alone in her parkouring. There was a second set of footfalls behind her and they didn't sound like Mao. The sounds were too heavy for the patent leather the Turks favored. These sounded more like… she swore quietly… heavy combat boots.

She spotted a flatter rooftop over another gap near one of the sector's support pillars and realized she'd probably have to use her momentum to run along that support beam in order to bridge the gap. She mentally prepared herself for the stunt and put on an extra burst of speed. Her feet left the ground as they propelled her along the horizontal beam before she grabbed a pipe that hung overhead and swung herself forward, landing in a crouch before continuing her run. She couldn't continue this forever, she knew. While she could definitely go for a long time, she knew very well that SOLDIERs could go much longer, and Ravens were essentially SOLDIERs whether they were crazy or not. Rather than allowing herself to be worn out, she needed a place to hide. Looking around as she scrambled across the roof, she didn't see anything in the immediate vicinity that might be a good location, but a couple of roofs over she saw another cluster of pipes in which she might be able to lose her pursuer.

She allowed herself to slide under another low pipe before hopping up onto another low wall and pulled herself up one handed, sparing a glance back as she went over the side. There was definitely a Raven behind her. He was on the rooftop she'd just left, and that was not good.

Once she was over the wall she pulled a hard right around a raised part of the roof that contained an access door, hopping across a gap and noting a couple of random guys in the narrow alley below. Two more roofs to go between her current location and that forest of pipes.

Now that she was closer, she recognized that some of them were actually I-beams, the girders that were holding up the infrastructure for the upper plate's water supply. Aside from the forest of smaller pipes she could now see one giant one in the center. The next roof was a little higher than the one she was on, but up ahead she saw a wall she might be able to use. Not even bothering to check behind her again, she once again leapt, allowing her feet to make contact with the wall and pulling for as much height as she could before whirling around and grabbing the side of the opposite roof. Her grip held and she pulled herself up just as she heard her pursuer landing on the rooftop she'd just left. One more to go.

This was one of the taller buildings, she could see, though it was a straight run across. It looked like the next rooftop was from another residential building, After that there was only the gap between the building and her target to worry about. She raced across her current roof and then vaulted over, grasping at the apex of the last one to steady herself before breaking into a full run. This was it. Just in front of her on the opposite side of the roof, she saw what looked like an old crane, probably abandoned down here after construction of the upper plate had been completed. That didn't matter. What mattered was that there was a cable she could use to swing across the gap, and swing she did. Securing her shoe into the hook that swung free near the roof, she pushed off just as she heard the Raven behind her land on the roof she was just about to leave. At the height of the arc, she kicked herself free, falling a few gut-clenching moments before catching herself on the riveted flange around one of the pipes. She hung there for a moment before edging around and dropping a couple of feet to a catwalk that stood suspended a little ways above the ground.

She didn't dare take the stairs, but instead slithered between the guardrails and allowed herself to drop the rest of the way down into a crouch, looking for the way forward. It looked like there was a manhole down into the sewers just ahead. It wouldn't be pretty, but if she hurried, she might be able to evade the Raven in the shadows. That was her logic anyway.

She hurried to the cover and started lifting it when suddenly there was an arm around her neck, putting her in a choke hold, and then she was suspended above the ground. She was too small to be able to do anything but kick at the air as mist swirled before her eyes. The last thing she heard before the world went dark was crazy laughter…

* * *

><p>Several minutes after the last time Zack saw a Shinra trooper, he distinctly heard the sound of Freya's PHS buzzing. After they pulled close to one of the run-down houses in the area so they were out of sight, Freya pulled it out and answered it. As she listened to the murmuring speaker through which Zack recognized Tseng's voice, he saw relief in her expression before she answered the caller "That's good news." She listened a little more before speaking again. "Yes sir." With that, she hung up.<p>

"What's up?" Zack asked.

"Well, we may have to wait a little longer to get back. Tseng's found Veld and they're going to get him right now. We need to secure a safe route out of the city for them."

"All right, where to?"

Freya thought for a moment. "First we need to get to the edge of the city. Follow me." She walked over to a manhole cover and lifted it up. Once it was removed, she slipped down into the hole and Zack heard her voice echo back up to him "Be sure to close it after you. We won't be coming back this way."

Being careful not to catch his sword on the edge of the hole, Zack eased down inside. Pulling the cover back in place after himself, he then slid the rest of the way down the ladder to join Freya on the concrete walkway that lined the side of the sewer. "Urghh," He groaned, wrinkling his nose at the new smells that were assaulting his senses. "I thought things were bad in the slums, but down here is even worse!"

Freya gave a nod of agreement and started down the walkway, picking her way through the junk and debris that had accumulated over years of neglect. "The sooner we get through here, the sooner we can get back to fresh air. Come on." Zack followed without argument. The stench was making his eyes water.

They traveled for some time in relative silence, keeping an ear out for more Moth Slashers or any troopers that might have thought to check the sewers. There were several of the floating robots running around, but none were so difficult that they couldn't handle them.

Zack was putting away his sword again after one such encounter when he happened to comment "This Veld guy must be really important to all of you of you're willing to go to so much trouble for him."

Freya was reloading her shotgun and she looked up at him. "He made the Turks what they are, it's the least we can do."

They continued along the sewer, footfalls echoing in their wake. "So he was like your mentor then?"

"More to Tseng than the rest of us, but yes." Freya scooted around what appeared to be some kind of brown sludge on the walkway, though Zack could swear it might be about to sprout feelers at any moment. He decided it was also in his best interest not to tempt fate by stepping in it and did the same.

"Oh."

"Although he was much more than that. As the director, I don't know how many times he protected us from things that were too dangerous for even the Turks to know."

"You mean… like Hojo?" Zack said after a moment.

A pair of sad, faintly glowing copper colored eyes looked back at him from the gloom. "I'm afraid so…" The eyes disappeared as the woman turned around, continuing her search for the ladder she wanted.

A thought entered Zack's mind at that point and he almost didn't want to ask the question attached to it, but it tumbled out of his mouth before he could think. "Was he the one… who asked you to leave when…"

Freya paused, and Zack really regretted asking. After another moment passed, she spoke. "…You know what happens when you disobey Shinra's orders… …But even Tseng was disgusted by the whole thing… Veld knew what could happen to us if we did something rash, and he didn't want to take that risk… I think you can do the math…"

She had not moved from where she stood, nor had she even looked at him, and since Zack seemed to be at a loss for words, she continued. "No one would hold it against you, you know… If you decided you didn't want to help him… If you want, you can go back to Cloud and Aerith and Kunsel… You don't have to fight our battles… if you don't want to…"

Zack had to admit she did have a point. But if anything, now that he had this knowledge, he was wondering why he couldn't seem to feel more anger towards the guy. Had the emotional response not hit him yet? Or was it just that he'd found out so much about Shinra's inner workings in the last few years that he'd lost the energy to be anything more than sick of how twisted the company could be? "Don't get me wrong, nothing could begin to make up for what happened to us in Nibelheim." He began. "But I told Tseng I would help you guys. To turn around and go hide in a hole over this wouldn't be very honorable, now would it? Especially when there's a world to save." He heard Angeal's words echoing in the back of his mind. Pride, Honor, and Dreams, the ideals of a SOLDIER, or at least they had been in his mentor's eyes. It was hard to see that Shinra or SOLDIER had those anymore, but he'd probably learned the power of intangible ideals better than anyone. Otherwise, he would never have taken Cloud out of the lab with him, just because they were friends and it was the right thing to do.

"Honor…" Freya laughed and it echoed off the tunnel walls. "That's right, I heard from Tseng about how Angeal used to give that spiel to the recruits. We had that too. We took pride in being the best at what we did, our honor was to serve the President to the best of our abilities, and our dream was that through our work in and out of the shadows, we'd create a better future. We never broke it down that way, but that's why we say 'No mission is impossible for the Turks.'" After repeating the phrase, she started walking again, her posture straightening as her original, confident demeanor resurfaced. "I think that's enough introspection for now. If you think your honor is reason enough to keep going, then let's go."

They continued a little further before Freya found the right ladder back to the surface and climbed it to remove the manhole cover. Upon following her up, Zack found himself in another alley in a part of the slums he wasn't familiar with. Freya was covering him as she watched the goings on out on the main thoroughfare, and once he'd pulled the manhole cover shut and joined her she whispered "Security's real tight around here. We'll have to be careful."

Zack took a look around the corner and realized she was right. There were a lot more Moth Slashers patrolling around here, and while he was quite confident in his ability to take more than one if the need arose, there were far too many for initiating combat to be the best solution. Stealth was by far the better recourse.

They crept along, flitting from building to building like ghosts, until eventually, at the end of the wall of a particularly rundown shack, Freya stopped and pressed against the wall to avoid being seen. Zack followed her lead and then gave her a questioning look. That was when he heard two voices nearby.

"Man, this is boring…"

"Well, our shift's not up yet so you'll just have to suck it up. Stay on your guard."

"Seriously, do we really need all these checkpoints? We don't even have orders to inspect the vehicles that go through the gates."

"Fair point. But what else is going to come through here besides the company trucks?..."

At that point, Freya motioned that they inch back a couple of feet and they slid along until they were safely hidden. "Well now we know why there's so much security around here," she whispered. "We'll need to commandeer a truck to get past that checkpoint."

"Let's find one then," Zack said. "The sooner we get this taken care of the better." That, and the sooner Veld was away, the sooner he could get back to Cloud and the others, but he was sure Freya already knew that to be the case. At that moment, her PHS buzzed again. She grimaced and shrank further into the shadows as she answered the device. As she whispered into it, Zack was on alert. It was a good thing too, because right at that moment, there were louder voices coming from near the checkpoint.

"Hey, did you hear something?"

"Like what?"

"If I didn't know any better, I'd have thought I heard something moving behind that building over there…"

"We need to go." He whispered, tapping her on the shoulder urgently.

Freya ended the call and the two fled down the alley. When he glanced behind him Zack spotted a shadow from a trooper, most likely headed in their direction to check out the sound. Before the trooper was around the side of the building, Freya hurried up to a door that stood slightly ajar. Not bothering to see what was inside, she pulled Zack in after her and shut it behind them. As he heard the latch completely shut, he found himself in what looked like a small training room that had been fashioned from a storage area. Around the walls, a sound system had been installed along with a computer, and a training mat had been laid out across the floor. In the center of the room; apparently just distracted in the middle of practicing roundhouse kicks; stood a familiar looking girl in a military academy uniform. As the girl with pigtails whirled around to see who had interrupted her training, Freya voiced her mutual surprise. "Elena?"

"Freya?" Elena replied, clearly just as surprised by the two people who had barged in on her.

"So this is where you you've been training?" She looked around the room with interest.

Elena scowled. "What are you doing here? This is my space, so get out!"

Freya raced forward and cupped a hand over the teenager's mouth. "Shh, quiet!" she hissed.

Zack listened at the door, hoping no one had heard the girl's outburst.

"What's going on?" Elena whispered.

"They're looking for us. We're sorry we interrupted you but please, let us stay here for a bit."

Zack heard footsteps outside and gripped the Buster Sword in case they walked up to the door, but instead, the person walked on by, the sounds fading in the distance.

Elena folded her arms as she considered Freya's request before frowning at them. "….Fine then."

Freya backed away from the girl and sighed. "Thanks. We won't be here long."

"Just as long as you're gone when they are."

"Sorry to bother you," Zack added from the door.

Elena continued to scowl and Freya apparently didn't take kindly to it. "So what is it that's gotten you so angry whenever you see us?"

"Do I need a reason? You guys did go and get yourselves in a lot of trouble. Our Dad's place has been crawling with troopers because of you and my sister…" Elena growled.

Freya was about to retort when her PHS buzzed again. "Sorry, I have to take this." She stepped away and answered it quietly. "Tseng?"

Zack diverted his attention back to the door as Freya spoke to her boss. He didn't hear anymore movement outside, but he strained his ears for even the smallest indicator that someone could still be in the area. He thought he caught the whir of one of the Moth Slashers in the distance just before Freya hung up, but it went away almost as quickly as his ears picked it up.

"It sounds like you know where you're going. If you need to grab a company truck, there's a lot on the west end that they use." The hurried tone in Elena's voice further highlighted her desire to be rid of them.

"Thanks," Freya said.

"Whatever, now get out."

"All right." Freya looked like she was about to leave when an idea dawned on her. "Elena, you can fight too right? Lou told me your specialization at the academy was with a handgun."

Elena stiffened defensively. "I dropped that a while ago."

"Why?" Freya asked.

Elena tapped a small badge on her uniform. "Because I've aced the exams in martial arts five times already…"

"I'm happy for you. Too bad though. Lou said your Dad wanted you to stick with it, but I guess that's you're decision. Thanks for letting us stay here." Freya took a few steps back towards Zack, and he was grateful this hadn't devolved into a discussion of family gossip.

As the lady Turk reached the door, she looked back at Elena. "One thing though. Try adjusting your stance so your weight is a little more to the left." With that, the two fugitives left Elena alone in the training room.


	7. Troopers, Ravens, and Mad Scientists

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spinoffs. That honor goes to Square-Enix.

Dr. Owen is an original character.

A special note of appreciation is in order for HCloudXIII over on Youtube and Dark Angel from the website, Gunshot Romance for their efforts to translate the Before Crisis game text and make the gameplay viewable.

Hope you enjoy the chapter!

**Part I: Crossfire**

* * *

><p>Chapter 7, Troopers, Ravens, and Mad Scientists<p>

**October 4th [ ν ] – εуλ 0007, 6:00 PM**

When it first happened, it had seemed like incredibly bad luck. Not even a couple of minutes after leaving their hiding place in Elena's training room, they happened upon a blind spot along the walls that a trooper had stepped into to search for suspicious persons near a dumpster. He had looked at them, and in their surprise they had looked back at him, and then Freya had promptly knocked him out with the butt of her shotgun. But once the guy was out and secure, Zack could see that Freya was beginning to rethink that assessment.

"You know, I think this guy looks like he might be about my size," she said, looking over the fellow's uniform appraisingly.

"Hmm…" Zack thought about it and saw that she was right. "You could probably pass for a trooper. It'd make things a lot easier for getting around. Although it'll be kind of hard for me, carrying this sword and all."

Freya folded her arms looking down at the unconscious trooper as she mulled over the problem. "Yeah, you're right, but how about this? I'll get dressed and then we can figure out what to do about it. Maybe I can find something once I can operate in the open."

"All right." Zack took up a defensive position at the edge of the alcove.

"And don't you dare peek," he heard Freya's voice behind him along with the rustling of fabric.

"I'll try not to, though it'll be hard. Opportunities like this don't show up every day," he teased.

"I'm sure," Freya deadpanned. He heard more rustling behind him for another minute or so before a somewhat muffled "All right, let's go." Looking down, he saw that Freya was holding the regulation standard machine gun and had tucked her hair up into the helmet she now wore. Her shotgun was slung over her shoulder however and was secure underneath a rucksack that obviously contained her own belongings. "I'll walk in the open and keep an eye out for anything that might get us a ride."

Zack nodded. "All right, I'll shadow you. If you need me to step in, just give a signal."

"Got it. In the meantime, I'll see what I can do about finding you a disguise." Freya walked off a bit and Zack pulled himself up onto the dumpster so he could climb to the roof of the building, thinking he could make use of the dark above the lamps that were humming to life over the street below. He didn't want to lose sight of Freya in case she got in any trouble. The Turk seemed to have settled into her disguise as a chameleon changed its skin. Zack wouldn't have been able to tell her from a regular infantryman if he didn't know who she was. He crept along, avoiding rotted shingles and any debris that might give away his position, as he observed her movements. She walked alone down the street with all the confidence of someone who was supposed to be there, even as a couple more Moth Slashers floated past.

It wasn't long to get to the west end of the sector. They did have to creep through an overpass at one point, forcing Zack to lose sight of the disguised Turk, but he found her soon enough once he made it to the other side. Shortly afterward, they saw the parking lot that Elena had mentioned, and as Zack settled into the shadows, Freya wandered into one of the nearby buildings. He watched the activity in the lot for a few minutes as a few of the other troopers wandered around, preparing a couple of the trucks for departure. They looked like they might be leaving soon. He guessed that they would probably sneak onto one and then commandeer it a safe distance past the check point before taking it to wherever Tseng wanted to meet them.

His thoughts were interrupted when he saw a trooper approaching his hiding place. His hand hovered by the grip of the Buster Sword until he recognized the shoulder strap of a shotgun as Freya moved out of the parking lot's line of sight, acting like she was checking the area for intruders. Once she reached him, she took off her rucksack and reached into it. "I know you don't usually wear these, but it should keep you from here to one of the trucks." Her hand came out with a standard SOLDIER helmet, like what Kunsel usually wore.

"That's fine, I just hope no one looks too close." Zack indicated his cross shaped scar before reaching for the headgear and putting it on. He then fiddled with the chin strap until it fit properly.

"It's a good thing its dark enough that black sweater could be confused for the 3rd class blue from a distance, otherwise, I'd worry about someone recognizing your uniform right off."

"Yeah." The two looked around the corner to determine which truck they would take.

"I think that one is the best choice," Freya said after a moment, pointing to a truck that was relatively close by to their right. "There don't seem to be too many people around it, and it looks like it's about ready to go."

Zack nodded in agreement. "All right." The two walked into the parking lot, attempting to look like they belonged there and were just inspecting the trucks. Nobody really seemed to notice them, and something about that struck Zack as odd, but then again, maybe all that time as a specimen and then being on the run had made him overly cautious. He decided to ask Freya if she got the same vibe once they were moving. After making sure no one was looking their way, Freya hopped into the back of the truck and Zack climbed in after her, pushing the Buster Sword slowly ahead of him so that no one in the driver's seat would notice the abrupt shift in weight bearing on the truck's axles. Once they were under the canvas tarp that covered the truck bed, Zack had enough time to make note of a large sack in the corner before the ignition cranked and they were underway.

* * *

><p><strong>October 4th [ ν ] – εуλ 0007, 6:30 PM<strong>

Warmth flowed through Cissnei's body. Her head throbbed. But the fog of unconsciousness was slowly starting to recede under the effects of what she realized had to be a Phoenix Down. It didn't chase the pain away, but at the very least she was awake again. She opened her eyes and found Mao, holding her gently, and watching her. On seeing her awaken, the bespectacled man's lips moved as he spoke her name in a question. Her real name.

"Mao… I tried…"

"It's all right. I know you did your best." She grabbed at the older man's shoulder as he helped her to a full sitting position.

After a moment, she reached into her pocket and uttered a curse as she confirmed the support materia wasn't there. "They got it." She balled her hand into a fist and hit the ground angrily.

"There's still two more." Mao was kneeling beside her and now he pulled her up. "Can you walk?"

"I think so." She took a step experimentally and once she saw that her legs held, she leaned against her partner, as she reached up a hand to her face. "My head feels like it's about to split open though."

"Let's get you back to the safe house then." Cissnei's partner put a comforting arm around her and the two started walking away from the manhole cover she'd dropped when the Raven had gotten her from behind. "I'll cast a Cure for you once we get there."

"Thanks. I still can't believe they got me."

"Well, it's just a temporary setback. After all everyone else is out there, and no mission is impossible for the Turks." Mao guided her along the alley they found themselves in as they headed back to safety.

"…Yeah."

* * *

><p>Dr. Rayleigh realized as soon as the encounter with Hojo was over that her time was up. Even if she did do as the professor said, she would forever be marked a threat, and though she had never witnessed it personally, she had heard stories through the grape vine about what happened to those he considered threats. Not that she'd even considered giving him the information. One didn't become a consultant for the Turks by openly spilling secrets… well, at least the variety that couldn't be physically stolen. Even her boss had to admit the loss of that disk she'd been carrying on the mission with Freya and Cloud probably couldn't have been helped. How were they supposed to know that Raven would get back up again?<p>

But to the point, just because she was an employee in the most ruthless company in the world didn't mean she was heartless or didn't have standards. The idea of betraying Zack and Cloud to Hojo; of forcing on them a repeat of the horrors that she had seen reflected in Zack's eyes, carved on both their bodies, and mingled in their blood, was not one she even considered entertaining. She was a doctor first, damn it.

With that option closed to her, she was left with few others. Unless she wanted to do so in a less willing and much more frightening fashion, she knew she would need to disappear of her own accord, and soon. Having come to that conclusion, she further posited that the best person to go to for help on that front was probably Tseng. Going back to the Shinra building to try and find her way into Turk Headquarters was out of the question. That would be suicide. The logical place to go then was the annex in Sector 2. If no one else, Owen would be there, and he should be able to get her in contact with Tseng as soon as possible. If he couldn't he would at least be able to help her.

She had finished making preparations since arriving home. She'd packed a small bag with her most important belongings as well as her doctor's kit. It incorporated enough equipment for procedures even up to rudimentary surgery if need be, and even held some basic Cure and Status materia, along with a few key medicines. It was mostly geared towards SOLDIERs since that was her specialty, but worked just as well for the unenhanced in a pinch. As an afterthought, she'd also stuffed one last tiny green crystal into her pocket. It probably wouldn't be much use. A prematurely harvested Fire materia wasn't going to do a lot besides surprise someone, but it had been good for lighting campfires when she'd been in the field a couple of times.

Finally, she secured all of her files and notes from her investigation for the Turks. The blood samples had long ago been disposed of due to being subjected to the various tests she'd run on them. But she had meticulously recorded her results and had dry-preserved each of her microscope slides while still at the lab she'd borrowed. If she had the need to make comparisons for any reason, a reference would be available to her. She also had a single vial containing what was left of the Jenova cells she'd used as a control sample. Having them as a base to work off of had proved invaluable, and she was not about to lose them. Important, since she was probably about to lose her security clearances if she hadn't already. Fortunately, they could be stored at room temperature. Everything else she needed should she want to continue the lower tech end of her research could be acquired… except for Sephiroth's medical records, she reflected with disappointment.

She would probably never get the chance to figure out the truth. She'd seen the state Zack had been in over her first visit, and from what Owen was telling her, Cloud wouldn't be any more trusting. Completely understandable, if a bit sad. She wanted to help, but if they were unwilling to let her investigate further, there wasn't much she could do.

Once she had what she needed, she took one last look around her apartment, cut the lights, and made her way down to the parking lot under the building. The car she went to was a small sedan, a nicer model than most. Being a doctor had its perks after all. Upon putting her belongings in the back, she took the driver's seat and cranked up the engine. It purred to life beneath her and soon she was pulling out onto the street as she tried to remember the best route for getting to Sector 2.

As the car pulled away, a hunched figure hailed a taxi, and instructed the driver to follow at a distance…

* * *

><p>It was not long after Freya and Zack boarded the truck that the sack they had noticed started twitching… very violently. Then it started making muffled sounds, and Zack thought they sounded rather familiar. At that point, Freya crawled over to it and started fiddling with the pull string and the canvas fell away revealing a very put out girl in a school uniform.<p>

"Elena? What are you doing in here?" Freya asked.

"What does it look like? I'm being kidnapped," Elena grumbled as she pulled herself the rest of the way out of the sack.

"By Shinra?" Zack asked.

"No." Elena gave him an annoyed look. "More like anti-Shinra."

"Why?" Freya shifted to a more comfortable position in the truck bed.

"I saw them trying to pull off the same trick you're using. They were trying to pass themselves off as Shinra soldiers. After you left, they grabbed me because I was a witness."

"Wait…" Zack suddenly put two and two together. Now he understood why no one had paid them any attention back at the lot. The soldiers around the truck didn't know whether or not they were supposed to be there. "That means… this truck is being driven by…"

Elena nodded. "AVALANCHE goons dressed up as Shinra lackies? Yup."

The Ex-SOLDIER and the Turk looked at each other though their helmet visors and both of them laughed. "Well, on the bright side, it means we don't have to worry about doing any more damage when we hijack it." Freya chuckled.

"I guess so," Zack agreed. "Don't worry, Elena, we'll have you outta this in no time, okay?"

Elena scowled at him and then curled up with her arms folded over her knees in a huff but said nothing more. The rest of the ride passed in silence, though it wasn't very long before the truck came to a halt and the two stowaways heard the sound of voices outside. Predictably those voices were continuing to giggle maniacally, and it made Zack's skin crawl. Freya moved first, preparing her shotgun as they crept out of the back of the truck bed and stepped lightly to the ground. Once they were both ready, Freya peeked around the corner and signaled to Zack that there were two Ravens in her field of vision. Zack drew the Buster Sword and sent her another signal to show he was ready, and then they hurried out to meet their, hopefully, surprised foes.

"Hey you!" Freya called out from under the helmet as she unloaded a shell at the two AVALANCHE SOLDIERs. The buckshot exploded across the target zone and both of them went down, still giggling madly. The furthest one might even be near death. He wasn't getting up. The other looked like he might try to come at them but before Zack could take a step, Freya fired again and the Raven lay still.

"Come on, save some for me!" Zack walked up to the one who had tried to crawl in their direction and poked it with his boot.

It was at that moment that they heard more sounds coming from a couple of other trucks further down the way and Zack counted the figures coming towards them in the dark. Five… six… eight… seriously? Ten? Crap.

He pulled the helmet off revealing a feral grin as he flexed his shoulders, preparing to enter the fray. "I guess I spoke too soon." He looked back at Freya. "You ready for this?"

Freya unloaded her spent shells with a resounding double click. "You know it."

* * *

><p><strong>October 4th [ ν ] – εуλ 0007, 6:45 PM<strong>

It had been relatively uneventful in the annex since Zack's departure. For the first half hour or so, Cloud had been more subdued than anything else, though from what Aerith had seen of him before, that wasn't terribly unusual. He'd talked to them when they asked questions, but for the most part seemed to prefer just listening. That wasn't a problem. Kunsel proved to be quite a story teller, and he passed a good bit of the time sharing anecdotes of some of the crazier things Zack had gotten up to during his days in SOLDIER. He even managed to pry out a soft laugh or two from the man.

However, as time rolled on, they'd both noticed his energy wane. It started slowly with a couple of yawns, before eventually, he'd fallen asleep in his chair. At that point, they relocated into the main part of the annex so he could have some rest, though on the way out, Aerith had pulled a blanket from his bed and placed it around his shoulders so he wouldn't get cold. He'd stirred, but otherwise, didn't budge.

The two had spent the last few minutes making small talk as Aerith had asked what Kunsel had been up to in the time since he'd first come to see her at the church five years prior. In all the excitement with Zack there hadn't been much time for catching up. Now however, the subject was becoming a little old.

That was when Owen came out of his office. "I was thinking it was about time to go get some dinner. Are the two of you hungry?"

Aerith looked to the SOLDIER sitting next to her and he answered "I could definitely go for something to eat."

"I'm going to get a couple of sandwiches at the shop in the lobby. I can bring something back for you if you'd like."

"Actually, I think I'll come with you," Aerith said. She turned to Kunsel. "That is, unless you'd rather I stayed here with Cloud."

"No, that's fine. You go ahead." Kunsel reached into his wallet for some gil and handed it to her. "Just a roast beef or a club will be fine for me." Aerith nodded, taking the money and pocketing it before standing to join the doctor at the exit to the annex.

"We shouldn't be more than a few minutes," Owen called after him.

Kunsel offered them a short wave and soon the pair of them were walking down the halls towards what seemed to be an elevator in the main corridor.

"Thank you, for what you've done for them," Aerith commented without preamble as they neared the lift.

"It's no trouble." Owen held the door for her as they passed through the double doors. "I treat whoever Tseng tells me to treat, though this has definitely been a challenge."

"Because they don't completely trust you…" Aerith was sure she had seen it written on both Cloud and Zack's faces when the man's name had been mentioned earlier.

As the elevator sank to the ground floor, the doctor sighed. "Given what Tseng and the others have told me, a little distrust is more than understandable, but it hasn't made things easy. It's to Zack's credit that he's kept his head on the matter incredibly well. Cloud on the other hand…" He paused for a moment before continuing. "He only tolerates me because of Zack, and then, only so far. The circumstances under which they came here didn't lend themselves well to a good start either."

"I suppose not," Aerith agreed. "But I'm sure they appreciate it, deep down. I certainly do. Without you, they might have been a lot worse off."

"Well, without Tseng, they might not have even made it to Midgar at all, from what I heard," Owen admitted, sounding somewhat gruff. "But I don't particularly care for might-have-beens." The doors opened and they found themselves on the ground floor in a bustling lobby. The doctor and the Cetra walked along a side corridor until they found the establishment they were looking for. It was a modest little place, but it looked like it had a nice variety.

"We should probably get something for Cloud too," She said as they got in line.

"Of course," The doctor agreed. As the line was short it didn't take them long to place their order and soon they were heading back towards the elevator with a bag containing their purchases.

They had reached the lobby again when suddenly, they heard someone call out. "Dr. Owen!" Upon hearing the entreaty, the two of them stopped and looked around for the voice's owner. Hurrying from the main entrance, was a woman with dark brown hair and glasses who was wearing a dress underneath her labcoat, though Aerith noted she carried the air of someone who was being hunted.

"Dr. Rayleigh, this is unexpected…" Owen looked like he was going to greet her with a smile, but it wilted when he saw the fearful look in her eyes and his brows knitted together in concern. "Is something the matter?"

"I need to speak to Tseng as soon as possible. I'll explain once we're upstairs."

The man regarded her for a moment before motioning that she follow them as they walked.

* * *

><p><strong>October 4th [ ν ] – εуλ 0007, 7:00 PM<strong>

When Hojo had threatened Rayleigh in the alley, he had not imagined in his wildest dreams that it would lead to such a fortuitous encounter! People who were frightened were so predictable. Initially, he'd only wanted her to lead him to his property. If he could locate it, retrieving it should be a simple matter, and then he'd teach that little bitch a thing or two about stealing research. His Jenova Reunion project was far too sensitive. He was not about to let his masterpiece be revealed to the world before he was ready, especially not by way of some failed specimen. However, he had not expected the other piece of good fortune the doctor from SOLDIER had practically dropped in his lap when she did exactly as he thought she would.

He had been very surprised when upon following the good doctor into the hospital and finding a discreet location from which to observe, he found her walking headlong into his wayward Ancient, of all things. She had grown somewhat in the years since he'd seen the girl, but her resemblance to her mother was impossible to miss. Oh! What luck! He turned away from the scene, walking outside as he reached for his PHS and dialed Heidegger. He'd called the man earlier when he'd told him he might need a specimen retrieval squad on standby and explained that there would be a second subject to add to the list of targets as he gave the hospital's location and the parameters. Afterwards, he hailed another taxi and rode back to the Shinra building to prep his laboratory for the expected increase in occupancy. It was his firm belief that within the next couple of hours, at least two of his wayward specimens would be back in his laboratory, and a certain Shinra doctor would be paying for her transgressions.

* * *

><p>In spite of acting cocky and confident about the situation, Zack was concerned. Getting mobbed by ten gibbering lunatics with SOLDIER-class capabilities was not something he was particularly looking forward to. It had been bad enough fighting Turks who at least had some semblance of sanity and desire for self-preservation to temper their judgment. But remembering how Essai and Sebastian had completely gone nuts back at Icicle Inn after being given the same kind of Raven-making treatments, he knew that there would be no such expectations to be had here.<p>

That was when Freya opened fire as the Raven's charged. One of them fell but the others managed to evade the blast and Zack raised his weapon, running to meet them. Freya dodged to the left, weaving behind the trucks so she could have some cover until she was ready with her next shell.

Zack leapt to the side of the oncoming wave of enemies, cutting down one of the stragglers in the back as the other Ravens watched him race past them. His victim fell to the ground, still laughing wildly as four of the remaining enemies advanced on his position, leaving the other half to try contending with the Turk. It would be trouble if he got mobbed he realized, so he whirled around and charged to his left. He was now on the opposite side of the highway from where the trucks were parked, and he saw that Freya was backing around the truck Elena occupied, after firing her gun once more. As the four remaining Ravens closed in on him, he found himself rather grateful that none of them were carrying swords.

With a battle cry, he rushed at the group when at the last second he saw one of them jumping up to try and get him from the air. He leapt up to meet him, with an upward swing, when a split second later he saw the Raven in the back about to try the same thing, just out of reach of the Buster Sword. At the apex of his swing, he let go of the sword with his right hand, using his left hand and its considerable momentum to cleave the first Raven in half. He then trained his right fist on the second Raven, using the weight of the Buster Sword to amplify his punch, pounding him into the ground. The second Raven collapsed next to him as he landed in a crouch, returning his right hand to the Buster's grip. With an artful twirl, he brought the blade around to cleave through another of his enemies but missed before briefly letting go of the sword again to back hand another of the Ravens at his throat. The Raven went down but as Zack raced back over the battle field, followed by the remaining Raven, he saw the man was getting back up.

He heard another blast behind him as he ran the length of the trucks, putting some distance between himself and his foes before whirling around again and charging at them. One of them died instantly as his sword connected with the man's neck, but then he barely got the Buster Sword up in time to prevent a direct attack from the side. It seemed one of the other Ravens had not been quite as down for the count as he expected. Zack brought the sword around again and this time, quickly ran it through the crazy SOLDIER before pulling out the blood-stained blade to ram the hilt against the ribs of one of the other Ravens who was still standing. The man was knocked back but he didn't go down. Zack dispatched him with a Firaga, and then moved over to where Freya had backed out away from the trucks to deal with the last of her adversaries.

She fired off one last shotgun blast and finally the last Raven that had been chasing her went still. The highway where they had been fighting went silent. Zack twirled the sword around in his hand before securing it to his back.

"All right. Now that that's over, let's get that truck," Freya said. "Elena? Are you okay in there?"

No answer.

"Elena?" Zack tried.

That was when they heard the sound of an engine cranking. Freya raced around the side to see who was in the driver's seat of the truck but before she could get there, someone gunned the engine. Zack quickly pulled ahead of Freya as both the truck Elena had been in and the second one up ahead of it hurtled off into the distance. However, even a SOLDIER couldn't run fast enough to catch up at the speeds they were going.

"We have to follow them!" Freya exclaimed.

"How?" Zack demanded.

"I slapped a tracking device on the side of the truck as they gunned it." Freya admitted as she fiddled with her PHS. "Come on!" With that, the two raced down the road, both thankful that it was deserted.

* * *

><p>It was a about ten minutes after the others had left when Kunsel heard Cloud stirring in the other room and walked over to the doorway to check on him. When his shadow fell across the floor, he saw a pair of bleary glowing eyes looking back at him. "Zack?"<p>

He shook his head and entered the room. "Sorry Cloud, he's not back yet. It's Kunsel."

"Oh…"

"I didn't wake you up did I?"

"No." Cloud looked down and noticed the blanket Aerith had pulled over him with some surprise.

"How about if I turn on a light?" Kunsel suggested.

"Yeah, sure…"

He reached for the light switch and the room became illuminated. Having been warned in time, Cloud let his eyes adjust and then, after pulling back the blanket, he pulled himself up so he was standing. He swayed a little but caught himself on the chair, leaving the blanket to rest on the seat. Well, Zack did say he'd been walking. He observed as the younger man carefully made his way toward the bathroom, using the furniture as support, more to keep his balance than anything else. As the door shut behind him, Kunsel walked to the window to take a look outside again, observing the people on the street below. There weren't many. Most folks would be home around this time.

There were still a couple though and he allowed his eyes to follow a man in a suit with a briefcase as he wandered down the sidewalk. Probably a businessman on his way home after dinner. People watching had always been something of a hobby for him. Back during his early days as a 3rd, when they still gave SOLDIERs guard duty as training assignments, it had just about been the only thing that had kept him sane. It had the added benefit of sharpening his observation skills too. As the man walked out of the window's line of site he heard the door to the bathroom opening again, and at about the same time, the doors to the annex creaked.

"Kunsel? Cloud? We're back," Aerith called out softly as though not sure if Cloud was still asleep.

"We're in here," he answered, walking to the door. Just before getting there, he saw Cloud had paused while leaning against the counter where the SOLDIER uniform was. "Are you hungry?"

"Yeah."

As he watched Cloud make his way back to the chair he heard more sounds of movement outside and then Aerith entered the room, carrying a plastic bag.

"They had several kinds of sandwich down there. We didn't know which to get for you Cloud, so we picked a couple and decided you could choose which one you liked. Owen said not to worry about it, he'll just save the other for later," she said, returning the gil Kunsel had passed her.

Kunsel took the bag from Aerith and put it on the card table looking through the various food items and arranging them for perusal later. As he worked, he heard talking outside. It sounded like Owen and someone else. Wait… Dr. Rayleigh?

"Hojo did what? Are you all right?" He hadn't heard Owen say much but he didn't seem like the type to get worried very easily, so to hear the uptick in volume in his voice caught him by surprise.

"I'm fine now, but I'm concerned what he's going to do now that he knows," the woman answered.

Kunsel met them at the door. "What's going on?"

Owen gave him a worried look. "Hojo knows that Rayleigh's been investigating his experiments. He threatened her."

"Are you okay?"

She seemed surprised to see him there, but answered, "As best I can be. I really need to talk to Tseng."

Owen sighed. "Well that's a problem. Unfortunately, he's unreachable at the moment. Last I heard he was in the process of trying to locate Veld. But I'd be more than happy to let you wait here. After that I'm certainly not going to turn you away."

Kunsel walked back into the room and checked out the window. "We should be careful. Are you sure you weren't followed?"

She gave him a worried look as she brought a hand up to her face. "Oh… I really hope not. I didn't see anyone when I left my apartment," she answered, still standing at the door.

Owen frowned. "Well, there's no sense fretting about it unless we know for sure. I'll go check the security feeds my office just in case. If there's a risk of a breach, I'll know." The shorter man walked over to the table and selected one of the sandwiches before looking back at Rayleigh. "Don't worry, we'll get this sorted out."

Rayleigh stood in the doorway for a moment considering and then stepped inside, trying to relax though she was clearly stressed. "Thank you." She glanced around the room which had settled into a tense silence after Owen's departure. "So why are you here Kunsel? I would have expected the Turks to try keeping most Shinra personnel away."

Kunsel shrugged. "I was looking for Zack, and I found him."

"Zack did talk about you while I was here." She observed. "Where is he?"

"He's out with the Turks. He said he'd be back soon."

Rayleigh nodded then looked to Cloud, offering a friendly smile. "It's good to see you awake, Cloud."

Cloud eyed her with suspicion before softly replying "You're Dr. Rayleigh… right?"

She nodded again. "You remember me?"

"I think so… we were protecting you… with Freya… I think."

"That's right." She walked a little closer. "How do you feel? You were asleep the last time I was here."

After a long pause, Kunsel heard a very awkward and barely audible "Fine" before the group's attention was drawn by the sound of Owen calling him, Rayleigh, and Aerith, to his office.

Inside, Kunsel saw a computer with a program observing what could only be a set of security cameras situated at the hospital entrances. Further, at the main entrance, he saw that a squad of regular troopers was preparing to enter the building, though no one had come inside yet. "It seems she was followed. They're probably still receiving orders, though it doesn't look like they think anyone knows their coming. You'll have at least fifteen minutes before the parking garage is closed off, and there is a service exit from the back of this corridor that will take you directly there. There's also a number of our vehicles parked on the second level. I'm sure Tseng will understand if you'd rather make use of one of them."

"Thanks." Kunsel looked down at the doctor. "What about you?"

"This facility does nominally have an official capacity within the hospital, so nothing should appear out of the ordinary." Owen offered a sly smile. "There was a reason Veld hired me after all." That was enough of an explanation for Kunsel. It was time to go.

The three of them hurried back to the hospital room and Kunsel took stock of the situation. He looked down at Cloud. He was attired well enough to travel, as the T-shirt and sweat pants he was wearing were suitable enough. He spotted the combat boots that belonged to the SOLDIER uniform sitting neatly under the counter and picked them up, handing them to the former infantryman. "We need to go. Hurry and get those on." The former infantryman didn't question the order but quickly started undoing the zipper on one of the boots. He seemed like he was pretty alert right now, which was a good thing. Mako poisoned or not, if they were being pursued there would be no time to make allowances.

He then glanced around the room for any belongings Zack or Cloud had left here. Aside from the SOLDIER uniform, he noticed a box sitting on Zack's bed that had been sealed with yellow tape. Aside from that, and a pitcher with flowers in it, the room looked fairly clear of personal effects, at least of the variety anyone would miss. "Is there anything else here that Zack would want you to take with you?" he asked, finally.

"Aside from that box, and those clothes I don't know of anything else. I'm pretty sure we didn't have much when the Turks got us."

Kunsel hurriedly stuffed the SOLDIER uniform and the box of letters into his own bag and slung it over his shoulder before strapping on his helmet and reattaching his sword. "I know he said you were walking, but do you mind if I help you?"

"No." The former infantryman was worried. "We will let Zack know what's going on, right?"

"Of course. There's no way I'd let him just walk into a dragon's den." As Cloud pulled himself up, Kunsel offered his arm in support and they hurried as fast as they could go towards the door.

The four of them entered the main corridor to find Owen waiting for them. "The exit to the parking garage is to the rear of this corridor. I've already opened the service exit for you, it's at the back of this corridor to the right," he said. "And the keys to our vehicles will be hanging on a set of hooks just past there, should you decide to use them." He turned his attention to Cloud. "Cloud, I know I wasn't your favorite person while you were here, but I would appreciate it if you would do me this one favor."

"What's that?" Cloud asked, somewhat surprised.

"Take care of yourself. Zack went through a lot of trouble to get you here. I would be sorry to hear it if you didn't make it out safely."

"Thank you," Cloud mumbled, somewhat uncomfortably.

Owen laughed. "It was my job. I may not be a Turk in the traditional sense, but I would like to think even I can live up to their creed. Now go." With that, the four of them hurried down the corridor and through the door to the exit.

Kunsel only paused for a moment when he came to the line of keys before selecting one for a motorcycle according to the label on the key ring. Someone would need to cover their retreat, and given the circumstances, that would have to be him.


	8. Aren't We a Little Early for This?

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spinoffs. That honor goes to Square-Enix.

And now, for you're reading pleasure...

**Part I: Crossfire**

* * *

><p>Chapter 8, Aren't We a Little Early for This?<p>

**October 4th [ ν ] – εуλ 0007, 7:30 PM**

They weren't nearly as slow getting to the parking garage as Kunsel had feared. It seemed Zack's assessment of Cloud's ability to walk was spot on as he only really needed Kunsel to prevent him from stumbling. Granted, the prospect of being captured again provided no small amount of motivation. He could see the effort was causing him to get a little shaky as they got to the end of the stairs, but Cloud said nothing about it so he didn't bring it up. As they reached the door to the parking garage, Rayleigh pulled ahead of them sighing with relief as recognition flashed across her face. "I think I may have actually parked on this level, I saw that van over there when I got out. I'll be back in just a moment."

They waited as she hurried to a small maroon sedan that was across the deck. Soon, she had backed it out of its space and pulled in front of them. There was a click as she unlocked the back doors. It didn't take much to get Cloud inside and once he was situated, Aerith hurried around to the front passenger seat. Kunsel dropped his bag into the seat beside Cloud and then said "Go on ahead, I'll be right behind you" before walking over to a small line of three nondescript vehicles that had been parked by the door. The Hardy-Daytona he was looking for was a little off to the left and he wore a satisfied smile when he realized that the fuel gauge was at full when it cranked to life. Perfect. As Rayleigh pulled toward the ramp of the garage, he backed the motorcycle carefully away from the wall and followed them toward the exit.

When they reached ground floor, they saw about four troopers headed in from the main entrance, probably coming to secure the hospital's entry points in the garage. Kunsel pulled the motorcycle up next to the car and motioned for Rayleigh to wait. He had no worries about being able to take the troopers on his own if they saw them but he swallowed hard anyway. There would be no turning back for him after this, and if he played this out the wrong way, it might put his name on the wanted list a lot sooner than he had anticipated. He waited to see what the troopers would do. Two of them were walking towards what he assumed was the entry point for the hospital on the ground floor while the other two were clearly headed towards the ramp. Obviously those would have to be dealt with. Kunsel pulled ahead of the car on the motorcycle and as the two troopers saw him they stopped and saluted. He checked their rank insignia before speaking. They were obviously enlisted troops. One of them was definitely a recent recruit, and the other was a Private First Class, which, as impressive as that sounded, was not much higher. Hell, even Cloud would have outranked them if what he'd said about being a Corporal had been accurate. He'd try distraction first, and hopefully violence wouldn't be necessary.

"At ease soldier, what business do you have here?" he asked formally.

"Sir, we've received reports of escaped specimens hiding in the near vicinity with orders to initiate a retrieval. F-for that reason, we've been asked to question anyone entering or leaving the area." The First Class private looked like he was about to faint at the sight of the SOLDIER uniform alone. All the better. "What business do you have here… um…"

Kunsel offered them a friendly smile and answered "SOLDIER 1st Class, Kunsel, though I'm off duty at the moment. The hospital just released a friend of mine and I'm seeing him and his family home." He leaned in a little. "I'd appreciate it if you didn't bother him though. It was really serious and even though he's been okayed to leave, they told him to take it easy until he's feeling better."

The two troopers conferred among themselves for a moment before the higher ranking private answered "We'll try not to disturb him sir, but we should at least inspect the vehicle before you go."

"I can vouch for them personally, there's no need," Kunsel said with as much authority as his day job of drilling the SOLDIER recruits had imbued him with.

"I-I'm sorry sir, but we have orders from Heidegger himself." Kunsel had to give the trooper credit, he had balls, talking back to him. But that was a problem he really didn't need. He saw the lower ranked private giving his comrade a worried look.

He tried one last time, putting a little more urgency into his voice. "Look, my friend's had it pretty rough the last few days. He was really sick and for a while they weren't sure he was going to make it. His mother and sister are exhausted from worrying about him and none of them need this right now. So let us out of here, and I'll put in a good word for you guys when the performance reviews come up. Understand?"

It worked. The two privates nodded and saluted again. "Yes sir." The higher ranked trooper then added "I hope your friend feels better soon, sir."

"Thank you Privates." he looked at their nametags as though to note who he was speaking to and then waved to Rayleigh to bring the car past the two troopers as they moved in the opposite direction. As they walked past the tinted windows of the car, Kunsel was grateful that he'd pulled it off. That was too close, but maybe, just maybe, they'd get out of this without having to fight anyone…

As they reached the exit to the garage, two more troopers walked in and one of them held up his weapon. "Sir, we apologize, but no one is permitted to leave the area until we've located the specimens." Kunsel grimaced under his helmet before preparing to tell them the same lie. One of these new troopers was a Sergeant, he noted, but his bluffing might still work… Out of the corner of his eye, just down the street, he saw a Moth Slasher floating nearby with its lights flashing like its scanning program was running. There'd be no way he could bluff his way past a machine, especially when it was highly likely they would have Rayleigh and Cloud's profiles loaded into their databanks by now.

Decision made, he dismounted from his motorcycle. Before the troopers could even report what had happened, two quick blows to the backs of their necks brought them tumbling to the ground, unconscious. Kunsel picked up one of the trooper rifles and slung it over his shoulder alongside his sword before hurrying back to his bike. Once he was mounted again, he ushered Rayleigh ahead of him, and as the two of them rounded the corner, they both gunned their engines.

The entry-ramp to the highway was only a few blocks away and it took them a matter of seconds to reach it. Kunsel saw a couple of new sets of lights behind him when they were almost onto the highway, but for now, he ignored it, instead paying more attention to Rayleigh's driving. She was handling her vehicle remarkably well, given the circumstances and had just pulled ahead in the passing lane. The highways were mainly Shinra's transportation arteries as few people actually owned cars within the city and traffic was usually nonexistent out here. He zoomed after Rayleigh, feeling the night wind beating against him. That was when he heard the sound of another motorcycle nearby and checked his rear view mirror. There were three of them behind him, each being driven by a trooper. He reached behind him and carefully pulled out his sword. He'd never tried this before but he'd always been good with motorcycles, so this shouldn't be too much of a challenge.

He decelerated, holding his sword horizontal to the road as he did so and two of the troopers immediately crashed to avoid the blade. The third ended up on the opposite side of his bike from where his blade was, but that didn't stop him from slowing down a little bit as Kunsel's gaze met his. The trooper soon pulled ahead, attempting to make a play for Rayleigh's car, which was by far a less dangerous target than Kunsel, but that was exactly what he'd wanted. He shifted to the left behind the trooper and followed his acceleration, poking deftly at the trooper's rear tire once he was safely out of the way. The tire burst and Kunsel swerved to the side as the trooper's bike fell over, still skidding in the distance behind them. They were soon alone on the road again, but Kunsel kept his sword out, keeping it close to the bike as he maneuvered behind Rayleigh's car in a defensive position. He couldn't see the inside thanks to the tinted windows, but he hoped everyone was all right in there.

They flew around a curve and he cursed again as five more motorcycles pulled into view behind them. At the very least there didn't seem to be any helicopters. He decelerated again, spooking one of the troopers who pulled off to the side of the road rather than brave his sword. Kunsel ignored him, instead pulling behind two of the other troopers and then gunned his accelerator as he sent his sword out in a broad slash. Predictably, one of them turned hard in surprise and Kunsel swerved to the side again as he spun out, catching the other trooper's bike in a tornado of screeching metal and sparks. He heard an explosion behind him as the two bikes collided with the guard rails. One of the remaining bikers tried to pull up behind him at that point, pushing on his rear wheel. With SOLDIER reflexes he put the bike into a controlled spin, bringing the bike around as the trooper flew past him before speeding up, bringing his sword out in another slash and sending the man flying off his bike as it sped into the guardrail on the side of the road. He then noticed the last of their attackers who was pulling up level with the car. The SOLDIER would have to deal with that immediately. Rayleigh clearly saw it too because she had accelerated some more and was attempting to stay ahead of him.

There was a tight curve coming up in the road. Kunsel pulled ahead as far as he dared, hoping Rayleigh was a skilled enough driver to make it around without incident. She certainly didn't need that trooper pushing her. That was when their attacker pulled out his rifle. He was going to try to shoot out the tires.

Kunsel pulled level with the trooper and lifting his sword deftly over and to the front of the other bike he swished it in a backwards motion, chopping at the man cross his chest as his ride also skidded into a crash behind them. He was probably already dead by the time he hit the pavement. They entered the curve and Rayleigh's tires squealed as they rounded it before pulling out onto a straight highway once more.

That was when Kunsel noticed the tunnel up ahead. Good. No helicopters would be able to give chase in there. As they flew out of the night air and into the dimly lit space, he watched his mirrors carefully in case they were still being followed. Rather disconcertingly though, he didn't catch any signs of further motorcyclists. Instead, his enhanced senses picked up the sound of a large vehicle behind them. As pavement flew by underneath them, he looked up ahead and signaled to Rayleigh hoping she understood that they needed to gun it.

He checked the mirrors again as the tunnel lights departed in favor of a starlit sky and his eyes widened. He'd heard that Scarlet had been developing a robotic vehicle for retrieval squads but he'd never seen it actually used. Motorball… Not good. He searched his memory of the area for any off ramps that could get them back into the city streets where they could hopefully lose the approaching menace and realized that they were near the border between Sector 3 and Sector 4. There should be an exit coming up soon… Hmm… those looked like road construction signs up ahead...

He'd already known the Shinra Transit Authority was incompetent, but if he didn't know better, he could have sworn this was on purpose. The detour was ridiculous, requiring a U-turn onto the lane going back, towards their oncoming enemy, and as he looked up ahead, he could see that a whole segment of the bridge was out. There was nothing for it. They would have to make a stand here. Rayleigh saw this too, and she pulled her car to a halt. As he got closer, she came out of the driver's side holding a doctor's bag. Aerith came out the other door, holding her staff. He skidded to a halt and dismounted from his bike, taking a forward position with his sword drawn. He considered what materia he had on him. He had Bolt, an Elemental, a Cure, and a Barrier. That ought to be sufficient to take care of protecting everyone. He really wished he had an All though.

As the three of them prepared for the assault, he quickly cast Barrier on Rayleigh and Aerith, before linking Bolt with the Elemental in his sword. Maybe the electricity would short the thing out. With a yell, he charged at the oncoming robot and they met each other halfway. He leapt, hearing his sword screech through the metal as he flew overhead and landed behind it, careful not to make contact with it apart from the blade and his boots, lest he be shocked by his own spell. Behind him he heard the contraption bump against the barriers he'd cast on the two women, but they held as Aerith moved closer to the other woman, assuming a defensive stance. Taking stock of the situation he saw that the rubber treads were probably the most susceptible to his blade and the sooner this thing was rendered immobile, the better. With that thought, he charged in running his sword through the closest tread, cutting at it. The tread snapped, but that was when he heard a loud pinging sound as Aerith's staff raised up to guard against the robot's spinning blades. It seemed the last hit had broken her shield. He raced back to the front just in time to come to her aid and divert the blades before he heard Rayleigh shout as she cast a spell.

Was that Fire? It didn't look like it. It was too small to be a full Fire spell, but he didn't know what else it could be. He glanced in the direction she had cast it to see that she had focused whatever sort of spell it was on what appeared to be some kind of piping on the inside of one of the treads. As he brought his sword up to push the blades away from Aerith he realized that just might be the way to handle this.

He cast Barrier on Aerith again and raced toward the fuel line, when suddenly, something hit him, knocking him back towards the vehicles. He felt the rifle that he'd brought with him fly clear of his body and land against the car with a resounding thunk. No time to think about it. He picked himself up and raced into the fray again casting a Bolt spell as he ran, before stabbing at the line but only really succeeding in lodging his sword into the robot's metallic hull. That was when he felt the grinding of gears vibrating through his sword and cursed.

The robot could change its shape! He dislodged the sword quickly before the shifting monstrosity could eat it, and ducked to the side as a flamethrower sprayed the area with crimson blooms. He took a step back, searching the robot for a weak point. It had shifted so that the upper portion resembling a torso had hunkered in and forward in such a way that the flame cannons were pointed towards them, but it appeared that if he could get under the thing, he might still be able to cut the fuel line. If he could find it again.

He heard Aerith cry out at that moment and another pinging sound as her staff met blade when she'd moved to defend the doctor. Rayleigh had only just barely avoided being knocked to the ground by a swipe from a mechanical arm. Aerith's barrier was gone again now so he cast the spell once more, hoping he wouldn't have to cast it too many more times, as he joined Aerith in holding off the attack.

As he did so, he called out to Rayleigh "Hey. Do you think you could light up the space underneath that thing?"

"I'll try," she answered preparing to cast the weak fire spell again as Aerith brought up her staff to divert another attack. A small flame whooshed to life briefly underneath the robot and Kunsel just caught a glimpse of the tube he was looking for, coiled up against one of the contraption's axles. He charged again, sliding under the chassis and slicing the tubing clean through before rolling out the back. But to his consternation, even as the oil-based fuel leaked out from the pipe he'd just split, the thing was still going! That must have been the reserves for the flamethrower. Damn it! He raced around the opposite side of where he'd sliced the other tread and brought his sword through its mate, hoping the loss in traction would slow it down further.

That was when he heard the report of a rifle and a bullet connecting with steel. It was when he raced back to the others that he saw Cloud.

Standing, but using the roof of the car to support him and steady his aim, the former infantryman had shot into the space under the robot, once he'd seen Kunsel was clear. As Kunsel rejoined Rayleigh on the other side of the car, Cloud fired again, and the SOLDIER only looked back just in time to see a spark catch on the bleeding fuel line before he pushed Rayleigh to the ground and Aerith followed in a duck and cover. The explosion was mostly contained in the robot's underbelly, but it lifted it into the air slightly before the blown out chassis fell to the pavement, sending vibrations along the entire bridge. At the impact, gears whined before something inside the metal frame snapped and the robot's torso slumped to the side.

Motor Ball was no more.

Kunsel sat up and took off his helmet temporarily to wipe the sweat away from his brow before putting it back on again and taking stock of their situation. Aerith looked like she was okay. She picked herself up and dusted herself off. Rayleigh too, looked like she was mostly unhurt. She just had a few scrapes and bruises. "That was close," he breathed out.

Aerith nodded and to his surprise she walked to the center of the highway and gripped her staff to her chest. As she did so, Kunsel suddenly felt a cool breeze in the area and the cuts and scrapes he'd acquired suddenly healed. Rayleigh stood and walked over to the flower girl curiously. "That wasn't just a Cure spell. That was a limit break," she commented.

Aerith smiled. "I thought it would help."

"Well, thank you." The two women stood there for a moment, catching their breath before all three of them walked over to the other side of the car. When the explosion had gone off, Cloud had dropped to the ground and was leaning against the car as though he'd just sat up. He looked as though the effort of moving had been very tiring. The rifle lay next to him.

"How are you holding up?" Kunsel asked him, picking up the gun and placing it back over his shoulder just in case.

"I'm all right…" Cloud took a moment to breath. "That thing was crazy," he added as an afterthought.

"Well you're the one who made the killing blow. That was great!" Kunsel knelt down to take a better look at him, though it didn't seem like he'd received any injuries from the blast, either that or Aerith had taken care of them with that healing technique of hers.

Cloud laughed quietly. "You did all the work…"

"So? That was still some pretty good shooting. Nice job." He tried not to think about what could have happened if Cloud hadn't been able to shoot straight, before reality imposed itself back on his thoughts and he stood to talk to the others. "We're going to have to ditch the car here," he said.

"You're right. It'll be easier to hide, and they'll probably be back soon." Aerith was putting her staff back over her shoulder as she spoke.

Kunsel walked over to the edge of the bridge and was relieved to see a cable nearby that snaked its way down the girders. "Okay, we'll make for the church. We can climb down here and then find a way into the slums. After that, it's a short walk through Sector 4 and then once we're in Sector 5, we'll be where we want to be, right Aerith?"

The flower girl nodded. "It shouldn't be too difficult."

Rayleigh gave her car a last going over before retrieving what remained of her belongings. "It's a shame," she said with a wistful look. "I liked this car."

Kunsel shrugged. "We need to get going. Who should I carry first?" He asked. It was at that point he heard a painful grunt from the man sitting at his feet and looked down. "Cloud? Are you okay?" The man had curled in on himself and was clutching his head.

"Cloud?" Rayleigh knelt down next to him.

A few seconds later, Cloud lifted his head from his hands, before looking up at Kunsel with a totally confused expression. "Who are you?" he asked, and he suddenly looked very worried. "Where's Zack?"

"Zack's not here, Cloud. He'll be back with us soon though, okay?" Rayleigh spoke up. "Now what happened? Are you in pain?" Cloud's eyes snapped over to her… no not her specifically… but to the lab coat she was wearing.

"Keep away from me…" he growled, pushing himself back until he was leaning against the door of the car.

"Hey easy!" Kunsel knelt down next to him again, only just now remembering Zack's warning. "She's just trying to help. Come on Cloud, you know Rayleigh. Even if you don't, it's okay, we're friends of Zack's all right?"

He looked up at him suspiciously and at a guess, this was probably an instance when the fact he was wearing a SOLDIER uniform and a SOLDIER helmet didn't help. He took the helmet off, but that didn't seem to have any effect. "How do I know you aren't lying?" Cloud asked coldly. They were clearly at an impasse.

That was when Rayleigh took the initiative. "Cloud, I'm sorry." She raised her hand in his direction, palm open and Kunsel saw evidence of a sleep spell being cast before Cloud slumped over.

"I didn't want to have to do that," Rayleigh admitted as she reached into her bag. "But we don't have time to sit here and talk him out of it. We'll have to wait until we're out of the open." After a moment, she pulled out a filled syringe, cotton, and rubbing alcohol. She looked back at the former infantryman, estimating his weight before tapping out a small amount of the fluid in the syringe.

"What's that?" Kunsel asked.

"The sleep spell won't hold, especially if we're dragging him all over the slums. Chances are it'll wear off before we even get that far. This is a sedative. You'll have to carry him but at least this way he won't panic when he wakes up, so if he's still having problems, we can explain things when we're safe." She used the cotton to clean a place on his arm before inserting the needle and depressing the plunger. He stirred, but didn't awaken again. Once she was finished, she replaced her equipment in her bag and then stood up. "You should take Aerith down first and then come back for Cloud. I'll go last."

"Are you sure?" Aerith asked.

Rayleigh was adamant. "We can't stand here and argue. We need to move."

Kunsel nodded and wordlessly beckoned for Aerith to follow him to where the cable hung. He took her in one arm as he prepared to slide down the cable. The doctor was right. Another squad could be bearing down on them even now.

* * *

><p><strong>October 4<strong>**th** **[ ν ] – εуλ 0007, 8:30 PM**

It did not take long for Kunsel to get everyone down to the plate's street level. The physical exertion was not a problem, and even though Cloud had stirred again at one point, he had remained asleep. They couldn't take the train anymore due to the security system so instead they used a set of emergency stairs Aerith pointed out at the border between Sector's 4 and 5, and once they were in the slums the Church was really close.

It was shortly after that when Kunsel heard a low mumble next to his ear. "…Zack?"

"Kunsel," he corrected. "Do you remember what happened up on the bridge?" Up until this point, he had been carrying Cloud with one arm over his shoulders but he felt the burden lessen as Cloud suddenly attempted to carry some of his own weight again. He paused, waiting for the answer.

Cloud was quiet for a long time before he finally spoke again. "…I shot that thing… but after that… I'm not sure…"

Rayleigh seemed to have heard the conversation because she hung back from where she had been following Aerith to wait for them to catch up. "Cloud, are you awake?"

Cloud's eyes tracked to where she stood. "Yeah… um…" He frowned. "Rayleigh...?" At a guess the sedative was probably still keeping him from being totally coherent, but Kunsel was definitely relieved that he wasn't freaking out at her presence anymore.

"Yes, that's right." She took up a position next to them as Kunsel slowly loosened his hold on Cloud so he could help himself along as much as he felt the need to. "How's your head?"

He looked at her in confusion so she tried again. "You were acting like it hurt earlier. I guess that means it doesn't now?"

"No..."

"Good." At that point, she elected not to bother him further. Kunsel looked up and saw that the Church was looming ahead of them. Aerith was waiting for them at the door, holding it open for them to pass through.

"We're almost there," he said, to no one in particular.

As they went carefully up the steps, Cloud lifted his head to take in his surroundings, but didn't say anything. It didn't take long for them to get to the front of the pews, and after Cloud was sitting on the front row in the darkened building, everyone took a moment to revel in the fact they were probably safe for now before Aerith spoke again. "We should probably call Freya. Zack should be with her, I think."

"What's her number?" Kunsel asked.

Aerith checked her pockets before pulling out a slip of note paper and handing it to him. He couldn't use his own PHS, since chances were by now, Shinra would be tracking it in case he made a call, so instead, he left the church and looked around for a public phone. He soon found one on a street in Sector 5's shopping district and after slipping a few gil into the coin slot, and using the backlight from his own phone to read Aerith's handwriting, he quickly dialed the number. Almost as soon as he initiated the call, a familiar but slightly breathless female voice answered, "_Yes_?"

"It's Kunsel, is Zack with you?"

"_Just a moment_." There was the sound of something shifting around and then he heard Zack's voice on the other end, and he too sounded like he had been running.

"_What is it Kunsel?"_

Judging by the sounds on the other end, Kunsel decided that now was not the time for pleasantries. "Zack, I don't know what you're doing, but when you're done, don't go back to the hospital."

"_What? What happened?"_

"I'll explain later. The main thing you need to know is that we got everyone out okay, and that we're waiting for you at Aerith's favorite place." He didn't think a Turk would suffer herself to be phone-tapped by anyone, but he felt it best not to outright say "the church."

There was silence for a moment and then Zack asked "_So everyone's all right?"_

"Yes, everyone's fine. Rayleigh's here with us too. Don't worry about us; just make sure you make it back, okay?"

He heard a relieved sigh on the other end and when Zack spoke again, a bit of his old cocky attitude back in his voice. "_Would I do anything less? Things are a little crazy right now, but I'll get there as soon as I can. Thanks for the warning."_

"No problem." Kunsel ended the call and hurried back down the street to the church. As he reentered he took stock of everyone's current situation. Cloud looked exhausted, and no wonder. It had been a very stressful night for him, even in spite of all the sleeping he'd been doing, natural and otherwise. Rayleigh had seated herself on one of the other pews and Aerith was returning from the rear storeroom with a lantern and supplies for lighting candles.

When Aerith saw he had returned, she said "I need to go get my mother. She might be in danger too after this."

"Do you want me to go with you?" he asked.

She shook her head. "I'll be all right by myself. It won't take long and I know this area well enough that I can hide if I have to." She reached into a bag that he suddenly noticed she had with her. "I hope you don't mind, I packed four of them when we left. I didn't look to see what kinds they were though." As he looked, she produced a couple of small bundles wrapped in paper which he suddenly recognized as two of the sandwiches that would have been their dinner.

He laughed. He'd been far too busy making sure Cloud was ready to move to even think about food. "Of course I don't mind. Armies don't move on empty stomachs and neither should we."

Aerith smiled and then passed him the food to divvy out. Once that was done, she walked to the door of the church. "I'll be back soon," she called back to them. With that, the door creaked shut, and she was gone.


	9. The Last Two Materia

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spinoffs. That honor goes to Square-Enix.

A special note of appreciation for HCloudXIII over on Youtube and Dark Angel from the website, Gunshot Romance for their efforts to translate the Before Crisis game text and make the gameplay viewable.

And now, we're back...

**Part I: Crossfire**

* * *

><p>Chapter 9, The Last Two Materia<p>

**October 4th [ ν ] – εуλ 0007, 9:15 PM**

It wasn't long after the call from Kunsel that Freya figured out the truck was headed towards one of Midgar's train stations, and that she knew a shortcut to get there. They were able to avoid most major distractions on the way over, and soon they spotted their target again. The truck had been parked near the station which looked oddly desolate for this time of night. Although if Zack had to guess, the Ravens had probably scared everyone away. It didn't surprise him that no one had sounded the alarm. Policing in the slums had always been kind of an uncertain thing.

Still clad in the Trooper uniform she'd lifted, Freya tossed the helmet away before creeping up to the truck to look inside. "Elena?" she whispered.

There was no answer so the two of them crept towards the station and the train that was waiting there. No discussion was necessary. Both of them knew that if they attracted the wrong kind of attention, it wasn't just their necks on the line. As they crept into the shadow by the ticket booth, Zack could clearly see several Ravens standing inside some of the train cars.

He turned his attention back to Freya as she motioned that they were going to try and infiltrate the rear car. He nodded to show he understood, but at that moment, he heard the sound of an engine whirring to life. The train was beginning to move. With no time left, the two of them hurried to the last train car. Zack hopped aboard easily and then reached back to grab the Turk's hand and pull her up onto the stoop. Once they were both on, they silently slipped inside the rail car, alert for any indication that they'd been discovered.

The inside of the car was empty, aside from the seats for passengers. Freya looked around warily and then hurried forward, Zack right behind her. About halfway down the car she stopped and knelt, and as Zack halted next to her, he saw something glittering in her hands. "That was that medal Elena was telling us about wasn't it." It wasn't a question.

Freya nodded. "She's been through here, either that, or they left it here to show us that they still have her." She cocked her shotgun as she checked to make sure it had sufficient ammo. "I have a bad feeling about this."

They walked to the door connecting this car to the next, and Freya glanced through the window. "There's about seven of them in there," she reported. "Elena's with them. It looks like… they're waiting for us."

"Then I guess being stealthy won't do us any good anymore," Zack observed.

"No, it won't." Freya opened the door and the two of them walked towards the Ravens, steeling themselves for whatever the AVALANCHE SOLDIERs might be planning.

* * *

><p>When Tanjuu left the bar with Shears, he had made a point to keep out of sight of the various urchins in Wall Market, and with good reason. While he'd been with Don Corneo's enforcers after leaving the Wutai syndicate, their parting of ways had not been on the best of terms, in spite of the mafia boss' relationship with the Turks as a whole. With the Turks no longer having Shinra's backing, that protection for him was gone, and he knew very well how Corneo liked to hold grudges. He had no desire to give the Don the opportunity to capitalize on their misfortune.<p>

It had not taken them long to find evidence of the Ravens running around once they had backtracked to the location where Liz, the cold-eyed, female martial artist, had spotted them. They had tracked them for quite a while since then, mostly sticking to the shadows and hoping their hysterical quarry would return to the main group so they could hopefully find Elfe. Alas, it seemed that this particular Raven had not intended to return so soon, and was probably, irony of ironies, looking for them. Tanjuu wondered what their target would have thought if he knew that two of the very people he was supposed to be hunting were watching him, and one of them could very easily shoot him before he could say "Shiva."

"Come on, go back to the others, already!" Shears whispered next to him, his frustration evident.

The two of them were watching from a roof in the shadow of one of the plate supports as the target paused, clearly debating which way to go at a cross roads. Tanjuu shot him a death glare. He knew Shears well enough by now, if indirectly, to know how dedicated the former AVALANCHE leader was to Elfe. As enemies and allies both, it had been apparent the man clung to her with an intense devotion, and so, he could understand Shears' anxiety, but at the same time, it wouldn't do them any good if the Raven heard them.

Shears however, was not intimidated by his gaze and pointedly ignored him. It was about that point that a second Raven appeared near the first and asked him "Any luck?"

The first Raven shook his head, still grinning. "Nope."

"Well, let's head back, the boss just called us in." Yes! This was the break they needed. As the two Ravens departed, their two pursuers slipped down from the roof and crept after them. They followed them along several streets, and Tanjuu noticed they were getting a little bit closer to Sector 7. Almost before the check point dividing the two sectors though, the Ravens turned towards the center of Midgar and began walking in that direction. They followed him a little while longer before he disappeared behind a building.

Cautiously, Tanjuu pulled out his guns and pulled against the wall of the building with Shears beside him, before the two looked around the corner to find the Raven gone. Tanjuu slid along the wall, listening intently for any sounds of an ambush but he heard nothing. It was disquieting, and proved to him that as inhuman as Ravens had become they could still understand the need for silence. They reached the far end of building and saw that they were looking out on an area where the debris had been cleared in front of a couple of houses. It looked deserted.

"Where did they go?" Shears muttered behind him.

"They couldn't have just disappeared," Tanjuu mused. After a moment, he came to a decision. "We'll split up. You take a look around that side and I'll take this one. We'll meet when we get to the opposite side." Shears nodded in agreement and darted behind a pile of rubble as Tanjuu headed in the opposite direction.

It was several minutes later, and the gunman was already halfway around when he heard the sound of an energy blast from the path Shears had taken. He sprinted in that direction as fast as he dared without breaking cover. As he reached the point from which the sound originated, he ducked behind a pile of debris to observe. There was a truck there with several Ravens around it and Shears was lying on the ground, looking rather beaten up. The other person that drew Tanjuu's attention was the man in the white uniform of an AVALANCHE leader, who had unnaturally neat short brown hair and wore a small pair of glasses. He had seen photos of Fuhito before, but he had never actually met the man as his duties had taken him elsewhere.

"Once the summoning is completed, we will no longer have any need for Elfe," the man was saying as he smiled serenely down at his former compatriot. "If we kill her, we can take the materia from her body, and if I offer it to Zirconiaide, it can be whole once more." With that, the man and his followers piled into the truck and drove off, leaving Shears lying on the ground.

Once he was sure the area was clear, Tanjuu raced out to where the man lay and activated the Cure materia he always carried around in the pocket of his blazer for just such emergencies. The first words out of Shears mouth were a rather elaborate curse, followed by "…They got the materia, we need to tell the others."

* * *

><p><strong>October 4th [ ν ] – εуλ 0007, 9:30 PM<strong>

"Freya? Why did you follow us?" Elena demanded. She was being held by the Raven in the middle, and Zack knew it would be impossible to force their way into getting her back without her ending up hurt too.

The Turk and the SOLDIER took defensive positions as they approached the end of the train car. "Elena isn't connected with the Turks. Let her go!" Freya demanded.

The Raven who was holding the girl gave them a crazy smile. "Gladly, if you give us the support materia in exchange."

The Turk thought about it for a moment as Elena squirmed next to her captor. "Don't listen to them Freya! If it's just them, I can get out of this." She picked that moment to elbow her captor in the ribs and tried to use the surprise to back up and give him a kick to the head, but unfortunately, only the elbow landed. All it seemed to achieve was to aggravate him. His laughter took on a rather hungry tone as he pushed her back into the throng of other Ravens and looked like he might be about to start beating on her, but that was when Freya broke the silence.

"Elena! Stop! I get it!" The Raven turned back to look at her as she spoke and Zack was shocked to hear the next thing she said.

"I'll give you the support materia." Elena's eyes widened in horror, and Zack was pretty sure his were doing the same thing in surprise.

Freya's expression hardened as she reached into her pocket and pulled out the tiny ball. "I said, I'll give you the support materia." She walked a step closer.

"Why?" Elena demanded. "It's important, isn't it?"

"It's okay, Elena," the Turk said calmly before turning her attention back to the Raven. "Bring her to the front, and I'll throw it to you."

The Raven grabbed the girl and put her in front of him as Freya raised her hand with the materia. It glittered under the lights inside the train car. At the same moment, the Raven pushed Elena forward and Freya tossed the crystal orb. Both were caught at the same time, and almost immediately the lead Raven bolted, his prize in hand.

Freya pushed the girl behind her as Zack raced forward to take on the remaining Ravens. They couldn't move around as much in this cramped space, and while that was a disadvantage to him too, it was much more to them due to their numbers. With Freya backing him up, the fight barely lasted a minute.

As the last Raven fell, Zack looked down at the Turk. "So, the plan is to get the materia back, right?"

"Right. We should be able to clear out this train before it gets to its destination." She turned to Elena. "We'll be going now."

"Wait!" Elena called after her. "I'm coming too!"

"It's kind of dangerous," Zack interjected.

"Right, you need to stay here," Freya agreed.

"But it's my fault all this happened."

"I still want you to stay here. Don't worry, we're going to fix this." Freya offered her a cocky grin. "No mission is impossible for the Turks. It's what we do, right?" With that, she gestured for Zack to follow her and they dashed into the next train car.

When they crossed over to the next car, they found four more Ravens waiting for them. As Freya was leading, she kept walking, firing her shot gun twice in succession. Two of the Ravens went down immediately and Zack ran ahead as the huntress took some time to reload. Both the remaining Ravens tried to rush him and there was no space to draw his sword due to the setup of the passenger seats which were situated in sets of two on either side of the car. Instead, Zack grabbed one of the handholds attached to the ceiling of the car and used it to swing himself forward, kicking one of the Ravens to the ground. His first target immediately banged his head against the corner of one of the seats and was out like a light. He landed over top of the man and used his continued momentum to lunge forward at the last Raven, knocking him to the ground and using his elbow to put him out cold.

"Nice work." Freya pulled ahead of him again to take point as they headed towards the next car.

"I couldn't let you have all the fun." The cockiness of the statement was not shared by the tone of Zack's voice. They hurried through the door to find that it was a boxcar and therefore empty of passenger seats. There were also four more Ravens waiting for them.

"Two and two?" Zack quipped.

"We'll see." Once again she walked forward, firing another shell. Two of them went down again and a third one was leaning against the wall as though he was trying to stay up. The fourth had dodged to the side, but had to back away as Zack brought his sword to bear. In here, there was plenty of space and so he cut the man down with extreme prejudice before looking over at the remaining Ravens. None of them were trying to get up. The one in the corner was reaching for something though. Freya saw it too and immediately fired another round. She chambered out the spent ammo and as she walked toward the next car, she started reloading the shotgun again.

Zack eyed the defeated Ravens warily in case they decided to get back up but none of them did.

"Two more cars. He won't have anywhere to run after this," Freya muttered as she pushed open the door to the next train car. Immediately, Zack saw two Ravens on the other side of the standard passenger car they entered, but then he heard the two that had been waiting crouched by the door for their approach. Freya immediately turned right, firing a shotgun blast right into one of their faces as Zack raced in and threw his arms around the neck of the other before the Raven could try and put his own hands around the lady Turk's neck. He winced as the Raven's neck broke before he fell limply to the ground. There were two more Ravens left and they were advancing, with no thought to their own lives.

Freya didn't even flinch as she fired two blasts in their direction. Both of them went down at the gun's report, and the two of them hurried to get to the last car. As Freya threw open the door, she groaned when she saw it empty and then shouted back at Zack as she started running for the opposite end of the car "You take the ladder on this end, I'll get that one! He's on the roof!"

Zack did not need to be told twice. He retreated back outside the car and hopped up the ladder, almost without climbing any of it. The wind whistled through his hair as he peeked over the top of the car and saw that they were hurtling along a train track that ran alongside a second one. The Raven stood at the center of the car, almost like he was waiting for something. Zack pulled himself up just as he saw Freya climbing up the other ladder. They had him!...

That was when the second train flew by from the other direction. The Raven leaped into the air and caught himself on the roof of the other train as it flew back towards the slums. By the time Zack was all the way up the roof and able to attempt the same stunt however, the train was gone.

The Turk and the Ex-SOLDIER met each other where the Raven had jumped. "He got us. They must have researched the train schedules when they planned this," she said angrily.

"Freya!" The two turned and saw a blonde head of hair peeking up from where the ladder was and they made their way carefully over to her. "Where's the materia?" Elena asked as they approached.

Freya sighed. "They got away with it on a train headed back to the slums."

Elena's face fell. "I'm sorry. If I wasn't so clumsy…"

Freya seemed to be thinking for a bit before she spoke again. "Don't worry about it, there's still a way."

"What are you going to do?" Elena asked. Zack wanted the answer to this question too. He was certainly fresh out of ideas.

"This train is headed towards Sector 0 and the station will be right by the Shinra building. We're going to steal a helicopter and find them that way." Both Zack and Elena's eyes bugged out.

"Are you serious?" Elena demanded.

"It does sound crazy," Zack agreed. "Shinra is tearing the city apart looking for us, and from what Kunsel said, they nearly found them at the hospital already. Everyone's going to be on high alert, and you want us to march right in there and steal a helicopter out from under their noses?" It was a distinctly alien feeling to be the voice of reason. It used to be him who came up with all the crazy ideas.

"Well, what do you suggest?" Freya asked.

Zack shrugged. "I'll help. But… wow…"

Elena shook her head. "Forget I said anything. You're a Turk after all."

Freya climbed down so they could get on the platform between the two cars. "It's like I said before…"

Elena rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I know."

They were all standing in between the two cars when Freya's PHS buzzed and after she saw the number she answered it immediately. "Shears, what's wrong?" She walked into the train car where she could hear him talk, and as Zack listened, he saw worry begin to line her face. She hung up shortly after that. "We need to hurry. Fuhito has all the materia."

"What? Wait, does that mean they got Cissnei too?" Zack demanded.

"It seems that way. But at least there's a way to fix this. Apparently if we can get to Elfe quick enough we can make sure the summon doesn't go off. In order to do that, we need to find where Fuhito's going, and we must get that materia back." She looked around the side of the train car and saw the station was coming up. "Elena, you go home, okay?"

The girl nodded. Now was not the time for arguments.

Once that was settled, Freya looked back at Zack. "All right, let's go get that helicopter."

* * *

><p><strong>October 4th [ ν ] – εуλ 0007, 10:00 PM<strong>

Three guards stood at the entrance to the tunnel that led to the special cell block in the sewers. They weren't standing for long as Tseng, Reno, and Rude each threw them to the ground in perfect synch, knocking all of them unconscious before racing down the corridor. It wouldn't be long before the alarm was sounded, and they only had a short span of time to reach their objective.

As they neared the end of the tunnel, Reno spotted the door they were heading towards. "There it is!"

They halted in front of it and Tseng began to check it for the mechanism that would open it, but with no luck. After a moment, he heard Rude cracking his knuckles behind him. "Tseng, leave it to me."

The Turk director backed away from the door as the martial artist walked toward the side of the door where the hinges were seated, and took stance, angling a punch at a key point on the frame. Almost immediately, the lock snapped and the door swung open revealing an older man with a scarred face in a gray suit.

"Way to go Rude!" Reno applauded.

The three Turks waited for their former superior to exit the cell and Tseng pulled himself to attention. "Veld! Sir!"

"Tseng! Why did you come here!"

"Well isn't that obvious?" Reno spoke for him. "To rescue you of course!"

"You do this and there won't be any going back, you know."

Reno smirked. "We're just doing our jobs."

Rude raised an eyebrow and then supplied "…If you choose to see it that way."

"Now you're just splitting hairs." The former Turk director stood and gave all three of them a stern look.

Tseng chose that moment to push the door open the whole way as he offered his own explanation. "Executing you would be a great loss to the Shinra company. Shinra needs you, and we'll take as long as we need to make them see it. I've got someone preparing a vehicle for our escape as we speak."

The former director could see by this point that there was no utility in arguing. "All right. Let's go."

* * *

><p>It did not take Zack and Freya long to get to the secret entrance into Turk headquarters. It turned out to be the elevator through which the Turks had led him out of the building when they'd taken him to Sector 2. He hadn't looked behind him when he'd left, but he discovered it to have been disguised as a blank wall when not in use. They were soon riding up into the belly of the skyscraper until the elevator came to a halt. As they exited, Zack recognized the hallway along which his cell had been located previously.<p>

Zack couldn't help but wonder if the Vice President was still in his cell in here, somewhere. Freya didn't comment on it, so instead, they made their way down the corridor until they were in the main hall. Freya took a moment to duck into an alcove to change back into her suit and check the security cameras around the side entrance. When she confirmed there weren't any guards waiting, she called Tseng to report in before leading them in that direction.

The door was unguarded, but obviously not unwatched because when they exited into the regular portion of this particular level, alarms immediately started blaring.

"_Emergency Alert! Intruder Detected! Security moving to Level S._"

The two of them hurried down the hall to find an alcove to duck down as Freya cursed. "That means we're going to have to find the right key cards to get up to the helicopter pad."

"How are we going to get those?" Zack asked.

Before Freya could open her mouth to reply, he heard the sound of footsteps and pulled her further into the alcove, hand reaching for the Buster Sword as a trooper headed in their direction. As they waited with baited breath, the trooper stopped in front of the door they'd just exited. He looked around, and after a moment reported "No problems sighted in this sector." He turned around to leave, but just then, Freya bolted out of the alcove and deftly knocked the man out with the butt of her shotgun. After frisking the man, she came out with a keycard labeled with a bold letter "A."

"I guess we'll just have to fight our way through until we find them," she finally answered his question. "We need to get going. They've probably already let the guard monsters out and they'll be on high alert." The two of them sprinted down the hallway until they reached a door and Freya tried the keycard on it. It worked, but when they looked inside, Zack saw a monster which he really couldn't identify. If he didn't know better, he'd have thought it was one of Hojo's nastier experiments. It was bipedal with a huge claw on one side and was contorted and misshapen. He wasn't sure where the eyes were on the shaggy head of blue fur that crowned the thing, but they probably weren't where they were supposed to be.

"Was that what you meant?" he asked.

Freya didn't bother answering him but aimed her shotgun at the thing, firing off a shot before being forced to roll away from the door as the monster snarled and swiped its claw at her. Zack went for his sword and raced to the right, before catapulting himself off the wall and slicing down hard on the monster, cutting it down before it could move again.

"Are you okay?" he asked as the Turk stood up and resumed heading towards the stairs.

"Yeah," she answered. They didn't bother exchanging further conversation. They needed to hurry while they still had momentum.

They got through the next couple of floors, one of which happened to house the executive conference room, rather quickly. This was helped along considerably by the fact that it was now after regular business hours so most of Shinra's employees had left. It wasn't long before Freya had acquired the passkeys and soon they were standing at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the helipad.

They were about halfway up when Zack heard the sounds of movement at the top and drew his sword again. Not wanting to give whatever was up there the chance to get the drop on them, he turned around so that he could see the upper landing clearly. There were three more of those guard monsters Freya had mentioned, and it was a good thing he'd looked when he did, because one of them looked like it was about to try and jump over the side at them. He pushed Freya out of the way as the deformed monstrosity fell to the steps, and rushed forward, impaling his sword straight through the beast before it could get its balance. It let out a guttural snarl as it fell down the stairs, and he felt its claw catch his arm, trying to take him with it. He winced as the claw sliced through his flesh but pulled back and managed to avoid getting dragged by taking hold of a guard rail with his free hand.

There was no way the noise didn't attract the attention of the other two monsters however, and he heard Freya's shotgun going off as she aimed up the stairs at them. Neither of them went down. Instead, they roared angrily. Zack raced ahead of the Turk, as the two monsters charged down the stairs, hoping he could stop both of them on the corner landing before this got any more dangerous. He shot a Firaga at them as they drew closer and they both charged right into the flames. They roared in pain and Zack leapt up, grabbing a handhold on a nearby pipe to avoid being crushed as they slammed into the wall he been standing in front of previously.

He swung himself away from the monsters, lifting the Buster Sword out of the way so he could land on his feet just behind them before bringing it around in a decapitating swing. One of the monsters went down, one head shorter, but the other had already recovered and though it hadn't spotted him again, it had spotted Freya standing a few steps down. Zack ducked when he saw her raise her shotgun one final time and fire directly into the advancing monster's torso. The gun went off and she slid to the side as the last monster keeled over and slid down the steps in a pool of its own blood.

She took a moment to catch her breath before the two of them ran the rest of the way up the stairs to the door leading out to the helipad. It wasn't until they were outside in the night air that Zack felt the dribble of blood running down his arm where the first monster had nicked him. He went for his Cure materia as Freya looked around at the helicopter choices.

It looked like she was about to go for one of the smaller B-1 Alphas but then Zack decided to inject his opinion. "It might be better to get that one," he said, pointing to a military transport helicopter on the pad to their left.

"Why?" Freya asked.

Zack had finished with the Cure by now and stowed it away. "After all this is over, we're going to need to get out of the city pretty fast too, and it probably wouldn't be a bad idea to have a vehicle that can carry everyone, right?"

Freya took a moment to consider this, and then changed course. "Good thinking." The two of them boarded the transport helicopter and it wasn't long before they were airborne.

* * *

><p><strong>October 4th [ ν ] – εуλ 0007, 11:15 PM<strong>

It took a little bit of searching the roads before Freya managed to find the truck they were looking for. It was headed along one of the suspended highways leading out of Midgar. However, Zack could see that the road would end very soon. Apparently it was a location at which the Shinra Transit Authority had decided to stop building (most likely due to budget cuts) as the suspended road rose up slightly above its normal level and then just stopped. There were still a couple of miles left before it got there.

Zack tapped the mic on the headset to get Freya's attention as he stood up and headed out of the cockpit. "Get it in close. I'll jump it."

There was silence on the other line, then "_It's been a while since you've done one of those. You sure you're up to it?_"

"I was a SOLDIER 1st, I think I can handle it."

"_All right, be careful Zack._" He felt the helicopter slow a bit as it pulled level with the truck and then secured the headset somewhere it wouldn't fall out before throwing the door open and feeling the wind blow past him. Gaia, he'd missed this feeling. He felt a grin spread across his face as he prepared to jump. If he angled it right, he should be able to land on the cab and then it would be a simple matter of taking out the driver. Finally he released the handgrip and allowed himself to tumble out of the chopper. He landed perfectly, though he had to grab the tarp on the truck bed to keep from getting knocked off as the driver swerved. Less than a mile up ahead, Zack could see several more Ravens waiting, even as Freya had pulled away and started using the helicopter's machine gun to shoot some of them down. Just past that, he saw four figures, one prone on the ground, two Ravens, and the other in a white AVALANCHE uniform.

The truck pulled to a halt under him and the Raven who'd been driving it started to sprint. Zack wasn't about to tolerate that and he raised his sword as he leapt after the AVALANCHE SOLDIER. The Raven was cleaved by the Buster Sword, but just before it connected, he pulled Freya's materia out and tossed it in the direction of the other Ravens. One of the men who hadn't been hit by Freya's machinegun fire caught the orb and ran in the direction of the man in white as another ran up to keep him busy. Zack heard the sound of the helicopter die as Freya landed it a ways behind him. He cut down the man in front of him, and sprinted after the other Raven, hoping he could catch him before he got to the other guy who he guessed had to be Fuhito.

Even as he drew near, the Raven pulled level with the bespectacled AVALANCHE leader and handed him the last materia. It looked like Fuhito was ordering the remaining Ravens to take him out as the three of them walked out to meet his charge. He could already see him walking over to the prone form which he now recognized to be that of a woman, even as he impaled one of the Ravens with the Buster Sword. He threw out a Firaga at one of the other Ravens but he rolled to evade it as Zack pulled his sword free to continue the assault.

He could hear Fuhito saying something at the edge of his awareness, and he knew he had to hurry before the summoning got off but the Ravens were determined to hold him back. He swung again, and the Raven he was aiming for dodged. At that point, he had to step to the side to avoid a stunning blow from the other one. He felt the air chill as a Blizzara went off over the head of the Raven that had just attacked him. That was when he caught a glimpse of Freya, running to join him.

He swung at the other Raven a final time and steel met flesh before he shot a Thundara at the one Freya had just iced. But even as the two of them went down, his gaze was drawn to a bright flash of light from where the woman had been lying. As Freya caught up with him, they both looked on in horror as electricity sparked around the woman's form and she floated up into the air.

"And that's all the conditions met," Fuhito said calmly. "How blindingly beautiful. How graceful in its solemnity, how magnificent in its gravity." Even as he spoke the man's face was contorting into a smirk that made Zack's skin crawl. It was the same kind of smile Hojo wore when he was excited. "The light that shines the utter and profound truth upon all in the universe!"

"Gaia, it's starting…" he heard Freya say beside him.

"And so ends this woman's usefulness." The electricity died and the woman plopped unceremoniously back down on the asphalt. He heard her groan in pain but she was obviously too ill to move. "I shall liberate the materia from her body." Zack saw Fuhito pull out a knife and raced forward to stop him before he could go for the girl's arm, knocking it away as Freya dived to drag Elfe away from her attacker. The support materia scattered across the highway, glittering as they were knocked helter-skelter in her passing. The remains of Fuhito's blade flew through the air when the knife shattered on the Buster and Zack moved to punch him down, but the man ducked, trying to get back to Elfe.

"Give her back!" he commanded.

"As if!" Zack returned, swinging at him to keep him away from Freya and the girl.

"If Zirconiaide becomes complete, that'll be the end of everything!" Freya exclaimed.

Fuhito ignored her and made to get past Zack again. But that was when something else happened. Out of the corners of his vision, Zack became aware that the scattered support materia were beginning to shine brighter than before. As he ducked to the side to avoid some kind of energy blast the AVALANCHE leader had fired at him, he thought he heard the sound of someone whimpering in pain and then something whooshed past them. It was then that he realized what had happened, though he didn't know how. It seemed that the support materia had called the summon materia out of Elfe's body and as the three of them looked on in surprise, the five materia coalesced into one in a blaze of violet light before landing squarely in Fuhito's hands. The AVALANCHE leader's face lit up eerily in the orb's reflected glow. "This materia… I must take it to Zirconiaide. This is the most important of duties bestowed upon me by the planet. I shall offer everything for the planet's restoration." He grabbed the materia out of the air and as Zack and Freya watched in shock and surprise, he raced towards the end of the highway. What looked like some kind of dimensional portal had opened just past where the road ended, and Fuhito leapt through it.

Zack was about to follow him in when he heard the sound of footsteps. Looking behind him, he could now see that several people had gathered near the helicopter and were approaching, all in dark suits. As the other Turks approached, he saw that Cissnei, Mao, Tanjuu, Rod, and Lou were among them, and as he glanced back, he saw Shears cradling Elfe in his arms. Each of the Turks nodded to Zack and then looked to Freya. She had just finished reporting to Tseng, and then, without a word, all of them hurried resolutely towards the portal. They had to stop this now; otherwise it really would be the end of everything.


	10. Rufus's Proposal

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spinoffs. That honor goes to Square-Enix.

A note of appreciation for HCloudXIII over on Youtube and Dark Angel from the website, Gunshot Romance for their efforts to translate the Before Crisis game text and make the gameplay viewable.

A short chapter this time. I debated whether or not to combine it with the next one, but in the end, I decided it worked better this way. Hope you guys enjoy it!

**Part I: Crossfire**

* * *

><p>Chapter 10, Rufus's Proposal<p>

**October 4****th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0007, 11:30 PM**

Rufus was waiting patiently at the desk where his computer equipment was set up in his locked quarters as he listened to the noise outside his door. It wouldn't be long now before the technicians his father had sent got the door open. But it didn't matter. He had the Turks in the palm of his hand, and soon, the company would follow. Even if his father didn't know it yet, the chips had been played, the die had been cast, and he knew the victory would be his.

He glanced out the spacious picture window that overlooked the city with a confident smirk. Before this room had been set up for his use and containment, it had been a spacious private office, but now it was more of a studio apartment. From here, he could observe the outside world while no one knew he was anywhere but across the continent in Junon. Two of the city's mako reactors glowed green on the city walls against the dark, star-studded sky, as though standing bastion to a gate of opportunity, his opportunity, which he knew would soon be in sight.

He heard metallic sounds by the door. Someone had brought in heavy machinery. The Turks had done a number on the lock, and the technicians were having a heck of a time getting through without the appropriate passcodes. He saw a high-powered blade begin to cut through the door and it wasn't long before someone pushed it open. Just outside, standing in the deserted main hall of what had been the Turk headquarters, stood his father and the president of the Shinra Electric Power Company. The most powerful man in the world, for now…

Rufus took note of the extra lines on his father's face and the extra pounds that now encircled his girth. Neither man showed any outward sign of emotion at the moment of his release, but as Rufus walked calmly out of the room that had been his cell, his face carefully blank, the president spoke. "It has been a long time."

"That it has," Rufus agreed. The two of them walked out to the main foyer of headquarters and to the window overlooking the other side of the city. There was a bright light hanging over the area near Sector 6. Whatever it was, the Turks were dealing with it. He had matters of his own to contend with.

"Now, why don't you tell me? What was your four year of penitence under the Turk's care like?" the president asked.

Rufus answered honestly. "I hated you for what you'd done at first, but now, I daresay, I'm grateful." He looked out the window rather than at his father. "It's really thanks to you that my view of the world has changed. I've learned so much in my time alone." And it had brought him here. That was more than worth the four years' seclusion.

His father looked out over the city at the light that had gained Rufus' attention. "It's unusually bright outside tonight. The light that shines out there is like the future of the Shinra Company."

Rufus saw that his opportunity was now and he seized it. "Father… er… no, Mr. President, I have a proposal for you; one that will surely guarantee the glory of this company." He'd slipped up on purpose. Better to let his father think that he still valued the ties of that relationship.

"I'm listening," the president answered, still watching the light. It was reflected in his eyes as a greed-fueled fire that could not be extinguished…

* * *

><p><strong>October 5<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0007, 12:00 AM**

When Zack and the Turks had stepped through the portal they soon found themselves beset by a problem. It seemed there were four paths to take, and Fuhito could have gone down any one of them. After a short discussion, Freya and Zack had taken the forward path with Liz, the female martial artist. The other Turks divided into three groups to search the other paths and they parted ways, descending into the maze. It was an incredible place; unlike anything Zack had ever seen when he'd fought summons before. The path hung suspended in the air, surrounded by a green mist that reminded him eerily of mako fog, and as they got further in, they discovered it was paved with giant blocks of stone. Bright lights glittered out of the mist like stars, though he had no idea of their origin.

Just ahead, the three of them spotted what looked like a ring of light on the path. They didn't think anything of it at first, except once they had passed through it, they found themselves transported to the center of a platform with four other lighted circles on it. They ended up losing a bit of time trying to figure out how the things worked before eventually landing on a path that seemed to go deeper in.

Soon they started getting the impression that they were headed in the right direction. Mainly because strange creatures were appearing on the path. Zack didn't know what they were, but it was like they were made of shadows. Fortunately they weren't too difficult to fight, but for the most part, they decided it would be better not to fight them if it could be avoided. Time was of the essence. It was after the path began to get a little more linear that Freya got a call from one of the other teams. It seemed none of the others were having any luck finding Fuhito yet but that they had found a way out of the maze and were waiting for them on the other end.

They traveled further along the path, trying to hurry without barreling into anything dangerous when up ahead they saw something none of them wanted to see.

"Behemoths?" Liz exclaimed.

Zack went for his sword as he saw the two beasts moving around up ahead. "What are those doing here?"

"We'll just have to fight our way through," Freya said, checking her shotgun. "Are we ready?" she asked. Zack nodded and held his sword ready. It was just in time as one of the hulking beasts looked up and spotted them. It crouched down like it was ready to pounce and then rushed them. Freya let loose with a shotgun shell and then moved to get out of the way as Liz raced to the left, preparing to strike. Zack took the right and charged, going after the monster's foreleg and then cutting a gash along it's right flank. He ducked, just in time to evade the monster's tail as he heard several more gunshots near the front of the monster. Once the tail had gone the other direction, he brought the Buster Sword around again, this time going for one of the beast's powerful rear legs, crippling it as tendons snapped under the blade. The monster roared and tried to get around to swipe at him, but at that point, Freya had shot at it several times and it was in its death throes. Zack backed away as it gave out a final death rattle and started toward the other Behemoth.

By now, the other one had noticed and was moving into a charge. Liz was already racing ahead of him and he followed. As the second Behemoth pounced, he rolled to avoid being clawed and brought his sword upward. The Behemoth snarled as the Buster Sword tore into its gut, but as Zack pulled away to the side, it toppled over and lay still. He'd pierced its heart.

He stood, taking a moment to catch his breath and wipe away the droplets of sweat that were trickling over his brow. That had been a little close for his liking.

"Are you okay?" Freya asked as she and Liz approached.

"Of course I am." He offered the Turk a grin. "I was a worried that big one would fall on me there for a second, but I managed."

Liz glanced at the monster before speaking. "Hey, what do you think will happen to us when this is all over?" The three of them took that moment to continue down the path.

"We'll be all right. We're here now, and there's definitely going to be something waiting for us when it's all said and done." Freya asserted.

"So what are you going to do? When this is over?" Liz asked.

"I'll probably stay with the Turks," Freya said. "There's still a lot that we need to do, and it's the only place I've had where I've felt alive."

"Haha, same here." Liz agreed. "They're about all I have too."

"Once they've seen why we've done what we've done, I'm sure the company'll have to take us back."

"Then we'll have to give it our all here and now," Liz agreed, cracking her knuckles.

"Good luck with that one," Zack said quietly.

Freya looked troubled. "What do you mean?"

Zack pulled ahead of the two women, keeping an eye out for more monsters as they walked. "Well, I'm just saying that if I were you, I'd think very carefully about going back to Shinra is all. I mean, stopping Sephiroth didn't really help me and Cloud with the company very much, now did it." Having said his piece, he was about to continue down the path when something behind them caught his attention. A third Behemoth had lumbered into sight on the path behind them. He was about to go for his sword again when Liz turned around and assumed a fighting stance.

"You two go on ahead," she said.

"You sure?" Zack asked.

"I can take care of this one in my sleep. You guys go catch up with the others."

"Okay, but you'd better be right behind us," Freya said.

"Of course." Liz readied herself to fight as the other two hurried down the path.

* * *

><p><strong>October 5<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0007, 1:00 AM**

Zack and Freya had been traveling on this particular path for quite a while when they both looked up ahead and their eyes widened. In the middle of their path stood a King Behemoth, and boy did he look mad.

"Oh no, we're not doing this right now!" Zack growled, going for his materia.

"Do we have a choice?" Freya asked.

"We do if I have anything to say about it," he started casting just as the Behemoth started showing interest in them. It looked like it might be getting ready to charge but Zack got there first, and the gold-furred monster froze in mid-crouch.

"Stop?" Freya asked.

Zack nodded as he moved to put a finishing blow to the monstrosity before it could recover. A Behemoth blocking the way out of this place was just as bad as a Behemoth blocking the way in (if not worse), and he did not want to have to worry about an angry King Behemoth after dealing with whatever nastiness this Zirconiaide thing had in its arsenal.

The lady Turk looked behind them with concern. "I'm surprised Liz hasn't caught up with us yet."

"Well, she is taking on one of these things with her bare hands, I think I'd cut her a little slack," Zack said. "Besides, we need to keep moving."

Freya nodded. "Right." The two of them hurried faster down the path, and as they continued further in, they started noticing the lights getting brighter and the mist began to spill eerily onto the edges. It was not long after that Zack spotted a wider platform up ahead, and a familiar looking lunatic in a white AVALANCHE uniform.

"Fuhito!" Freya shouted after the man as they reached the edge of the platform.

He stopped when he saw them. "You? I suppose I ought to thank you for making the summoning of Zirconiaide possible."

Freya scowled at him. "Shut up. As if we would cooperate with you." She aimed her shotgun at him, daring him to move.

Fuhito stayed where he was, smiling calmly as though they were talking in someone's living room over a cup of tea as opposed to the dimensional rift of a summon built to destroy the world. "Zirconiaide is in the process of waking from its slumber just ahead. The rejuvenation of this planet is mere moments away. To prolong the life of this planet, all living things must return to its bosom once more. The Planet will be able to breathe easy when this is all over, and I won't let anyone interfere." In a movement that was almost quicker than Zack could catch, he raised his hand and shot an energy blast in Freya's direction. There was no time for Zack to move to block it, but someone else appeared and knocked her to the ground just as it flew by overhead.

"What's wrong? You guys finished already?" A glance behind him revealed that Shears had caught up with them.

"I thought you were looking after Elfe," Zack commented.

"She wanted to come herself. She wouldn't stay in the truck to rest until I told her I'd take care of it," Shears admitted. "It was the only thing I could do to keep her from getting herself killed."

"Did you see Liz on the way in?" Freya asked as the two of them picked themselves up under the cover Zack provided with his sword.

"She's all right, but after you left, two more of those Behemoths showed up and she'd taken a beating when I got there. She'll catch up after she's taken a breather."

"Thank you for saving her."

Shears shook his head. "Forget it. It's only thanks to you guys I was able to find Elfe again." He gave a rueful smile. "She's been through more than enough, I'm not gonna let her suffer anymore. So let's take care of this!" Fuhito was pulling out a gun and looked like he might be ready to open fire.

Zack brought his sword up as the bullet ricocheted off the blade and then charged as Shears dodged to the left and Freya went right. Fuhito shot at him again and he rolled to avoid a bullet that was probably aimed at his heart. Another one whizzed by his ear before Shears moved in and distracted him with a stunning blow to the side of his head. Fuhito only just barely stepped back enough as Zack attempted to swing the Buster Sword at him once Shears was clear but that was when Freya cast a Blizzara over top of him. The ice shards tumbled down over the man, but he stayed up, jumping away from them as he prepared another energy blast. In order to surprise him, Zack let loose a Firaga before charging again, pressing the offensive. There was no margin for error here. As the flames cleared, he weaved to the side to avoid the blast before Shears jumped in again, with a flying kick to Fuhito's ribs, knocking his gun askew as the materia flew from his shirt pocket.

Fuhito collapsed at that point and Zack dived forward. Before Fuhito could recover himself, he plucked the small crystal orb from the ground and backed away.

"One obstacle after another in the way of Zirconiaide's awakening… I won't stand for it!" Fuhito growled.

Shears walked up to the prone form of his former comrade, with a look of absolute disgust. "You caused the brunt of Elfe's pain, Fuhito. For that, I'm personally sending you back to the Planet." Before anyone could say anything, he picked up the gun, aimed it at his head, and fired. The AVALANCHE leader lay dead, blood from the wound pooling on the flagstones.

The echo of the gunshot seemed lost in the green mists as Shears leaned back, breathing in and letting it out in a long sigh. "It had to be done," he said at last.

Freya walked over to Zack and took the materia from him before walking up to Shears. "Take this thing out of here, and find a way to destroy it if you can. That way no one else can use it."

"What about that partially constructed summon up ahead?" Shears asked. "Aren't you going to need help with that?"

"It's much more risky to take the materia with us. It's better if it's as far from here as possible. Go back to Elfe." Freya took the man's hand and gently placed the materia into it.

Shears smiled grimly and then looked over at Zack. "How about it SOLDIER? Do you think you can take on that summon?"

"You bet I can. I could do this all night if I had to." Normally, he would have cracked a grin over his own boast, but the moment felt wrong. Instead, the two shook hands, and without another word, Shears turned back the way he had come. As he left, Zack and Freya walked further down the path, hoping the other Turks had made it, and knowing they were headed towards the eye of the storm.

* * *

><p><strong>October 5<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0007, 2:30 AM**

Tseng and the others hurried through the slums under the outer plate of Sector 6 for quite some time before coming to the meeting point. Just as Freya had promised, the truck was waiting for them. As they approached, they heard the sound of someone moving around in the back. Eventually the person climbed out, and Veld's eyes widened in recognition. "Felicia!"

The woman with short brown hair stood hunched against the truck even as she offered him a weak smile. She had been a fierce swordswoman once, augmented by the power of the materia that had formerly rested within her body, but now, she seemed pale and delicate. "Father…" He put his arms around her as she struggled to stay up. "I finally… got to see you…"

"You look terrible. Don't overdo it," Veld said gently. "Here, let's take care of those wounds…"

She shook her head. "Dad… don't. I don't deserve to live."

"What are you saying?"

The woman's expression was rife with sadness and guilt. "I… have put the world through a lot of trouble."

"Don't think about that now. You can atone later, when you're healed." He held her up as Tseng approached, holding his Cure materia.

"We'll help," Tseng answered as he cast the spell.

At that point, Reno spoke up. "That's great and all, but the army's still after us."

Rude nodded. "We should leave while we can."

Everyone moved to board the truck, however, suddenly they all heard a shout from nearby.

"Don't move!" The Turks and the AVALANCHE leader all looked up to see that they were already surrounded by troopers. "For the crimes of providing support to the anti-Shinra group AVALANCHE, along with protecting the criminal Veld, President Shinra has declared the Turks outlaws." The trooper continued. "By orders directly from the President, they shall hereby be executed!"

Tseng remained his stoic self as the troopers closed in, their guns ready to fire. There was no way he could fight the entire squad even with Reno, Rude, and Veld helping him. A couple of them pushed Reno and Rude closer into the group so they'd be easier to shoot.

"Persistent bastards, aren't they," Reno commented, still keeping up his cool swagger even in the face of their situation.

The troopers didn't comment but instead raised their guns, about to open fire on them…

A moment passed as though eternity were trying to squeeze itself through it and then out of the corner of his eye, Tseng saw a messenger approaching the trooper in charge. They conferred for a moment and then the leader raised his hand to tell the squad to lower their weapons.

The trooper, whom Tseng could see held the rank of sergeant, walked to the forefront of his men. "It seems the president has had a change of heart." Reno and Rude looked around suspiciously, though Tseng remained calm as he listened. "The charges against the Turks will be overlooked."

"What's going on?" Reno demanded.

"However, this stands only on one condition," the sergeant intoned, and Tseng tasted the relish in his voice as he named it. "The AVALANCHE leader and Veld will still be executed."

Reno and Rude looked back at Veld and Elfe and then Reno turned to the sergeant. "There's no way we can accept those terms."

Tseng took a slow breath. He knew the time had come. He was no longer a player in this game. Rufus had trumped him before this hand had even been played, and all that was left at this moment was to carry out his part. He could do nothing for anyone outside of those who now stood with him by the truck, but at the very least, he could still save the Turks…

He pulled out his gun.

"Tseng!" Veld called out to him.

Reno and Rude looked completely bewildered. "Boss!" Reno exclaimed. "What are you…?"

"I see you've made your decision," the sergeant observed.

"That's right," Tseng said quietly. "This is my decision as the Director of the Turks." He turned his gun on Elfe. "This is my decision!" The woman looked up at him in surprise, and yet also with the eerie calmness of one who had accepted their fate a long time ago. "Soldiers," he continued. "Reno! Rude! Watch carefully! You are about to witness the end of an era!" He fired twice, and Elfe collapsed face down on the pavement. Reno's eyes widened in horror and it could only be assumed Rude's had done the same behind his sunglasses as Tseng turned his gun on Veld. "Sir, I'm sorry… I don't have any other choice."

Veld gazed on his daughter's fallen form for only a mere moment of surprise and shock before he gave him a tired smile. "Tseng… You've… made the right decision. By doing this… the Turks will… This is what a Turk should be."

"I knew you would understand. Director… thank you, for everything." Another eternity flew by in a heartbeat as he stood across the barrel of his gun from the man who had taught him everything he knew. Then once more, he fired twice. Veld was still smiling as he fell to the ground. He understood the situation all too well.

"Tseng!" Reno exclaimed. "No!" He dropped to his knees as Tseng lowered his gun.


	11. Fight and Flight

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spinoffs. That honor goes to Square-Enix.

A note of appreciation for HCloudXIII over on Youtube and Dark Angel from the website, Gunshot Romance for their efforts to translate the Before Crisis game text and make the gameplay viewable.

**Part I: Crossfire**

* * *

><p>Chapter 11, Fight and Flight<p>

**October 5th [ ν ] – εуλ 0007, 3:00 AM**

Reno had not moved from where he sat as the troopers moved around him, carrying Veld and Elfe to the truck even as they were dying. Tseng had stood apart from him and Rude, not joining them as they watched the proceedings. This couldn't be happening. No way had Tseng just done what Reno had seen him do. Yes he was a Turk, but after everything Tseng had done to save the man, how could he have just turned around and shot him without so much as a thought?

The cleanup was almost complete, and one of the troopers walked over to Tseng and asked him "Where will you be riding?"

Tseng faced the man, and Reno noticed that he looked tired. More tired than he'd ever seen him. "In the back. I want to be by their sides until the end."

"Understood. Get on. We'll be leaving shortly." The trooper walked away to get into the truck cab.

"Tseng…"

Reno heard Rude begin to speak but cut in for the quiet martial artist."It's a lie, isn't it?"

Tseng looked down at him, still with that tired expression. "We're returning to headquarters. This was for the best. Reno. Rude. Get on."

Reno didn't move as Tseng headed toward the rear of the truck. "Tell me this isn't real."

The director paused and looked back at them. "So you're staying." He climbed into the back of the vehicle, leaving it at that.

As the truck pulled away, Reno let out an angry yell of frustration and pounded his fist into the ground. Rude said nothing, but stood by his partner in silent understanding.

* * *

><p>Zack wiped the sweat from his brow as the strange crystal they'd just finished destroying crumbled to the ground. It had been a long night already and on top of all the other fights he and Freya had been in, it was starting to tell on both of them a little bit. It was even more embarrassing since the only thing that had made this adversary formidable was that it was shooting out energy beams, but they were the kind that were especially pervasive. It had been a real challenge getting in under them to damage the thing and he'd been trying to hold off on using too much magic since Freya had insisted they still hadn't reached the actual summon yet.<p>

The Turk handed him a potion as she drank one of her own. She looked somewhat the worse for wear too. But then again, she was probably worse off than he was, being that she wasn't enhanced. "Gaia, that was intense."

Zack nodded, downing the potion in one gulp. "You sure that wasn't what we were going after?" he asked.

"We haven't found the others yet," Freya said, the concern apparent on her face. "They said they were waiting for us at the other end."

"How long is this thing gonna go on?" Zack wondered aloud as they continued walking.

"I don't know," Freya admitted. They continued along a bit further down the path as she checked her PHS and then dialed a number. After putting the device to her ear and listening for a bit she sighed and put it away. "That's odd. I can't get a signal anymore," she noted.

"Could it be because we're getting close?" Zack asked.

The two of them quickened their pace along the path and Zack noticed that the green mist was starting to curl around their feet as they hurried along. He was also beginning to notice a new sensation in his gut that had not been there before. He felt… heavy. At first he assumed it was fatigue, after all, it had been a very long night and they'd both done an awful lot of fighting, but then he noticed that it was starting to get stronger, like a weight pressing down on him that wasn't the Buster Sword. He looked over at Freya and noticed she was breathing a little harder than normal.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

She nodded. "We have to keep going." They continued on a little longer before she stumbled and Zack caught her. She smiled and pushed his hand away. "Don't. It's okay. We gotta complete the mission."

"If you need me to help, I can," he offered.

"No… it's okay, the air's just a bit thick in here…" she laughed, brushing a few of her own bangs behind her ear. "Although I guess you don't feel it so much because you're SOLDIER, huh?…"

"I've felt worse."

"Where are the others?" Freya wondered again. "I would have thought we'd have found them by now."

They walked a little further and the path was completely obscured by the mist now. After a brief moment where Freya said she felt like her lungs were about to burst, the pressure suddenly stopped. They paused at that point so she could catch her breath, and then as they went further, Zack looked up and saw off in the distance, a strange dark being, towering into the misty canopy of… whatever crazy dimension this was. "Shiva…" His eyes widened in awe at the gigantic visage.

It's upper half had the form of a man with multiple arms, almost spiderlike in their slenderness. A pair of huge halo-like rings adorned its back with several strange objects hanging off of them, and atop the man's shoulders like a pair of huge wings, stood a pair of gigantic circular blades. The lower half of the summon reminded him of an inverted flower, though under the petals, he could see several sharp looking objects hanging off the underbelly like a set of meat hooks. There was no question about it. This thing looked deadly.

"Is that it?" he asked.

Freya looked a little pale as her expression hardened. "I guess it is," she answered.

They had stopped walking, taking in the size of the thing they were about to try and demolish. Freya checked her ammunition as she eyed it warily. Without the summon materia and a sacrifice to complete it, this thing shouldn't be totally active yet, if what she'd told Zack was true. If that was the case, they should be able to destroy it quickly, right?

He looked up at the canopy again when out of the corner of his eye, Zack saw something flash. "Hey, look out!" He dived forward, pushing her out of the way as a beam of light shot down from above, hitting the place where they'd just been standing moments before.

"Well, it definitely knows we're here." Freya muttered as she tried to pick herself up. That was when the second beam shot down over top of them. Zack threw up a Wall just in time and held the Buster Sword over top of the two of them, in case it broke through. The beam pulverized the protective orb of energy around them into the flagstones previously obscured by the mist. His muscles screamed at the impact, but he gritted his teeth to bear it as a third beam pounded the last of the magical barrier into oblivion.

"Are you all right?" the Turk asked when the onslaught ceased, clearly in shock that he'd just risked life and limb to protect her.

"Yeah." Zack cracked a grin as he moved to allow her to pull herself out from where he'd turtled around her. "I couldn't let that thing hurt a lady, now could I?" He stood warily, ready to duck and cover again if the monstrosity decided to utilize more death from above.

They hurried towards the giant form, both realizing there was no more time for chatter. This thing had to go down, and cowering under a shield wasn't going to do the job. They would just have to keep moving. As they reached the point where the path opened out, they broke off in opposite directions. Freya fired her shotgun at the monstrosity before Zack lunged forward to try and land a hit with the Buster Sword but he ended up having to abort the charge and roll away as the summon picked that moment to shoot a giant blue beam at them. He didn't know specifically what it was, but it seemed about as healthy as that ray of light that had just blasted them into the ground.

After it fired, she returned with two more blasts from her shotgun before checking her ammo as she ran to cover. She barely made it behind some rocks poking out of the mist before the summon tried to fire the beam at her again. Zack took that opportunity to rush in and cleaved at the thing while it was occupied. He did manage to put a couple of sizable dents on the summon's hide at least.

As he pulled back, he became aware that three more people had entered the space in which they were fighting. Tanjuu had appeared with Rod and another one of the Turks in tow. He recognized the other guy as Valerie's blond partner with the nunchaku, though he didn't know his name. Freya conferred with them behind her cover before all four of them joined the fight. The kid with the nunchaku and Rod both started casting while Tanjuu raced across the area sending forth a storm of bullets from his two handguns. Freya pulled out from her hiding place and fired off two more rounds as a pair of Bolt spells connected with their target.

It crackled with electricity for a little before Zack noticed it seemed to be warming up for another of those giant blue energy beams. Fortunately no one was in the line of fire, but then everyone was forced to scatter as a series of the gold energy beams from before connected with the ground where they stood. He heard Rod cry out as he went down before he saw the nunchaku kid pull him behind some rocks.

"Clear the way!" he called as he barreled towards the monstrosity one more time, channeling his memory of the Silver General into an Octaslash. All eight hits connected, but in the time it took him to complete the technique, he suddenly found himself blown backwards as Freya let out a painful scream behind him. Another blue energy beam had hit him head on as he'd attacked and somehow it had caught the other Turks still standing in the process. Not since fighting Genesis had he been hit by something this powerful and it left him reeling as he hit the ground. When he pulled himself up and looked around, he saw that Freya looked hurt but she was still up. Tanjuu and the blond kid on the other hand, seemed to have been knocked out by the blast.

He reached for his Cure materia. He could go a little longer but the lady Turk looked like she could barely stand. He hurried over to her preparing to cast, but she shook her head, pulling out a potion and gulping it down. "Save your spells," she said. "I got this..." Her posture straightened as the potion worked its magic and then she walked out resolutely to meet the summon once again.

Zack was a little surprised but on seeing that the potion had done the trick, he shrugged it off and put his concentration back on their opponent. He was forced to bring up the Buster Sword to block as the four objects that had previously been attached to the rear halos of the creature started flying around showering the flagstones with more energy beams. He saw the Turk duck and roll to escape the danger before coming up in a crouch and firing two more blasts at their enemy. As he zig zagged across the area, he watched the summon patiently for an opening in which to go after it again. He rolled out of the way as another series of energy beams rained out of the sky and then lunged for the summon one more time. The Buster Sword managed to get a little deeper into the summon's hide before he had to pull it out. That was when he heard Freya cry out again.

This time, he didn't bother waiting to see if she was still standing, but instead raced over to her side and pulled out his Cure again. She looked pained as the magic began to cool the burns on her skin and knit together scrapes and bruises but it wasn't because of her injuries. "Why?" she asked.

"We both want this thing gone, right?" He gave her a cocky grin. He was about to race back into the fight to go at the summon again when things changed again. Zirconiaide began to glow with an eerie light and he heard an odd buzzing in his ears. There was no time to dodge as he threw himself back over top of the lady Turk and once again, agony coursed through his body even as the Buster Sword protected them from the blow being fatal. The mists around them had brightened as though lit by sunlight, as another one of those beams hit them dead center. He moved shakily so the Turk could crawl out from under him again. "We… have… got to stop… meeting like this…" he breathed out with effort, still grinning even through his own pain. He saw the shock on her face, and then it hardened as she seemed to have found new resolve. She crawled out from under him one last time and stood up straight, her gaze landing on the summon with an angry fire now in her eyes.

"We didn't catch you out in the wastes just so you could get yourself killed on my account Zack," she growled reaching into the pocket of her blazer. When she pulled it out, he saw that she was carrying what looked like a special ammunition clip. She chambered out what remained of her regular ammunition as she continued, the spent shells clinking against the flagstones.

"I've done a lot of things I'm not proud of in the last few years, and I've only just gotten the chance to get started on making up for it. For all that Shinra has done for humanity, we've still got a lot of damage to repair, and if this thing kills us here, then I'll never be able to atone for what we've done." She flipped a small lever on the side of her weapon. A slot opened on the bottom of the shotgun, and he heard the grinding of a mechanism inside the barrel. She hurriedly jammed the ammunition clip into the slot as she spoke again.

"Zirconiaide, it's over! I swear it on the pride of the Turks! I'm putting everything I've got into this last attack!" She aimed her weapon at the summon and suddenly a spray of shotgun blasts like he had never seen before emitted themselves from the gun. Shell after shell fired in rapid succession as the casings clattered to the ground in a rain. As Zack pulled himself up and activated his Cure materia, he watched her limit break go off in amazement before a bright flash of light washed over the scene and Zirconiaide began to disintegrate. He felt the flagstones lurch underneath him and he stabbed his sword into the ground to hold himself steady as a shockwave fanned out from its disappearing form. This was not looking good.

* * *

><p><strong>October 5th [ ν ] – εуλ 0007, 3:40 AM<strong>

Kunsel stood guard by the door as the others slept. There had been no sight of the army or any other hostile parties but he wasn't about to leave it up to chance. He stretched, feeling his muscles pop as the strain of holding still for an extended period of time made itself known.

Aerith had made it back a long time ago, with her mother in tow, along with some blankets and other supplies. Cloud had fallen asleep again not long after they had finished eating, and right now, the church was only populated by the sounds of the others' breathing. It was a sound that one could easily be lulled by.

Suddenly he heard a loud noise and he opened the door to see where it had come from. At first, he didn't see anything. The streets of the Sector 5 slums were desolate at this time of the morning… That was when his gaze was directed up towards what could be seen of the edge of the Sector 6 plate. At first, he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. Where was that light coming from? He then raced back into the Church, and past the others as Aerith, her mother, and Rayleigh sat up in surprise.

"What was that?" Aerith asked sleepily.

"I don't know," Kunsel admitted. "But I'm going to the roof to take a look." He hurried up the stairs and along the rafters until he found the hole in the ceiling he was looking for. For all he knew, it might have been the one Zack fell through, but there were more pressing matters at hand than wondering about that. He used the hole to climb out on the roof of the Church and once he was there, he looked out over the slums towards Sector 6. There was definitely a light over that way… From here, he could see the walls at the edge of the lower city and that was when he saw that a large amount of debris had fallen from the plate above.

Was it his imagination, or was that light getting brighter?...

* * *

><p><strong>October 5th [ ν ] – εуλ 0007, 4:00 AM<strong>

The rumbling and shaking of the ground beneath them had not stopped, even as Zack and Freya revived everyone and they hurried back the way they had come. Fortunately, no one had taken a total knock-out but Rod and the kid with the nunchaku had been beaten up pretty bad. The five of them were now running down the path they had come as fast as they could go. It wasn't as fast as Zack would have liked, but it couldn't be helped. Fortunately, the monsters had all disappeared, probably gone with the summon. As they ran, Zack was beginning to see places up ahead where it looked like the flagstones were starting to fall away from the path, leaving gaping holes in the ground. He leapt over one and then watched as the others made it across before he hurried onward.

He was starting to get a little worried however, when the mists around them started bleeding away, and he began to see traces of what looked like the Sector 6 plate hundreds of feet below them. The fact that a hole had developed in the edge of it during their absence did not tell him good things, but he forced himself not to think about it.

He could almost see the huge area where the Turks had split up just ahead. They were almost out! He sprinted over the threshold when he heard a crumbling noise behind him and turned to see that the Turks had just barely avoided falling to the plate below. That was also when he looked ahead and saw that the path to the portal they had come through was starting to crumble. The platform they were on would soon follow.

On seeing this, all five of them booked it. Zack didn't even remember the point where his boot hit the asphalt at the edge of the aborted bridge. All he knew was that he was once again on solid ground, and that the others were with him. He plopped down on the ground without looking to see who was here as he caught his breath. "I was worried we weren't going to make it there for a bit." As he glanced back, the portal leading to that weird other dimension vanished from sight.

"We were starting to get a little worried too." He looked up and to his surprise, he saw Cissnei standing a short ways away with Mao, Lou, and Valerie. All of them looked a little worse for wear.

"What happened to you guys?" he heard Rod ask.

"We ran into a King Behemoth," Lou said a little bitterly.

"Yeah?" Rod gave her a crazy grin. "Same thing happened to us."

Lou looked her partner over as though assessing him for injuries. "You're the last group out, so let's go."

Zack groaned dramatically before picking himself back up again and heading towards the helicopter, which miraculously, was still there. Freya pulled ahead of him with Tanjuu, and the blond kid walked over to Valerie as the two talked, probably deciding where they were going to go now. It had been a long night, and there were still things to do, but he smiled to himself as it occurred to him that the hard part was probably over.

* * *

><p><strong>October 5th [ ν ] – εуλ 0007, 4:30 AM<strong>

It took a little bit of time for Cissnei to pilot the chopper to the Church, as they had to make sure they weren't detectable, but when Zack hopped out after it landed, Kunsel was already there to meet him. Even as he took in the old familiar smells, he could see the very first of the sun's rays starting to peek in under the plate, and in the morning twilight, he could see that Rayleigh was standing at the door with Elmyra.

"When you said you'd only be gone for a little while I didn't think you meant the whole night," Kunsel said.

Zack shrugged apologetically, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth. "Well you know, stuff happened. Had to go be a hero and save the world."

"Oh? You didn't happen to be involved with that strange light we saw did you?"

"I'll tell you later. Right now, we need to get going. Shinra's still looking for us." As Zack walked past him, Kunsel looked over his shoulder and saw Freya, along with Mao, Tanjuu and Cissnei, waiting by the vehicle. "Are they with you?" he asked.

Zack looked behind him at his friend. "For now, anyway." Aerith ran up at that point and threw her arms around him and he returned the hug before walking to the door. "We were worried about you," she said next to his ear.

"I'll bet you were," he answered. "Kunsel didn't say much besides that everyone was all right, but I want to know exactly what happened once we're out of here."

She nodded. "It's been an exciting night."

"Is Cloud okay?" she smiled, and beckoned towards the church. Seeing that he was too preoccupied to talk right now, Rayleigh and Elmyra watched him walk inside and Aerith hung back as he approached the head of the chapel. Cloud was sitting partway up and looking over the back of the front pew as though he'd only been asleep just a few moments ago. Zack gave him another tired grin as he sat up the whole way. He stopped in the aisle, leaning over the back of the seat to talk to him. "Hey buddy, how are you doing?"

He was relieved to see that Cloud's eyes were clear and he sounded fully alert when he spoke. "I'm all right. We had to leave the hospital though."

"I can see that." Zack was grinning. "I knew you wanted to see the flowers, but I didn't think you were in this much of a hurry."

Cloud shrugged. "I like it a lot better here."

Zack laughed. "Yeah, me too." There were a couple of rays of sunshine filtering in under the plate, providing a little bit of illumination through the windows and giving the church an unearthly, ethereal quality. "It's a shame we're going to have to leave so soon."

"That is too bad," Cloud agreed. The two of them spent a moment enjoying the yellow blooms before he heard Aerith come up behind him.

"It's okay," she said, walking past them and kneeling by the patch of earth, to take a final look at her garden. "We may be leaving, but we can plant some more when we get where we're going. Right?" As Zack looked at what she held in her hand, he realized that it was a small bag of seeds.

"I hope so," Zack said. "I guess this means we're just going to have to try filling the whole planet full of flowers, huh?"

Aerith smiled. "Exactly."

"So where are we going?" Cloud asked, somewhat embarrassed again as he seemed to think the air was getting a bit thick.

"Well, the Turks are already leaving. They have hiding spots all over, but I'm not exactly sure where. We can't stick around here though," Zack observed.

At that point, he saw Freya approach them, her usual friendly attitude back in spite of the dark circles under her faintly glowing eyes. "Actually, I know just the place," she said. "It's a bit far from here, but it'll be perfect."

"I don't know…" Zack said. "Can we trust you?"

Freya shrugged. "You never leave the Turks, but considering what Reno told us, it looks like our days with Shinra are over. The President is still gunning for the rest of us so we're all still in the same boat right now. Considering what happened with Veld, though, I'm not sure I want to go back anymore." Zack couldn't blame her there. Reno and Rude had contacted Mao while they'd been waiting for them, telling them about what had happened, and that they would be staying with Tseng. All the Turks had been horrified by the news, but it seemed that everyone was too tired and in too much of a hurry to be able to grieve over it. He'd seen no sign of Shears either, but he hoped the guy had gotten away.

"Okay then. Let's get out of here." With that, everyone gathered up what they had with them and once they were ready, Freya gave Cissnei directions for where they were headed and the chopper took off, slipping out under the plate and flying low to avoid radar detection. Fortunately they evaded any intercepting aircraft and before long, the helicopter was flying south over the rocky wastes.

Once he heard from Cissnei that they were well away from Midgar, Zack looked around the passenger compartment of the helicopter. Rayleigh sat primly across the way, as Kunsel was starting to nod off a couple of seats over. Elmyra was also nearby. The older woman seemed worried but at the same time, calm and collected. She had aged slightly since he'd seen her last, he thought. Mao and Tanjuu were alert, but both looked very tired after the night's exertions. Freya was in the copilot's seat, her shotgun in her lap as she sat with her eyes closed.

However, it was what was going on in the Ex-SOLDIER's immediate proximity that made him smile. On one side of him, Aerith was dozing on his shoulder, and on the other, Cloud looked like he was trying not to do the same even as he had turned to watch the horizon out the window he was sitting by. Satisfied that everyone was all right for the moment, Zack leaned back in his seat and shut his eyes, finally allowing himself to drift towards sleep. For now, they were safe, and to him, it was the most wonderful feeling in the world.

* * *

><p><em>AN: For those of you who are wondering... No, this isn't the end. We're not even close. ^^_

For your reference, I've dubbed Freya's ultimate limit break "21 Guns."


	12. A New Home

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spinoffs. That honor goes to Square-Enix.

Now, where were we?...

**Part I: Crossfire**

* * *

><p>Chapter 12, A New Home<p>

**October 5th [ ν ] – εуλ 0007, Late Afternoon**

"Wow, this place is incredible!" When the helicopter had touched down in the middle of what had at first seemed like a remote forest clearing on one of the Mideel area's more northern islands, Zack had been a little bit skeptical. But after the game huntress had led them into the woods and brought them to where they were currently standing, he found himself reminded once again that Turks were full of surprises.

The two-story building they stood in front of had once been a hunting lodge, though now, it was old and abandoned. Time had cracked the windows and eroded bits of the stonework around the foundation at the base of walls made with simple wooden planks. The door to the inside hung open, and looked old and weathered. Weeds grew everywhere, ivy wound its way up the walls and traces of an old path constructed of flagstones cut a swathe through the clearing, though it was pockmarked in places by the odd sapling or patch of grass poking out where the stones intersected. This path led from the door, and then veered off to their left before going off in two different directions to places Zack couldn't see. He reflected that he would probably be very busy exterminating monsters around here for quite some time, but on the other hand, if they fixed a few things up, it could very easily be a nice place to live.

"How did you find something like this?" Cissnei was standing behind her fellow Turk, looking appreciatively at the building.

"I used to hunt around here all the time when I was growing up," Freya admitted. "I don't remember it ever being maintained before, but I've camped out here a few times and the inside is in great shape. Would you like to see it?"

"Let's check it out," Aerith said. With that, Freya went to the door and pulled it open the whole way. It squeaked on its hinges until it stopped and she walked through, alert for any sign of danger as the others followed. As they neared the door, Aerith grabbed Zack's arm playfully. "It's like we're going inside one of those haunted houses, isn't it?" she giggled.

"Well, it could be worse," Zack teased back. "It could be one of those Hell Houses."

"Those are just an urban legend."

"You sure? I could have sworn I saw one last night."

Zack was just about to get into telling a yarn when they were distracted as they crossed over the threshold. They had passed into a short hallway with two doors, one leading off of each side. The hallway itself wasn't particularly remarkable. There wasn't anything in it aside from the doors and a narrow set of stairs that went up to a landing on the second floor, but what drew their attention was the room at the end of the hallway. On the opposite side of it, stood a stone fireplace with debris from an old fire still in it. As the room opened out before them, Zack could see that it was intended as a living area though no furniture filled the place. A pair of broken windows adorned either side of the fireplace, and to the left, he could see a door going out the back, apparently leading to some kind of porch.

"The floor seems stable," he heard Kunsel say behind him.

"Of course it is," Freya assured them. "They built this thing to last, even through earthquakes."

"Earthquakes?" Zack asked.

"I guess you didn't have one when you came through here. The town of Mideel is a hot spring town after all, and what are hot springs associated with?" Freya supplied.

"Seismic and geothermal activity," Kunsel said automatically.

"Bingo!" Freya walked to the back door and opened it. "And now, I get to show you the best part." She led the four of them off of the old porch and towards another path of flagstones leading away from the building.

They walked through the woods for a little while until the clearing opened out, and in front of them, lay a wide pool. It had been naturally formed, and a small stream from further inland flowed into it, cooling it, before threading its way out the other side and flowing down into a ravine. However, some unknown craftsman had carved a set of steps into the water out of the surrounding rocks. He couldn't tell when, but it had been long enough ago that moss covered some of the stones. He could feel the heat rising from it even as the evening was beginning to take on a hint of a chill. When he looked to their right, as the sun was beginning to set in front of him, he saw that they were standing a little ways up on a ridge. Down at the bottom, he heard the waves crashing against the shore. The ocean, and the rocks sticking up out of it, being slowly eaten away by the waves were an incredible sight to behold. Aerith walked up behind him and put her hand in his as she took in the view.

"It's so beautiful. I didn't know anything like this existed." Her voice was filled with awe.

Zack looked at the others. "I think the verdict is in. Freya, you've found us our hiding place."

The Turk smiled, as they turned to walk back to the helicopter.

* * *

><p><strong>October 7th [ ν ] – εуλ 0007<strong>

Shears had wandered the streets of Midgar listlessly for the last couple of days. He couldn't believe what he had heard Tseng had done. He wanted to rip the man's heart out. He'd spoken to Reno when he'd found him heading away from the rendezvous point. The red-haired man had told him the next time they met might be the last, but he didn't have the heart to fight because of what he'd just seen and it wasn't his job at the moment. Upon hearing the news, Shears had taken out the summon materia and smashed it with the first loose piece of steel he could find. No one would be troubled by that vile thing ever again. Soon afterward, he had devoted himself to trying to figure out where Elfe's body might have been taken. Thus far, he'd had no luck.

He was ambling along in the slums of Sector 4, contemplating his failures, and avoiding the other people on the street. There was nothing left for him now it seemed. At least if Fuhito had killed him, he wouldn't have to endure this pain…

He looked up and saw a familiar looking red-haired man walking towards him. It wasn't Reno. It was the other red-head… Rod. The Turk was wearing civilian clothes though as he approached, it was obvious he had a mission on his mind, in spite of trying to avoid attention.

As the two men saw each other, Rod stopped and waited for Shears to come up to him. They stood for a moment, looking at each other and then Rod gave him a sympathetic grin. "You look awful."

"What else is new?" the former AVALANCHE leader grumbled.

"Quite a bit actually." Rod started down another street and gestured that the man follow him.

"You want to show me something?" Shears asked.

"Someone," Rod said. "Come on. She's asking about you."

Shears stopped. "Who?"

"Who do you think?" Rod asked.

"But… She died… Didn't she? Tseng… he…"

"He faked their deaths. Had to injure them pretty bad to make it convincing, but he saved their lives."

"He did, huh?" Shears fell in step behind the young man as they walked down the street, and soon he discovered they were headed for a hospital in Sector 2.

* * *

><p><strong>October 22<strong>**nd** **[ ν ] – εуλ 0007**

Cloud opened his eyes and sat up, observing the morning sunlight splashing across the mattress he was sleeping on. In the last couple of weeks, Zack and the others had managed to get some furnishings into the place, thanks to some guy at the nearest town, but it was very basic right now.

He noticed that Zack's bedroll on the mattress across the room was empty, so he rolled out of bed and stood up, pulling the sweater from his SOLDIER uniform over his head as he came to the door leading out into the hallway. He'd been walking completely on his own a short while after they'd gotten here. It had also been a while since the last time he'd been overtaken by what he referred to in his mind as 'the fog.' The fatigue had stopped being as pervasive too. The first time he made it through a whole day without needing to go back to sleep before nightfall had been last week.

He stretched and let out a yawn as he walked down the stairs. As time had passed, his memories of his and Zack's imprisonment at the hospital had become very fuzzy. He remembered the important parts, such as when Aerith came to see them the first time, and when Tseng had let them go, and who could forget the escape and their subsequent departure? But before any of that, things were still pretty confused. Zack had told him what he could, but even then, the events after Nibelheim seemed completely lost to him.

He forced his thoughts to the back of his mind for the moment. As he walked into the kitchen, he found Elmyra brewing a pot of coffee while Aerith and Freya were working together on making breakfast, which looked like it would be scrambled eggs and toast. Cleaning out the kitchen and getting it fully functional again had been one of the first things everyone had focused on. Fortunately, the place had been built to be hooked up to the power grid for the nearest town. Once they had determined the wiring was sound, and they had pooled their resources, they had gathered enough gil to get the electricity running again, and that had meant a functioning refrigerator, and the ability to have nicer food items that were normally perishable. They had also just recently gotten the water pump on the premises working. The lodge still had a long way to go before it could be called a home, but they were getting there.

Elmyra noticed him first and offered him a gentle smile. "Good morning Cloud."

He returned the greeting as he went for one of the mugs they'd recently purchased. "Good morning."

"I hope you're hungry," Aerith spoke up as she noticed him. "We're having a big breakfast today." She was standing in front of a huge bowl cracking eggs, while Freya was manning the toaster. She had traded out her Turk uniform for a much more rugged pair of jeans and a button-down shirt with the tails tied off at the front.

"We'd have to have that anyway with Zack around." Cloud poured himself a cup of coffee. "Where is he?"

"He's outside." Freya gestured to the back porch.

Cloud nodded and walked to the door. He should have known. Zack had taken to spending most of his free time outdoors now, almost as if to make up for all the time they'd been trapped in that laboratory basement. Not that Cloud minded. If anything, he was just glad when Zack had started letting him help with the heavy lifting. When they'd first arrived there had been a bit of a discussion among the others as to how safe it was for him to be handling tools when there was still a chance he could have an episode, like he'd had on the bridge. However, after a week and a half with no incidents, all objections had been withdrawn and he'd had no trouble since.

By that time, the bedrooms now being used by everyone had been cleared out and the kitchen was basically functional. Cleanup duties had moved to the room with the fireplace, and Zack and Kunsel had begun taking turns going out to hunt monsters for gil during the day, and checking in town for any other work in order to fund the restoration effort as well as daily expenses. As things stood, most of the debris had been cleared out, and they were starting to focus on repairs.

As Cloud exited onto the porch, he saw Zack leaning against the wall of the lodge to his right, watching the surrounding woods meditatively, a coffee mug of his own in hand. He looked up at the sound of the door, offered his friend a happy grin, and waved him over. Cloud sat down on the edge of the porch, leaning against one of the support beams. "Kunsel already left?" he asked.

Zack nodded. "He left a while ago with Rayleigh and Cissnei since they were going out for supplies. They said they'd be back for breakfast." The other SOLDIER had been given the task of picking up the windows they'd ordered to replace the ones that were damaged. Cloud listened to the far off sound of the ocean, slightly muffled by the trees as the two drank their coffee in silence for a bit. The statement accounted for everyone, since Mao and Tanjuu had left. Tanjuu apparently had plans to go to Wutai, and Mao had decided he'd travel alone for a while, though both said they'd be in touch.

After a while, Zack decided he wanted to talk some more. "I figure the windows will probably take most of today since there are so many broken ones."

Cloud grunted in agreement as he took another sip of his coffee. Zack had liked to talk before, but based on what he had told Cloud of their escape, it had gained added significance in that talking to him had been Zack's way of keeping himself from coming apart at the seams even as he'd done his best to call Cloud back from his mako-poisoned oblivion. For that alone, he was perfectly happy to let Zack talk to him as long as he wanted. At least now, he could answer back if he had an opinion.

Zack continued thinking aloud. "I guess once we're done with that, we should start thinking about the roof. I know Aerith said she and Cissnei found a couple of spots upstairs where there'd been a little water damage from leaks, and then we can start getting some real furniture in here. It'll be nice not to have to sit on the floor when we eat, won't it?"

Cloud nodded. "Sure will."

Zack grinned. "Putting all that aside though, once we're done with the windows, I've actually got a little surprise for you."

"Oh? What?"

"If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise," Zack teased.

Cloud shrugged. "I guess not."

At that point, Aerith came out on the porch. "Kunsel and the others are back."

"That was fast," Zack said, standing up straight and waiting for Cloud before they followed her back in.

"Apparently the windows didn't get in on time. At least that's what Cissnei told me." Aerith explained. When they reached the kitchen, Cloud saw that their other three fellow fugitives had brought in several bags of groceries. Zack was already looking around in one bag and pulled out what looked like a package of grapes. The others were busying themselves with putting the rest of the supplies away, so he put them aside to be washed later and then set to work helping them finish.

Soon it was time to eat, and everyone gathered to grab plates as Aerith handed the serving spoon for the eggs to Zack, who predictably, somehow managed to be first in line. It wasn't long afterward that most of the group was seated out on the porch again, enjoying the morning breezes along with their breakfast.

Conversation did not resume until Zack had polished off the last bit of his toast. "So what happened Kunsel?"

The other SOLDIER shook his head in annoyance. "Apparently the guy who was supposed to make the delivery didn't show up today. The owner of the store said to try again tomorrow."

"That's too bad." Zack took another sip of his coffee, and stood to take his cleaned plate back inside. He looked back over at Cloud. "I guess I'll get to show you your surprise a little earlier than I would have. We'll just use a bit of time to check out what needs to be done to the roof and then the three of us are going out by the helicopter, all right?"

Cloud nodded, though he had to admit he was a really curious now. Whatever this was, Kunsel seemed to be in on it.

* * *

><p>After spending a couple of hours examining the roof of the lodge for any places where water could come in, and determining that it might just be better to re-shingle the whole thing, the three men finally trooped down the path towards the helicopter with Zack in the lead. By now, Cloud had noticed a key detail about this sortie. Both Zack and Kunsel had brought their swords with them. As they reached the clearing where the helicopter sat, hidden underneath a camouflage net the Turks had unearthed from its emergency supplies, Zack pulled ahead of the other two men and clambered inside before returning with a long object under a carefully wrapped shroud.<p>

"I guess you could call it a belated 'get well' present," he said as he reached them. "The first time I went out monster hunting I kind of detoured into town to talk to the local owner of the weapons shop."

Cloud felt a small smile play across his face as he remembered what Zack had promised him after the Turks had let them go. Upon noticing the reaction, Zack's own grin became even bigger, and he reached down to carefully remove the protective cloth. When the shroud fell away, the steel of the broadsword in his hand reflected the sunlight that illuminated the clearing.

The former infantryman took the weapon, and felt the weight on his palms as he backed up a couple of steps and lifted it experimentally. He had held a sword in his hands before, after all he'd brought the Buster Sword to bear on Sephiroth, and even earlier, he seemed to remember a time when he'd fought someone else using a sword with Freya, but he'd never been formally taught how to wield one. Still, even his untrained eye could appraise this as a rather nice sword. It even had a couple of materia slots in the hilt, linked materia slots at that.

Zack observed his reaction before clapping a hand on his shoulder. "So, you ready to learn how to fight like a SOLDIER?"

"Zack, I… I don't know what to say…" Cloud wondered absently if he still wasn't quite recovered from the mako poisoning. How else was it that he was having so much trouble getting his thoughts in order? The moment was a small one but to him, the magnitude was incredible. He really didn't deserve this, he was sure.

"How about 'Let's get started?'" Kunsel offered.

"That'll work. As Zack spoke, Cloud was surprised to see Kunsel taking a step back to observe.

Cloud thought about the situation for a moment before pushing any remaining confusion to the back of his mind. He would have given anything to have come to this point by any other way than he and Zack losing five years of their lives and in Zack's case, having to endure the painful changes they had wrought largely alone, no thanks to him. But even so, this was something he'd wanted to learn how to do since the first time he'd seen Sephiroth in the newspapers back in Nibelheim and he wouldn't have missed this moment for the world. Maybe one day, he could even use what he learned to make it up to Zack for all the suffering he'd caused him. "All right," he said finally. "Let's do this!"

Zack removed the Buster Sword from his back and leaned it against the helicopter before walking back over to the newly anointed swordsman in training. "First thing's first. Before we even get to sparring, we need to start with sword stances. Building up the strength in your legs is key. That's why they always used to have us SOLDIERs doing all those squats…"

"We still do," Kunsel interrupted. "Don't forget, I was spending most of my time drilling cadets. And I pushed them hard."

"Yeah, we'll need to get back into our own training once the house repairs are done," Zack reflected out loud. "But we'll worry about those exercises when we get back to doing them every day." He brought his attention back to Cloud. "You'll be doing them too, of course, since we'll be training together. But right now, we're looking at the basics…" The lesson continued for the remainder of the morning.

* * *

><p><strong>October 24th [ ν ] – εуλ 0007<strong>

Tifa Lockhart had been in Midgar since Zangan had left her in the care of a friend following the disaster at Nibelheim. It hadn't been long after his departure when she went off on her own however. She'd been bartending before she was even old enough to drink, and now, opportunity had opened before her. Just recently she'd become acquainted with one Barret Wallace, and his crew who had come from Cosmo Canyon. Like her, they despised Shinra for everything the company had taken away from them, and when she had met the huge black man with a gun arm as he'd strolled into the dive where she'd been working before in Sector 3, she felt she'd found a kindred spirit. He had plans, and though at first he hadn't trusted her, upon hearing her story, he'd told her of the bar in Sector Seven that had once been a hideout for AVALANCHE, the name of which he had soon adopted for his own team.

A few days later, she'd come to him, offering to run the bar as a cover while they did what needed to be done. It wasn't long before she was actively involved in the planning sessions as Jessie, their tech guru explained how the bombs were supposed to work. It was even less time before she was using Zangan's teaching to show Biggs and Wedge, the other two members of Barret's group, how to fight. It would be another month, Barret estimated, before they were ready, but the pieces were slowly falling into place.

She was going to one of the outlet stores in the warehouse district to stock up on supplies for the bar today, and as she walked by the empty train station, completely vacant of any persons of interest, she counted off in her mind the various types of liquor she needed along with some new plates. A couple had broken last night during the evening rush.

* * *

><p><strong>November 3rd<strong> **[ ν ] – εуλ 0007**

Zack had been amazed at how fast Cloud picked up on swordsmanship. They had flown through the basic sword stances and drills and had even moved on to some more advanced techniques. In this short period of time alone, the dark-haired SOLDIER's assessment was that Cloud wasn't just going to be a good swordsman. Based on what he'd seen since they'd begun training, Cloud was a natural. Why the folks running the SOLDIER exam hadn't seen that, he couldn't fathom. They had to be crazy. It was for this reason, that when Kunsel managed to find a mercenary contract to exterminate some monsters west of the town of Mideel (the namesake for the region of Mideel which they currently inhabited), he and the other former SOLDIER 1st decided he was ready to come with them.

It had been a relatively short trip by boat from the small fishing village, near the lodge, to the main town, and once Kunsel made contact with the fellow who had issued the contract, being the best negotiator in the group, the three of them made their way out into the woods with Freya and Cissnei who had decided to come along on the hunt. Kunsel and Cissnei broke off to clear out the monsters in the woods while Zack, Cloud, and Freya spent most of the afternoon hunting around in the tall grass for Hippogriffs.

They were just about finished with one such beast as the afternoon shadows were starting to get long. Freya had just used a shotgun blast to herd the winged beast towards the two men and as it drew close, Zack charged it with a powerful cleave of the Buster Sword. The hippogriff screeched as it lunged again but Zack was already there. It was at that moment that Freya let out a cry of pain and surprise. Since Zack was occupied, Cloud tore across the field and he saw out of the corner of his eye that his friend had taken a defensive position in front of the huntress.

He finished the hippogriff he was on with a slash before hurrying over to help, and then he saw what had happened. Apparently, Freya had been accosted by the hippogriff's mate and it had clawed at her arm before she'd been able to back away. Now, Cloud was standing in front of her while she was pulling out her Cure materia. As he watched, the hippogriff circled around the field warily, as though sizing up the threat Cloud posed. The blonde swordsman tracked its movements with the same wary gaze, not daring to look away. After a moment, the monster crouched as though it was ready to charge again and Zack was about ready to dive in and help but Cloud was there first, running his sword through the monster as blood dripped off the exposed portion of the blade.

Zack was already moving in as the hippogriff snapped out with its sharp beak and Cloud pulled away, blood starting to darken his sweater at the shoulder. It was at that point the kid did something Zack totally didn't expect. He leapt up into the air with his sword held behind him and brought it down with a bone breaking slice onto the hippogriff. Needless to say, the monster was almost dead before it hit the ground. Zack stared for a moment before letting out a whoop.

"That was awesome! That was a limit break wasn't it?"

Cloud said nothing, but straightened up a little as he walked over to the huntress. "Are you all right?" he asked.

Freya waved off his concern with a warm smile before becoming serious again. "I should be more worried about you. Hold still, I'll fix that for you." She indicated his bleeding shoulder. Without waiting for an answer, she pulled out the bangle her Cure materia was in and started casting again. Zack joined them as the wound knit itself closed

"That was a great job, I didn't get my first limit break until after I made 3rd class!" He continued laying on the praise, even as Freya finished by lifting up the sleeve of Cloud's sweater to make sure the wound had closed properly before putting her Cure away. He pulled away uncomfortably, glad to reclaim his own space when she let go of him.

"Thanks…" Cloud trailed off at that moment because Freya held up her hand to silence the two men before kneeling on the ground to examine it. After a moment she stood again.

"Looks like we have some Chocobos in the area," she observed. "We've got some tracks here."

Zack looked where she had indicated. "You think so?"

Freya nodded. "Judging by the age they're not far either." They hunted around the field a little longer, alert for more of the hippogriffs, before they came upon a large pond full of lily pads and cat tails. As they neared it, Freya knelt down and searched the ground again for any signs of large animals passing through. She was finishing up when Cissnei and Kunsel walked out of the woods, sporting cuts and bruises but otherwise undamaged.

"I think we got the last of the ones in the trees," Kunsel reported as they approached.

"How many did you bag?" Zack asked.

"About three of them." Kunsel had sheathed his sword. As he pulled level with the pond, he picked up a small stone from the edge and tossed it so it skipped across the water's surface a few times before sinking into its depths.

"Yeah that sounds right." Zack picked up a second stone and the others watched as it skipped slightly further than Kunsel's. "We ran across about four of them, so it looks like we've taken out the herd. The town shouldn't have too much more trouble after this."

"So we're done, then?" Cissnei asked.

"Yup, all that's left is to go collect the reward." Zack fist pumped the air as everyone turned to walk back towards town.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something moving and looked back at the pond just in time to see a third stone skimming across the water like it was a rocket. He looked over at Cloud.

"Did you do that?" he asked.

"Do what?" Cloud had turned away from the pond to follow the others,

Kunsel let out a low whistle as he held a hand over his brow in the dying sunlight. "I think that one went straight across."

Cloud shrugged and checked that his broadsword was secure in its harness on his back as everyone turned to head towards town. Zack was already telling Kunsel and Cissnei about the limit break he'd pulled off while they were gone, but as they walked back, he stopped in his story to notice Cloud pause again at the edge of the treeline.

"What's up?" he asked.

"I thought I heard something…" Cloud trailed off as he strained to hear the noise. The others listened too, and after a moment, Zack heard it too.

"Wark?" It was a faint cooing noise but Zack didn't think it sounded like a full-grown chocobo. He'd been around the birds enough when he'd done missions at the chocobo farm that he felt he could tell the difference. Cloud passed into the trees and after a moment the others followed, curious.

As they crept closer, the sound echoed through the trees again and soon, the woods opened up to reveal a nest with two downy yellow chicks in it.

"Careful," Kunsel whispered. "We don't want to spook them."

"That's right," Freya added. "We're lucky we even found these little guys. Normally you need a Chocobo lure before you can even get near them in the wild."

Cloud strode back into their line of sight having disappeared when the others had seen the nest. "There's a dead one not that far from here. It might have been clawed by a hippogriff. But Freya would probably know better."

The huntress crept in the direction he indicated and disappeared like a ghost before quickly returning. "You were right. It was a female. Had to be the mother. The body wasn't even being absorbed by the Lifestream yet, so it was a fresh kill and they don't let any other birds near the chicks in the wild until they're at least juvenile age."

"You seem pretty knowledgeable about Chocobos," Zack observed.

"Just the wild ones," Freya laughed, dismissing the comment. "I wouldn't know what to do with a tame one."

That was when Zack noticed that Cloud had stepped near the nest and knelt down by the tiny birds. To his complete surprise, both the little ones crawled to the edge and the swordsman gently reached out a hand to stroke the head of the one that was closest to him. Maybe his hair had them confused. It wouldn't be the first time someone had noticed the color and appearance of his hair mimicked the trademark feathery crest Chocobos generally sported.

"They wouldn't be nearly as friendly if they weren't newly hatched. They probably won't survive long without the mother around," Freya said. "It might be better to take them into town and see if anybody's looking to adopt."

Zack frowned as he thought about it and then looked down at Cloud again. The other little Chocobo was now pressing its beak up against his hand and both of them were crooning at his attention. "You're probably right. Cloud, go ahead and gather those two up. We'll take'em back with us. We'd better get going before Aerith and Rayleigh start getting worried. They're probably done shopping by now, and we don't want our contact to get impatient."

Carefully gathering up the two tiny birds, Cloud joined the rest of the group as they headed back towards civilization. "We probably ought to figure out what they eat so they don't get hungry before we find them a home," he said.

"Yeah," Zack agreed.

* * *

><p>Getting rid of the birds turned out to be a lot harder than it was to find them. In fact, it turned out that in the immediate, it would be quite impossible. After Zack and Kunsel collected the reward and distributed the gil, everyone had looked around town to find information on whether or not there was a local Chocobo rancher who might be interested, but it seemed that no one was looking for more chicks at the moment. Someone had mentioned the possibility of a farmer just to the north of the fishing village near the lodge.<p>

So it was that on the ride back, Cloud found himself carrying a small box with the two hatchlings inside it, and Aerith sitting next to him, as she had immediately fallen in love with the little things upon seeing them. If they got noisy, he'd feed them a few of the gysahl greens they'd picked up from one of the farmers they'd talked to.

It was dark by the time they'd finally gotten to the boat, so everyone sat in the back, exhausted after a long day. "So what's the plan for tomorrow?" Aerith was asking Zack.

The dark haired SOLDIER thought for a moment before answering. "Well, first thing, we find these guys a home. Then, if that courier actually manages to deliver things on time to the hardware store for a change, maybe we'll be able to finish repairing that wall in the back room…" He continued on his ramble for a while as the boat floated along the Mideel area shoreline. Cloud allowed his mind to wander a little, taking in the star studded sky, the tiny sliver of the moon reflecting off the water and the salty breeze on his face. There was still a lot that was wrong, and some things that probably never would be right with either him or Zack, but right now, he felt content.

If only he could see what was coming their way a mere month from now.

**End of Part I**

* * *

><p><em>AN: We have hit a of major milestone here. To everyone who has reviewed so far, thank you very much for your feedback, and I hope to continue to keep everyone guessing. ^^_

_Tune in next time as we begin Part II! Reunion is coming! Are we ready for it?_


	13. Messengers of the Planet? Begin Part II

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spinoffs. That honor goes to Square-Enix.

A special, and final note of appreciation for HCloudXIII over on Youtube and S and G from Lifestream(dot)net for their efforts to translate the Before Crisis epilogue text and make the cut-scenes intelligible for English-speaking audiences.

And now, to the chapter!

**Part II: Reunion**

* * *

><p>Chapter 13, Messengers of the Planet?<p>

**December 6th** **[ ν ] – εуλ 0007**

_Cloud stood on an empty expanse of nothingness, surrounded by swirling green tendrils floating through the air. They reminded him of the Lifestream and it wasn't a comforting comparison. There were echoing voices around him, saying things he couldn't understand. He remembered absently that Aerith had spoken of such things before, but she'd always been happy when she heard them, saying the planet was talking to her. He guessed she'd be the one to know, seeing as she was an Ancient. Kunsel on the other hand, and Zack too on occasion had told him about how new SOLDIERs sometimes complained of 'the whispers' after their Mako treatments and that it wasn't unusual. Whether they were the same thing or not, he wasn't sure, but right now, the voices sounded ominous. _

_He walked forward through the tendrils of mist, not sure where he was being led, but that something was definitely beckoning him… no, demanding that he come towards it. That was around the time he noticed the dull ache in his head… As he tried to stop to figure out what it was, the pulling increased and suddenly he found himself walking through Nibelheim as it burned, watching Sephiroth as he walked toward the reactor through the wall of flames. He didn't want to follow, but as he resisted, the pain grew worse. When he drew near the reactor he found himself no longer on the path, but back in the dark green of the lifestream. He tried harder and harder to fight even as his head throbbed and he was pulled ever closer to the nameless horror he knew was there. The last thing he saw before he awoke was a glowing pair of green reptilian eyes as Sephiroth looked coldly up at him, and he dangled helplessly in the air on Masamune's blade…_

Cloud snapped awake, as he realized his head actually did hurt, like someone had stabbed an ice pick right between his eyes. It was far more real than the phantom sensation of a sword hanging him up by his ribs, though somehow during the nightmare, his hand had found its way to the scar Sephiroth had left him. He groaned as he sat up in the bed that now occupied his corner of the room he shared with Zack. He hadn't had a headache like this since Midgar… Why did it hurt now? The pain receded as he allowed his breathing to slow. He didn't want to wake Zack. He was sure his mental faculties were working just fine at the moment, thank you, as soon his head stopped throbbing, and it would only make his friend worry if he told him… That was when he glanced over at the other bed. They'd started getting some proper furniture in here now that most of the repairs were done and the building had been completely cleaned out, but that was old news. What he had noticed was that Zack didn't seem to be sleeping too well either.

He was muttering in his sleep, and that was an oddity in itself. Zack was usually a pretty sound sleeper. Frankly, he counted himself lucky the other man didn't snore. But what he was muttering was the more disturbing part of this unusual turn of events. "No… don't hurt him anymore… Hojo… you bastard…"

Cloud's breath caught in his throat as Zack rolled over and the muttering stopped. It seemed as if the dream had ended. Cloud sat for a while, listening to the wind outside their window, and watching the shadows of the nearby trees slip across his window. He could hear the ocean if he listened hard enough. Eventually, he slid back under the covers and allowed the ambient sounds to lull him to sleep again. If Zack wanted to talk about it later, they would.

* * *

><p><strong>December 7<strong>**th** **[ ν ] – εуλ 0007**

The next day ended up being very busy for everyone at the lodge. Through one of the contacts Kunsel had established, Zack had managed to secure another monster-slaying contract, though this one was only a one man job. There had also been the trip into town the girls had asked Cloud to take to pick up a couple of items Elmyra had ordered for the living room. One of which had been a small television set. Kunsel had agreed with her on the count that keeping up with the current news was important. After helping the brown-haired SOLDIER install the thing, he'd spent the rest of the day training with him. Zack didn't get home until after dinner, but fortunately for him, Aerith had saved him a plate, and he wolfed it down with gusto before going off to get cleaned up.

At that point, no one wanted to do anything but relax for the remainder of the evening. After spending a little time checking out the new TV, Freya suggested going out to the hot spring before bed. No one was against it, and so, after everyone found their bathing suits, they trooped out to the steaming pool and soon, the evening air was punctuated by sighs of contentment. Cloud had situated himself on the far end while the others talked.

Zack was dramatically relating the tale of how he'd hunted down the monster he'd been contracted to find. It had been a tougher fight than he'd anticipated but he assured Aerith and Cissnei that it hadn't been the hardest thing he'd ever gone up against.

He suddenly noticed that Freya had edged closer to him. "Something on your mind?" she asked.

He shrugged. "Just listening." The huntress leaned back against a nearby rock watching the others. "What about you?" he asked, finally. "Come to think of it, why are you so nice to us all the time? I thought Turks were supposed to be…"

"Cold? Ruthless? Loyal to Shinra, no matter what?" Freya suggested.

"Maybe."

She smiled sadly. "When I was new to the job, I thought I was prepared to do anything for the company. I helped recruit people for SOLDIER, some even against their will. I put the goals of the company over the lives of others countless times… I don't know if you remember when I was ordered to protect that disk even if it meant taking it and abandoning you and Rayleigh. I know your memory's still patchy on some things, but you stepped in front of me to stop me, because you'd been ordered to protect her. That took a lot of guts. It was probably the first time I'd ever really had cause to doubt my orders."

Now that he thought about it, that did sound familiar. He nodded and she continued. "As time went on, I found myself thinking more about what I was doing, and it only got worse after I failed to protect my comrades when they needed me the most. I couldn't even protect them from someone who was supposed to be on the same side."

She paused and he noticed her reaching over, as though to push the hair out of his face, but he backed away before she could get there. "Sorry, I guess when you were still sick I got used to needing to do that every now and then, otherwise how else would you be able to see us?" She apologized when she saw how uncomfortable he looked at her show of familiarity. She edged away, showing him she was giving him his space.

"I can't say I know how I feel about all that," Cloud admitted.

The wistfulness still hadn't left her expression as she turned away from him. "Don't worry about it." She pulled herself out onto the stones lining the water, and wisps of steam floated off of her body in the light from the lantern they had brought out with them so they could see. It was getting near the new moon so they couldn't rely on its light for illumination. "I think that's enough for me tonight." She stood up and went for the towels near the steps. "I'm going to head in," she said so everyone could hear. "If I'm asleep when you get back, I'll see all of you in the morning." She wrapped the towel around her waist and waved to those who remained before heading back towards the house.

Aerith also stood after another moment. "I think I'm going in too."

"We'll be right behind you." Zack stretched and then spared a glance at Cloud. "Don't fall asleep over there," he teased as Aerith followed Freya up the path.

Cloud stood up and pulled himself out so he stood on the edge of the pool, feeling the cool breeze on his skin. "Same goes for you."

Zack grinned. "Yeah, we'd both be a couple of prunes if we did that." He too got out and proceeded to dry himself off, before carelessly throwing his towel over his shoulder. Cloud picked up the lantern they'd brought before retrieving his own, and the two of them walked back towards the lodge.

* * *

><p><strong>December 8<strong>**th** **[ ν ] – εуλ 0007**

Cissnei and Freya were out on the porch during the late afternoon, having just returned from running an escort job for some merchant who was trying to set up supply lines for some business venture to the south, when Kunsel walked around the side of the lodge, looking like he'd just had a good workout. At the curious glances, he offered them a grin before walking inside. He returned shortly afterward with a military canteen he'd filled with water. He sat on the step, taking a long drink from it before offering an explanation. "Just got back from training with the guys," he said. "We were doing a three-way spar with Cloud against me and Zack and somewhere along the way he decided to hang back."

"Well, that would still be easy, right? You haven't been training Cloud that long," Freya commented.

"You would think. He actually handled himself pretty well. Nothing I couldn't handle, but I'd hate to be his opponent in a couple of years if he keeps up that kind of progress. At a guess, I'd put him solidly as a 3rd Class already."

"Maybe I should have a go with him, to keep him on his toes," Cissnei offered.

"That could be interesting." Kunsel chuckled at the thought.

"I expect it would be," Freya agreed. "Would materia be allowed?"

"He's got a couple of the basic ones now. He picked up a Cure, and a Fire last time we were in town, so lower level spells would probably be okay."

Freya nodded in agreement. "Makes sense."

"What, were you thinking of giving her materia support? That's a bit unfair," Kunsel teased.

"Well, Turks don't play fair, do they?" Freya countered.

"No, I guess they don't. Not even ex-Turks."

"You never leave the Turks," Cissnei said quietly.

"Maybe not…" Kunsel trailed off at that point because suddenly they all heard a buzzing noise.

After hunting around in the pockets of her jeans for a moment, Freya found her PHS and answered it. "Yes?... Veld?... No it's all right, I was just glad to hear your voice. I didn't realize the dead could sound so healthy, sir." She said the last bit with a mischievous grin before the next thing their former director said brought her back to complete seriousness. "Are you sure about that sir?... I see. Yes, Cissnei's still with me … All right, I'll call you back once I've found everyone." She hung up and turned to Kunsel. "Go get Zack and Cloud, Veld's got some news we all need to hear."

Kunsel stood and left without argument. He wasn't sure he liked taking orders from the former leader of the Turks, the very man who had facilitated Zack and Cloud's imprisonment for Hojo, but he decided he would at least hear him out.

It didn't take him long to find the other two swordsmen. They had come in through the front door and were talking with Aerith and her mother in the kitchen. Soon after that, the three of them were headed towards the camouflaged chopper with Aerith close behind them.

"So what's going on?" Zack asked as they all climbed into the passenger compartment.

"We're about to find out," Freya answered. She was sitting in the pilot's seat, having turned on the helicopter's communications system. "Com channel… 38 9 Delta…" She muttered aloud as she punched it in. After a moment she spoke into the microphone. "This is Shotgun on channel 38 9-er Delta, EMR, do you read?"

A voice Kunsel didn't recognize filtered through the speakers. "_Loud and clear Shotgun. Shuriken and the rogue broadswords are still with you?_"

"That's an affirmative EMR, Do I have a confirmation that the channel is secure?"

"_That is also an affirmative. Encryption has just been implemented."_

Whoever EMR was, he paused at that point and another deeper voice interjected. "_In that case, Rod, for now, we can forego the need for codes._"

Rod laughed and Kunsel heard a muffled "_Yes sir,_" On the other end of the line.

Zack had crossed his arms as he heard the deeper voice and as Rod finished he spoke "I take it you're Veld?" he asked.

A pause, and then "_Yes. And you must be Zack Fair. But we have no time for pleasantries right now. There are more important things going on. I'll get straight to the point, my resources have discovered the awakening of a WEAPON, and whether the other Turks fight it off or not, it will be headed your way very soon._"

"Um… okay. What's a WEAPON?" Zack asked. "The way you're talking, it doesn't sound like it's coming to bring us a free lunch."

Even Freya and Cissnei looked a little confused on that point. Veld continued. "_It is a being created by the planet to destroy that which would harm it. Even though Zirconiaide wasn't completed when it was summoned, its destruction was a significant blow to the planet's ecology. As a result, this WEAPON has awoken and is coming after the persons responsible."_

Zack shrugged. "I guess by the persons responsible, you mean me and Freya then, since we were basically the ones who took Zirconiaide out."

Veld did not mince his words. "_Correct. It seems to have decided the Turks are responsible as a whole, along with you. If we don't do something it will probably reach either your location or Midgar by the day after tomorrow. It's already been involved in skirmishes with the other Turks. As the situation stands, we've been able to get information that it will reach Junon late tomorrow. If we can stop it there, that would be the best outcome. It's already made appearances at Icicle Inn, Wutai, Cosmo Canyon, and Costa Del Sol."_

Zack fought down a wry grin. "And once again, you automatically assume I'm going to help you."

"You are, aren't you?" Cissnei interjected.

"Well… yeah, I guess I am. But it's still worth pointing out."

Veld cleared his throat. _"In any case, we have dubbed this being 'Jade WEAPON.' If you are going to be acting to preempt it, you will need to be in Junon by tomorrow afternoon at the latest. Valerie and Allen will be waiting to meet you there. We will conduct a full briefing as soon as you arrive."_

"Understood sir," Freya spoke up. "We'll be there tonight."

Veld ended the conversation with a click.

The lady Turk climbed into the passenger compartment as the others filed out of the helicopter. "All right. We need to get the camo broken down and the chopper prepped. If you're going, decide now."

"Well of course I'm going," Zack said. "If I'm here, it'll still head this way, but I'd like to talk to everyone about who else should go. Just how dangerous is this WEAPON… thing?"

Aerith seemed to be listening to something before she spoke up. "The planet seems to think it's really powerful… "

"Wait, it's talking right now?" Kunsel asked. "But didn't he just say the planet created this… WEAPON… to destroy threats? Why is it talking to you if it thought we were a threat?"

Aerith listened a little longer, frowning in concentration. "It's really hard to make out, but it sounds like the planet only created it. The WEAPON is acting completely on its own."

"If the planet created it, and you can talk to the planet, you don't think you could talk to it and tell it to stop this, do you?" Cissnei had paused in helping Freya to add her two cents.

"From what I'm hearing, it's not smart enough. It looks like we'll have to fight it."

"We?" Zack asked.

"Of course I'm coming too," Aerith said.

Zack looked like he might be about to object, but Freya beat him to it. "Absolutely not. If you come with us, you'll only be in danger."

"And what about Cloud?" Aerith asked calmly. "I don't hear you saying he's not coming."

"He's not," Zack said, trying his best to be firm. "I want him here making sure you and the others are safe. I don't want anyone getting into a fight they aren't ready for, and if this fight has been giving the Turks trouble, it must be pretty bad. Besides, it doesn't sound like this thing's gonna be coming after you."

At Zack's words Cloud looked like he might be about to bring up some objections of his own to this plan but Aerith interrupted with a sly smile. "Not important. He's just going to have to come with us to keep me safe, because there is no way on the planet that I am going to let you go without me this time. I might be able to help."

From where Kunsel was standing, he could see that Cloud seemed just as surprised by this turn of events as Zack was, but as Aerith continued, he noticed the younger man had simply folded his arms behind her, quietly backing her up as she made her argument.

Finally Zack sighed. Aerith had won. He turned his attention to Cloud. "I'll be trusting you to keep her safe on this one, got that?"

Cloud nodded solemnly. "Loud and clear."

"All right, let's get packed and move out." Everyone who didn't have their weapons hurried back to the lodge to retrieve them. As Kunsel was headed out the front door again, he happened to overhear Elmyra talking to Zack. Apparently he'd given her a summary of the situation. He paused waiting for the dark-haired ex-SOLDIER at the door.

"Now you listen to me Zack Fair," Elmyra was saying, and her voice was very serious. "I know it was her decision, but if you let anything happen to her after all the time she spent waiting for you, I will never forgive you, do you understand?"

Zack gave her a smile. "Don't worry, she'll get home safe, that's a promise."

Elmyra's expression became a little softer. "You make sure the rest of you make it back too. I've gotten used to having everyone around."

"Well then, we'll try to have this wrapped up and be back in time for breakfast, okay?"

With that, Zack and Aerith met Kunsel at the door and they hurried back to the helicopter.

* * *

><p>When the helicopter landed at a discreet site a couple of miles north of Junon, sometime near midnight, the group found the two Turks Veld had said would be there, standing in plainclothes in front of a van. Zack recognized Valerie immediately, which meant that Allen had to be the blonde haired kid who wielded nunchaku. Freya and Cissnei greeted the other two warmly before everyone piled into the van and soon they were riding along an expressway towards the upper city. Allen got them through the check point without any trouble, and shortly afterward, they arrived at what was apparently one of the many Turk safe-houses scattered across the planet. Soon, they were situated in a small conference room and it wasn't long after, that in coordination with Rod and Lou, who were apparently with Veld and his party at an undisclosed location in Midgar, a secure line of video communication was established. As the screen cleared, they found themselves looking at an older man with a scarred face, who was wearing a grey suit. Behind him, Zack could see Rod and Lou on one side, and Elfe and Shears on the other.<p>

"Well look who it is!" Shears exclaimed. "Long time, no see, SOLDIER. Good to see your people made it out in one piece."

"I have a name, Shears," Zack interjected with a grin. "So are you still a terrorist or did you decide to retire?"

Veld cleared his throat. "Shall we get started?" He sounded rather annoyed.

"By all means," Zack leaned back in his chair, resting his boots on the table.

Veld brought up a map of the local area. "Here's the situation as it stands. Some hours ago I got a report from Liz at her location in Icicle Inn that she was chased by a large unidentified object. After locating a pillar of light that seemed to have been produced by materia energy, she managed to fight it off, barely. Soon after, Tanjuu reported a sighting of the same object in Wutai. He also was forced to fight with it before it disappeared again."

"By the time it appeared in Cosmo Canyon, we were utilizing all our resources and had managed to identify the object as Jade WEAPON. We were able to gather a small force at Costa del Sol and managed to damage it significantly, however, it is currently headed towards Junon, and if we don't stop it before it reaches Midgar, we will have to face it here. If it is not destroyed, it will most likely continue hunting the planet until everyone who was involved with Zirconiaide is eliminated."

"So how are we supposed to take this thing out?" Kunsel asked.

"While your party was en-route, Valerie and Allen were already scouting for a good intercept point. The WEAPON exudes a black mist when it travels that makes it nearly impossible to attack, however, with the radar program I've had Valerie upload to her PHS, we've been able to locate another one of those materia pillars near here. The WEAPON will dislodge clusters of itself when faced with a target; therefore, with enough of its targets in close proximity to one of these pillars, we should be able to slowly destroy it."

"So will it only go after what it thinks is a target?" Zack asked.

"Most likely. It seems to be locked on to Zirconiaide's residue in the Lifestream, so it probably won't go after anyone who wasn't physically there."

"Well then. That should make things easy," Freya said. "All we have to do is let the people who weren't there hack away at the things while those who were there run interference."

"You should still exercise caution," Veld warned. "It's not an intelligent being, but we shouldn't bank on it being predictable. It should make landfall at approximately 2100 hours, tomorrow. I'll leave your positioning to you. Good luck." The call ended.

* * *

><p><strong>December 9<strong>**th** **[ ν ] – εуλ 0007 9:00 PM**

When they arrived at the place Valerie's radar application indicated, Zack had been surprised to see it looked like an ordinary open field. The night breeze blew cold over the desolate location as the eight of them stood at the ready. Zack and Kunsel stood at the front with Freya, while Cissnei, Valerie, and Allen stood behind them and Cloud and Aerith brought up the rear.

No amount of persuasion had convinced them to stay at the safe house. While this fight was probably well out of both their leagues, Zack was reasonably sure that as long as the two of them were careful and stayed out of the worst of it, they should be all right. He was training Cloud the way Angeal had trained him after all. He'd gotten a lot tougher since they'd fled to the Mideel area, and the muscle he'd been developing under Zack and Kunsel's tutelage stood as testament to their efforts. Even so, he'd made sure both of them were equipped with some of the best defensive items he'd been able to find, and had lent Cissnei his mastered Wall and Cure materia since she was the best caster powerful enough to cast the high level spells in their proximity.

Suddenly, the ambient noises of birds and insects went silent, and almost as though to signal the giant being's arrival, a bright pillar of light appeared right in front of them. As Zack looked up, he saw that it was cutting through what appeared to be some kind of dark mist, revealing a great hulking object that was vaguely triangular in shape. "Well guys, I think that's our ticket up!" Readying their swords, he and Kunsel led the group into the pillar of light. When they entered, they found themselves in a vast expanse of green mist, not unlike where he'd fought Zirconiaide, except it seemed to be slightly more blue in color. He felt flagstones under his feet as he looked around him. "Is everyone here?"

As he looked around, he saw the others appear behind him with Cloud and Aerith appearing last, sword and staff at the ready.

Freya spoke up. "Be careful, we only know what Liz and the others reported about the inside of this thing." Her words were barely out of her mouth before Zack heard a buzzing noise up ahead, and soon he saw a cluster of three oval shaped objects coming their way. He brought up his sword to counter one of them and Buster Sword vibrated with the stress brought to bear upon it. He could feel the thing's power as his teeth rattled from the impact. Nearby, he heard Freya's shotgun go off as Kunsel brought up a barrier and he felt the tingle of energy as multiple other spells went off behind him. Gaia, this thing felt like getting hit by a truck! As he pushed the oval object away from him, he was forced to dodge out of the way as a beam of light attempted to strike the place he'd stood mere moments before.

It looked like the others were doing okay though. Kunsel and Freya seemed to be holding their disks sufficiently well. In spite of that, Zack realized with a wince that this was probably going to be a long fight.

* * *

><p>Tifa steeled herself for what would be coming when she and the others would disembark from the train. She had been working towards this day with them for months, and now, they were about to strike a blow to Shinra that would hopefully hasten the end of their reign of terror for good. She didn't care so much about Barret's ideas of the planet being in trouble. What smoldered in her heart were the flames of a burning town, its people slaughtered by a monster of Shinra's making, and left to rot.<p>

She cracked her knuckles as she prepared for the fight that was about to come, and Barret looked over at her upon hearing the noise. "You nervous Tif?"

She shrugged as she limbered her muscles. "Maybe a little."

"Well don' you worry. We'll get in, get out, and it's gonna be fine."

She nodded, and reminded herself to breathe as the train pulled to a halt.

Barret let out a whoop. "All right, let's go kick some Shinra ASS!" At the battle cry, the five members of the new AVALANCHE rushed out of the train cars. Biggs and Jessie took out a couple of MP's as they went and soon, they were headed towards Mako Reactor 1.

* * *

><p>In Shinra's executive conference room, a top secret hearing was being held in regards to the actions taken by the Turks two months prior. Tseng sat alone in front of a panel of three, as Scarlet, President Shinra, and Heidegger discussed his fate. This had been expected. Rufus wasn't so powerful as to give him complete immunity from his actions. If anything, he expected the Vice President to dangle them over his head for the remainder of his existence. But he had given him an out, even if Scarlet and Heidegger were unaware of it. They thought they held his fate in their hands when it had already been decided. No matter. Even if they actually did, he wouldn't have let them see it on his face.<p>

He remained composed as the three of them deliberated. "…this concludes the report on the behavior of the Turks," Heidegger finished.

As the panel turned their attention to him, the President spoke. "You have caused a lot of trouble."

Scarlet smirked. "Mr. President, I think the correct course would be for the Turks to be abolished and the three survivors executed."

Tseng didn't flinch even as the president continued. "In this case, the punishment I sentence to the Investigation Sector of the Department of Administrative Research, alias the Turks, is…"

The stillness in the conference room was shattered as Rufus brushed in flanked by Reno and Rude, a single word flying in his wake. "Wait." Tseng internally sighed even as he showed no outward sign of a reaction. The VP's flair for the dramatic was completely unnecessary, but he had pledged his loyalty to him, and he wouldn't interfere.

"Rufus?" The President knew he'd be coming, but pretended that he hadn't even known he was in the building. Further testament to how much of a sham this was.

"What are you doing here?" Scarlet asked. "I thought you were on a long term business trip."

Rufus stepped into the room, so that the light from the hall outside lit him dramatically from behind. "I'm here to stop the Shinra Company from suffering its greatest loss."

"Loss?" Scarlet looked annoyed as she echoed the word.

"The company's financial situation is already solid," the President said.

Rufus's voice flowed softly through the chamber as he spoke. "Somehow in my absence, you seem to have become an extremely senile old fool."

"What?" the president demanded.

Rufus allowed the hint of a smirk to cross his face as he placed a hand on the chair Tseng occupied. "An entrepreneur should always be prepared for any risk. I myself know this. So maybe, I should it explain it to the President."

The President did not look amused, but this show was the only way he could keep his secret about Rufus's imprisonment from going public. "You… what…?"

"To be blunt, I'm saying let the Turks continue," Rufus said.

"The very existence of the Turks themselves are a risk to the company," the President argued.

Rufus shook his head patronizingly. "It would be a mistake not to recognize executing Veld and the leader of AVALANCHE as the extent of the Turks' loyalty. Is there a problem with that?"

The President was silent for a moment before he shook his head and to the shock of Scarlet and Heidegger, but no one else, he moved that the meeting be adjourned on the grounds that no further action was necessary on this matter.

As the board members departed, Rufus gestured that Tseng and the other two Turks accompany him to the helicopter landing pad. They followed him up the stairs and were soon standing on the platform in the windy night, as dark clouds covered the sky, reflecting the light from the city back down upon them.

Rufus spoke first. "Considering the trouble you've caused Tseng, that was a very good outcome."

Tseng remained impassive as he spoke. "We owe you a lot Vice President. Thank you for your considerations for the Turks."

Rufus looked out over the city, not looking at Tseng as he answered. "Don't misunderstand. I did not do it for your sake. From now on, you can show your gratitude to me in your work."

Tseng brought himself to attention. "Yes sir."

With that, Rufus walked back towards the door, giving the Turks no further attention.

As the Turks stood, watching Rufus leave, Reno sighed. "Well, I guess all that's left is the three of us."

"Insufficient?" Rude asked.

Tseng didn't allow the faintest amount of change to his expression as he spoke. "In any case, it is our duty to accomplish the mission without exception… for the Chief... and for our comrades who are gone."

The words were barely out of his mouth before an alarm blared. "_Emergency incident. Emergency incident. Intruder at Mako Reactor No. 1_"

Reno shrugged. "No rest for the wicked, huh?"

Reno and Rude turned towards the door before looking back at the Director of the Turks.

"Tseng?" No one needed to ask the real question Reno was posing when he spoke.

The director reached up and untied his hair so it fell to his shoulders. "From now on, the Turks will become a new organization."

"One thing won't change." Reno said.

Tseng nodded. "Our pride in our work."

Rude adjusted his sunglasses, which may as well have been his way of agreeing, as the three of them hurried to the door, the tails of their suit coats buffeted by a sudden strong gust.

* * *

><p><strong>December 9<strong>**th** **[ ν ] – εуλ 0007, 9:30 PM**

Tifa and the others were running as fast as they could down the path leading out of the Mako reactor. They'd had minimal trouble with that weird spidery robot once they'd figured out on their own that it was a bad idea to attack it while the tail was up. However, now that the bomb was set, they were naturally in a hurry to leave. Barret was carrying Jessie as he ran, since she'd caught her foot on something on the path. As they reached the elevator, Tifa slammed her hand onto the up button and Barret got Jessie on her feet as the doors slid to a close.

For several terrifying seconds the elevator glided up the shaft before the door pulled open and they were on the main level. They only spared enough time for Jessie and Biggs to decipher the door codes as they sprinted to each barrier, ready for the next mad dash until finally, they saw Wedge on a catwalk up ahead where he'd been guarding the way out. Barret was the last to throw himself clear before the reactor behind them exploded in a fireball of explosive gas, mako, and debris.

As the smoke cleared, revealing to Tifa's eyes the access tunnel through which they would be leaving, she heard Biggs' breathless voice. "That should keep the planet going… at least a little longer."

"Yeah," Wedge answered him.

Seconds passed as Jessie rigged the explosive to cover their retreat and then she spoke. "Okay, now everyone, bet back!" They ran the final sprint out of the tunnel and out into the back alley, just as they'd planned. It wasn't long after that they regrouped at the train and were riding back down to the Sector 7 slums.

* * *

><p>Kunsel channeled a limit break, bringing his sword forward in a precise slash at the disk he was fighting, connecting with its weakest point before it crumbled into nothing. A short time after the fight had started, the WEAPON had apparently figured out that it would not win with just three of these things and had sent out three more to keep them occupied. It had been a difficult battle, but so far, the disks had largely ignored Cloud and Aerith, though as the fighting became a little more disorganized, the brown-haired ex-SOLDIER found himself checking back their way every now and then. Aerith was casting healing spells on the others, but the worst either of them had taken was a couple of small indirect hits that had been deflected by the Wall spells Cissnei was casting.<p>

Zack had also been keeping an eye on them, he could tell, as the dark-haired swordsman had been making a point to keep as much of the firepower focused on himself as possible. The other Turks had gathered together, using Freya as their heavy hitter and she chambered blast after blast into the attacking disks.

The floating oval shapes glimmered ominously and he watched the Turks scatter as another beam of light struck the ground where they'd been standing not that long ago. Valerie and Allen countered with materia as Freya continued her barrage. That was when the buzzing noises became louder again and he looked up to see three more of those disk shaped things headed their way.

Zack definitely noticed too, because Kunsel felt the air charge next to him as Zack activated his Thundara materia to fire a stream of electricity at the newcomers. The new disks broke off and circled the group, joining the three that hadn't yet been dispatched when behind them Cissnei fired off a limit break of her own. An odd glow permeated the area and Kunsel realized she'd channeled her limit break that made everyone lucky. He shot her a thumbs up before rushing one of the disks and landing a critical hit. It was one they'd been hacking away at for a while and it too crumbled.

Zack had moved back towards where Cloud and Aerith were, as the new cluster approached. Perhaps he thought the disks were getting too close to them for comfort. As he saw Cloud charging up a Fire spell, he decided his friend was right and started moving in that direction too, ducking as one of the other disks tried to ram him over. His sword clanged against the side of the disk as it floated towards Zack and he raced after it, but at that moment he felt the air charge again as another limit break went off in the near vicinity. To Kunsel's surprise, and Zack's too, Cloud had suddenly leapt forward and attacked the nearest disk with three crossing slashes. It didn't kill the thing, though he could definitely see it had left a few cracks in its armor.

"Yeah!" Zack shouted his approval over the chaos, and Kunsel was definitely impressed, but it also worried him a little. If those two blows had been enough to make Cloud feel the need to channel a limit break then he sincerely hoped Cissnei was watching her Walls carefully, because a full blow probably wouldn't end well for Cloud or Aerith.

He raced in and brought his sword up for an attack on the disk Cloud had wounded, pushing it away from them as Zack charged at one of the others. As his sword made contact with the disk's cracked shell, he heard another blast from Freya's shotgun a little ways away before someone else, probably Allen, he guessed, yelled out "Scatter!"

There was another bright flash as the three Turks in the other group dodged out of the way of another blast. At the same time, he felt a cooling breeze permeate the area. Aerith had let off her healing limit break. Ancient magic washed over the area as the four remaining disks floated around searching for targets. Kunsel went for the disk that Cloud had attacked again, even as it looked like it might be about to go after him and Aerith. The younger man pushed her out of the way as it approached before both Kunsel and Zack brought their swords down on it at the same time.

"Nice one!" Zack saluted to him and then the two of them went after the disk he'd been working on. They were down to three again, he noticed, and then it wasn't for long. The report of a shotgun blast and several spells brought about the sound of another disk crumbling into oblivion. They were getting close. He knew it!

The disk they were attacking came in fast as though it were trying to ram them but the two SOLDIERs dodged. As they did so, Kunsel brought up his Bolt materia and fired off the strongest spell he could. The disk vibrated under the magic. It looked like it had been affected somewhat, because when Zack brought the Buster Sword down upon it, it cleaved neatly down the center. The five in their group all looked over at the other three Turks and the disk they were working on.

With a battle cry, Freya let loose a final shotgun blast on the disk and it crumbled in front of her. As it did so, the ground quaked beneath their feet, and Kunsel could see the light through which they had entered was starting to flicker. Wordlessly, the eight of them ran for the exit. They'd done what they'd come here to do.

* * *

><p>AN:For your reference, I have provided a tally of unfamiliar limit breaks below.

Kunsel: Precision Slash, A precise attack on one enemy  
>specifically aimed at it's weak point. Level 1 limit derived from Zack and Cloud's basic limits.<p>

Cissnei: Lady Luck, all party members get critical hits for a very short time. Level 1, based off her DMW in Zack's limit gauge.

_See ya next time!_


	14. Airbusted

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spinoffs. That honor goes to Square-Enix.

Now that's out of the way...

**Part II: Reunion**

* * *

><p>Chapter 14, Airbusted<p>

**December 10****th** **[ ν ] – εуλ 0007**

It had taken some pushing to fly back to the lodge, but everyone had agreed that the less time spent with a stolen helicopter near Shinra's secondary center of power, the better. With that in mind, once everyone had an hour's rest, Valerie discreetly drove them back to their landing site, and soon they were underway. Hopefully, it would be a while before they heard from Veld again. This time had been a special case, Zack had decided. If something hadn't been done, the WEAPON would have most likely come after him anyway, but one thing he wanted to make clear to the former Turk director was that the next time there was a job, he would expect to be paid. Veld would also have to have a very good reason for calling on him to do the job, because quite frankly, he felt uncomfortable with the idea of working for the guy who had organized his and Cloud's extended stay in the basement of Shinra Manor.

They'd landed in the early morning hours, and after helping their resident renegade Turks re-pitch the camouflage netting around the chopper, everyone had hurried inside, eager to get what sleep they could before the sky started to lighten.

Now however, Zack cracked an eye open as a wonderful smell wafted into the room. Judging from that delicious aroma, someone was making breakfast. He noticed that Cloud was still asleep in the other bed, so he quietly dressed and headed downstairs. He found Rayleigh and Elmyra in the kitchen, but the two women were talking about something on the news, which he could hear playing on the TV, from where it was situated by the fireplace.

"What's going on?" he asked, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes as he went for the coffee.

"Something happened in Midgar," Rayleigh supplied. "Apparently there was a terrorist bombing at one of the reactors last night."

"What?" Zack glanced into the living room to see that a reporter was standing in front of a line of yellow police tape outside of what had clearly been an area cordoned off around the reactor. "Which one?"

"Number 1," Rayleigh answered him. "It seems there weren't any casualties in the reactor itself because it happened after hours but there were some civilians and soldiers caught in the blast."

"At least that's what they say." Zack poured himself some coffee.

"If there are civilian casualties I'm sure they'll be playing them up." Rayleigh walked over to the oven to check the progress on what looked like a batch of muffins. "After all, it would show how ruthless the terrorists are."

"I don't doubt it." The ex-SOLDIER went for an apple from the fruit basket and took a bite out of it chewing thoughtfully.

Elmyra busied herself with food preparation. "So did everything go well last night?" she asked.

"It was a long fight and we were pretty tired afterward but we stopped it." Zack wandered into the living room, leaning against the wall separating it from the kitchen as he listened to the newscast.

"…_Reports are that the terrorist group AVALANCHE is claiming responsibility for this attack. While no suspects have been publicly identified at this time, Shinra Military Police units are on the scene along with fire crews who are still working to contain the flames. The area has been sealed off to prevent mako exposure though no cases have yet been reported…_"

"AVALANCHE?" Zack murmured to no one in particular. That couldn't be right. AVALANCHE was gone. Fuhito was dead, and he was pretty sure any other original members were no longer active. Even so… "I wonder if Shears knows anything about this."

* * *

><p>Tifa felt the wind on her face as the door on the outside of the train slid open. The alarms were blaring due to a faulty I. D. and she and Barret would have to abort their ride a little earlier than planned. She heard Barret saying something behind her before she steeled herself for the impact with the ground and pushed herself out of the moving train. Gravel crunched underneath her shoes as she landed in a crouch, and Barret landed a little bit ahead of her, before they picked themselves up.<p>

"You all righ' Tifa?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." As the huge man with the gun arm walked along the tracks she caught up with him.

"Stick close," Barret said. "We can't let our guard down before we get to the Number 5 reactor. Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie already got everything ready for us, and the reactor should be right down this tunnel."

The martial artist nodded and took a position in the rear so she could check that they weren't being followed as they walked. It wasn't long before they reached a wall of sensors blocking their path.

"Well $%&#. How're we supposed to get past this?" Barret wondered aloud as they cast about for a way forward.

After a moment, Tifa spotted a grate. She knelt down to examine the inside before looking up at Barret. "I think if you can get this open we might be able to get through. We probably won't be able to come back this way, but…"

Barret nodded. "The idea of slidin' down that thing give me the chills, but we can't be sticken aroun' here either. All right, get out of the way and I'll see what I can do." She stood up and Barret reached in his good hand to pull the grate up. Without waiting, Tifa slid down the hole and soon she heard the larger man coming after her. After crawling through some ducts they found themselves on some scaffolding that weaved its way through some girders. The two them soon found their way towards another grate and a pipe, and Jessie and Wedge. Biggs joined them at that point since according to the blueprint there was a lock that would require three people to clear. The other two signaled they would stand guard until the signal to retreat was called.

With that, the three of them slid down the pipe and found themselves in the belly of Reactor 5, right on top of the door that would lead them to the catwalks at the heart of the facility. It took them several minutes, silently going down ladders, deeper and deeper into the reactor. But no one spoke as they went, for they all understood the danger they were in. There might be interference this time.

Surprisingly, they made it to the core unhindered, and as Biggs set the bomb Jessie had constructed, Tifa looked down into the swirling vat of mako below, wondering if they would be able to take out every single one in the city before they were caught and probably killed. Would the planet be saved? Would the pain she felt over Nibelheim be extinguished? She couldn't say, but at least she could say she had done something…

She was brought back from her thoughts as Barret tapped her on the shoulder. It seemed Biggs was finished. The three of them trooped silently back along the catwalk and hurriedly retraced their steps up, towards fresh air, and sky. Biggs slipped along one of the pipes at one point, but otherwise, they made it to the elevator with no incident.

They hurried to the three person lock and released it, making their way out onto the bridge. "This way!" Barret called to them. But that was when everyone stopped. Tifa could now see that their escape route was being guarded by MPs. "SHIT! What the hell's goin' on?" Barret demanded.

Tifa found herself hearing light footsteps, the delicate clicking of very feminine high heels. As she looked, she heard Barret speak in absolute disbelief. "Who's this broad?"

A woman clad in a red evening gown was walking down the bridge over which they'd just come, and she was accompanied by a couple of troopers. She paused about thirty feet away. "If you must know who I am, my name is Scarlet, and you must be that group of terrorists… um… AVALANCHE was it not?" she said airily.

"And don't you forget it!" Barret roared. "I don' give a rat's ass who you are! This place's goin' up with a BANG soon. Serve's y'all right."

The blonde woman laughed as she examined her nails. "Kya hahaha. Actually, I'm afraid that would be too much of a waste. Especially when I could get so much good data from you."

"Data?" Biggs raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Don't worry, you'll find out soon." She snapped her fingers and suddenly Tifa heard a whirring noise from behind her. Barret looked in her direction and his eyes widened.

As she turned around and saw the giant floating robot headed in their direction, the woman in red laughed again. "Meet 'Airbuster', a techno-soldier. One of my creations, actually. I'm sure the data he'll gather from catching you will be most informative."

As she spoke the robot floated ominously in their direction, and Barret unloaded his gun arm at it. Tifa took a fighting stance and prepared to meet the floating monstrosity as Biggs took the position next to her.

She heard Barret pause and the two of them raced in. She leapt from the ground, sending the floating robot back a little with a flying kick and flipping backwards before it could grab her as Biggs went in with a hard punch to its hydrofoil. The robot floated there for a moment before suddenly, an explosion rent the area around Barret and he let out a growl of pain. At that point the robot barreled over top of them and Tifa was knocked to the ground. Biggs had been thrown to the side and Tifa suddenly noticed that he was bleeding where he'd been scraped against the grating that covered the path between Sectors 5 and 6.

With the grace of a professional gymnast, she pulled herself over the fence. Not daring to look down at the Sector 5 slums below, she swung herself to the spot where Biggs was lying and pulled herself back onto the bridge. She handed him a potion as Barret unloaded his weapon at the robot again. Biggs stood and prepared to go in again, this time, pulling a knife from his pocket to try and puncture the hydrofoil with something sharp as Tifa ran in to let loose a Beat Rush, pummeling the robot with three precise strikes and then she was forced to dodge away as a clawed arm reached for her.

On the other side of the robot, she heard Barret let out a snarl before he fired off a Big Shot on the back of the robot. As he finished the robot suddenly let loose another wave of explosions, this time under Tifa's feet. She gritted her teeth as debris exploded around her before falling to the ground.

"Tifa!" Biggs called out to her. She looked around her from the spot where she lay and saw that Barret was attempting to get around Airbuster in order to get to her. "Biggs, get out of here…" She moaned.

"I can't leave you guys…"

Biggs trailed off as Barret let out a roar, pushing past the robot with strength not found in most normal men. "Yes you can. We'll be right behind ya, all right?"

Biggs gave them one last look before he bolted. "Sorry Tif," Barret muttered as he picked her up. "I know it hurts." He proceeded to follow Biggs along the bridge when suddenly he let out a grunt as the robot knocked them both to the ground. Before they could pick themselves up, the machine had taken hold of both of them like a child holding a pair of dolls. Tifa felt like she could barely breathe as the robot carried them over to where Scarlet stood and held them in front of her.

"A bit disappointing," Scarlet said at last, "I'll need to recalibrate some of its attack patterns. It didn't take nearly as short a time as I'd hoped." As the two terrorists glared at her she smiled. "Now, don't look so angry. You just took part in a very important test run, and in a few days, you'll even get your five minutes of fame. After all, I'll be making sure everyone knows it was my invention that captured the masterminds behind AVALANCHE's reactor bombings."

"You're sick," Barret growled.

Scarlet narrowed her eyes and the smile she wore dripped with poison. "As if I care what you think. Take them to the Shinra building's main prison block."

One of the MPs spoke tentatively. "Ma'am? What about the one that escaped?"

Scarlet gave him a look of utter disdain. "Don't worry about it. According to our intel, this man is the ringleader. Without him they'll fall into our hands easily. It's only a matter of time." As Scarlet walked away, a couple more MPs came forward with handcuffs, and frisked them for weapons before the robot let them down and the two terrorists were led away.

* * *

><p><strong>December 11<strong>**th** **[ ν ] – εуλ 0007**

It was late evening and Shears was walking through an abandoned warehouse in the slums of Sector 4. Veld had not been pleased when he and Elfe decided to investigate some of their old hideouts in the city to see what copycat had decided to set himself up under the name for their original group, even though he had conceded that the information might be useful. Shears had to admit he wasn't sure what he and his fellow former AVALANCHE leader would do about it once they had that information.

Were they going to tell them to stop? It was a bit late now, considering the leaders had been captured. Was it curiosity? Maybe some old feelings of solidarity with those who were fighting to try and save the planet? He was sure it wasn't that. He'd had his fill of crazy zealots with Fuhito. If anything, if he met any of these people he'd be more likely to tell them to knock it off and get lost before they did something even more stupid.

He paused in the center of the empty warehouse, looking up at the rafters and remembering a time when this place used to be active. It had been early in AVALANCHE's existence, when they were first getting a foothold in the city. He'd been here a couple of times, back when their main base had been in Wutai. Those were simpler days, he reflected nostalgically. Back before he'd seen Fuhito for what he was and the fight against Shinra had been all that mattered. He'd still been a relatively new member then, having just had his life spared by Elfe and had only just started to work his way up the ranks… his PHS rang at his hip and he answered it.

"Yes?"

"_Shears, I'm over by the old fallback spot in the sewers. Have you found anything?" _Elfe's soft voice echoed through the speakers.

"Not a thing. Wherever they are, they definitely didn't find the plans for those bombs in Sector 4."

Elfe thought about it for a moment. _"We'd been creating new hiding places all over this city over the last few years… how many other locations are left?"_

Shears considered the question. "Maybe about five big ones, I think. There was the place in Sector 1, and then… let's see here… Sector 8… 2… above plate in Sector 5… oh yeah… and below in Sector 7."

Elfe was quiet for a little longer before she spoke again. _"You take the locations in Sectors 2 and 1, and I'll go to 5 and 7. We'll meet in Sector 8, all right?"_

"Got it. I'll see you in Sector 8." The PHS clicked and Shears reflected Elfe must have picked up the habit of hanging up abruptly from her old man. She had been very weak from her ordeal with Zirconiaide for quite some time, but now that she had some of her strength back, he'd found himself noticing that the two of them were alike in more ways than he'd realized.

* * *

><p>Dr. Rayleigh had just returned to the lodge. Over the last month or so, she'd been working under a pseudonym at a local clinic to keep her skills up and so she could have access to the laboratories that were on-site. It had taken some work to get herself established, but the resources it made available to her would be invaluable, should she ever wish to continue her work. Her efforts to protect Cloud in Midgar had at long last earned her Zack's trust though both of them were still understandably leery of anything medically related. For now no further progress had been made on gaining any semblance of understanding of Hojo's goals. She was content to let things sit for now, as long as no complications came up, though she had mentioned to Freya and Cissnei that if a trip to Nibleheim could be made in the future, she wanted to find out more about that laboratory basement.<p>

She walked up the stairs, depositing her belongings in her room which stood at the far end of the hall to the right, before returning downstairs to find Elmyra in the kitchen. The television was on again in the living room.

"…_A second bombing at Mako Reactor 5 was thwarted by Shinra's latest technological development, Airbuster, a high powered security robot intended for the apprehension of suspects. Scarlet, the head of Weapons and Technological development will answer a few of our questions in an interview later on this program, but for now, let's talk about the terrorists…" _Two photos appeared behind the newscaster as she spoke, that of a gigantic black man and a young woman with dark hair and wine colored eyes. Rayleigh listened as the two were identified as Barret Wallace and Tifa Lockhart, respectively though relatively little detail was given to where they had come from or who they were aside from being terrorists. Tifa… Where had she heard that name before? As the newscaster turned to less dramatic pieces of news, the doctor thought about it for a while, but couldn't place it.

Finally she shrugged it off and asked "So where is everyone tonight?"

"Apparently they found some work that took them up to one of the more northern islands. Zack said they'd be back in a couple of days," Elmyra answered.

"The girls went too?"

Elmyra nodded. "Aerith didn't have to but she wanted to go along with them."

Rayleigh acknowledged her answer before asking "Is there anything I can do to help?" There wasn't any sense sitting around here doing nothing after all.

* * *

><p>Two figures crept towards the Shinra building. Biggs led the way with Wedge bringing up the rear. Jessie had wanted to come too, but it had been mutually agreed that she would stay behind with Marlene. If anything happened to her, they all knew Barret would never forgive them. Biggs cracked his knuckles as Wedge checked the ammunition in his gun and bandolier. This would be a difficult mission, but if they could only succeed... They'd bribed an informant to give them a blueprint of the floor they needed and hopefully they could get to the cell block quickly.<p>

Nodding at each other to show they were both ready they hurried into a back alley that led to a set of stairs up into the Shinra building. The main cell block was supposed to be on the 20th floor. There were rumored to be others, but Scarlet had her workshops on level 21, so most of her troopers used this particular block.

The two of them raced up the stairs as fast as they could, taking some of them two at a time. 17… 18… 19… Biggs could hear Wedge losing his breath behind him as they reached the last landing and they paused to allow him to catch it again before he pushed open the door onto the 20th floor of the skyscraper. On the other side however, what he saw made him want to slam the door shut again. Ten troopers led by what looked like a SOLDIER were standing there waiting. That was also around the time he heard the sound of combat boots hurrying up the stairs. He cursed, but as he and Wedge looked at each other he realized this was the end of the road.

Biggs swallowed hard. They may not be able to get out of this, but they were going to take at least a few of those bastards down with them. They threw open the door and charged as the troopers peppered the area with bullets. When all was said and done, the two men lay still on the floor.

* * *

><p><strong>December 12<strong>**th** **[ ν ] – εуλ 0007**

Jessie was cleaning the bar at Seventh Heaven nervously as Marlene sat nearby, holding a doll she sometimes played with. She had tried to tuck the little girl in for the night but she was too upset to go to sleep. It had been several hours since Biggs and Wedge had left and Jessie had heard nothing. She hadn't bothered opening the place to customers. She was too worried about the others, but there was nothing wrong with making sure the place was clean for them when they got back… They would, she was certain. They had to. Even so… she looked at the clock. Biggs had told her that if they weren't back by 2:00 AM to assume they weren't coming back, and it was now 1:30. In half an hour she was supposed to assume that no one had survived. In that case, they had decided she would go into hiding with Marlene and take care of her. It was the most she could do if there was no one else left.

She didn't want to believe it was over. It couldn't be. Everyone would come through that door any moment, and they would get right back to trying to save the planet. That was when she noticed Marlene standing at her side. "When's Papa going to come back?" She asked.

"I don't know sweetheart," Jessie answered her.

"It'll be soon right?"

Jessie looked at the clock. Fifteen minutes left. "I hope so." They had been waiting all night for news and now that it was coming down to the wire, she didn't know what to do. _"Hurry everyone!"_ She begged the darkness in the windows to show familiar faces as she watched the door.

Ten minutes to 2:00… No one came… She chewed on her lip nervously as she moved around the familiar tables and chairs, cleaning surfaces she'd already gone over. Five minutes…

She heard footsteps outside, and then a gentle tapping at the door. It couldn't be the others. That knock was way too soft and she would have heard Barret out there if he were present. She walked to the swinging doors and looked outside to find herself facing a woman a few years older than her with grey eyes, short brown hair, and wearing a long grey cloak over a worn green outfit with blue trim that looked vaguely like a uniform.

"Umm… can I help you?" Jessie asked.

"Perhaps," the woman said. "I apologize for intruding so late, but by any chance, are you familiar with a group known as AVALANCHE?"

Jessie automatically backed away from the door, preparing to fight if the woman was a threat. The woman looked in through the door, tired eyes taking in the bar and the old familiar pinball machine that was a secret entrance to the hidden room below, and let out a sigh. "I guess this is the place…" She looked back at Jessie. "I don't intend to harm you, I only wish to talk."

"Who are you?" Jessie asked warily.

"A former member. You may call me Elfe." She glided into the bar and as she stood in front of Jessie, she saw that the woman carried a katana at her hip. She didn't need to be an expert on physique to see that Elfe had been a very powerful fighter once, but she carried the slightly frail look of someone who has only recently recovered from a very bad injury or illness.

"It couldn't have been of this AVALANCHE because we only just started a month or so ago," she said.

"I know. I speak of the original AVALANCHE." Elfe offered Jessie a soft smile. "Where are your other members."

Jessie hung her head. It was after 2:00 now. "They're gone," she said sadly. "If they were coming back, it should have been by now."

As she spoke, she heard Marlene behind her. "Daddy?" The girl asked tentatively.

Jessie walked over to the little girl and held her. "I'm sorry Marlene. It's past the time when they should have come back."

The little girl looked up at her as her eyes filled with tears and then she buried her face in Jessie's shirt. "Daddy!" she sobbed. Jessie held her close as Elfe watched the spectacle calmly.

"I take that to mean one of your comrades was her father?"

"He was our leader." Jessie said, fighting back her own tears as she glared at the woman.

Elfe did not flinch under her gaze. Instead she pulled out a PHS and dialed a number. After it rang for a moment she spoke into the receiver. "Shears, it seems our copycats were located in Sector 7… No, there are only two of them left. The authorities will probably come to this place soon, I expect… Yes that is exactly what I am suggesting. I can't just leave them here… I don't care what my father thinks, go to the safe house and tell him I'll have company."

Jessie wasn't sure of what she had just heard, and she stared at the woman curiously as she ended the call. Elfe didn't seem put off by the stare, but instead spoke with authority. "It's very likely that Shinra will be searching for you, and you shouldn't stay here. If you come with me, I have a place where you will be safe."

* * *

><p><strong>December 13<strong>**th** **[ ν ] – εуλ 0007**

In the early morning hours in a nondescript holding tank on the 67th floor of the Shinra building, a strange metamorphosis was taking place. Prior to today, anyone looking into this particular vessel, would have seen the visage of a grotesquely mutated woman, beheaded, and immobile. Of course, prior to now, the only use she served to most members of Shinra's science department had been as a source of Jenova cells. Now, in the silent dark of the vacant laboratory, that disgusting visage was changing, disconnecting itself from collection tubes, pulling tendrils into itself as flesh and sinew knitted into a new and ominously frightening figure. The glass of the window of the tank smashed open, and nearby specimens quaked in their cages as it opened, the floor splattering with liquid. A ghost from the past stepped out into the lab, still dripping the mako it had been resting in and blood from its still shifting form, as well as some from an orderly whom it had quickly killed when he had tried to see what was going on in the tank.

Alarms triggered, but the ghost ignored them. As he walked, Sephiroth felt his familiar leather coat form around him, directed by his control of his mother's body. His actual sword still floated in the Lifestream, but it was no issue to use Mother to recreate the blade as it formed in his hand. He continued onward, toward the lift that would take him to the upper level of the lab, and the elevators. He passed a cage with an animal resembling a cross between a dog and a lion with a fiery tail and the number XIII branded into its side. The creature watched him guardedly, but he paid it no mind. He had other things to attend to. As he came to the stairs, two more orderlies appeared to investigate what was happening and he cut them down without hesitation before moving on.

Reaching the top of the stairs, he glided along the once familiar catwalks, his sword clutched in his hand and silvery hair trailing behind him. He walked with purpose even as a couple of guard robots lumbered into view to block his path. These too, he cut down without even blinking. He was an unyielding force, pressing forward, and onward, leaving rivers of blood as he continued until finally he arrived at the entrance to the President's office.

The doors gave way under his sword like butter before he walked up the left set of stairs. A malevolent smile crossed his lips as he saw the President at his desk, eyes tracking his as he walked up the steps and approached.

"General Sephiroth…" The man breathed out. "I thought you were dead. How…?"

The former general did not answer at first. In a movement too quick even for most SOLDIERs to see, he rushed at the president, leapt into the air, and impaled the man into his desk with the sword, even as he still sat in his office chair. "Mother sends her regards." He intoned. With a dramatic swish of his leather coat, he walked out the door to the helicopter pad and leapt off the side of the building, another sword forming in his hand even as he landed lightly on the first ledge, continuing his journey downward into the mako city.

* * *

><p><em>Cloud was dreaming again. At first it had been about Nibelheim, but somewhere along the way, he'd found himself trapped in a very dark place, barely able to breath, suffocating in a sea of deep, unrelenting, burning green. It wasn't the Lifestream. It was very different from that. Here, the whispers were louder. Loud enough that along with the burn, the experience was maddening, as though every voice was trying to force itself into his mind and overpower him. It wasn't just his skin that burned either. Every vein and artery in his body burned with the dull fire. Every heartbeat was more painful than the last, each beat pounding with the pulse of that aching throb. There was nothing he could do to escape it. He couldn't even move…<em>

Cloud's eyes fluttered open and it took him a second to orient himself before he realized he was looking up at the familiar folds of the inside of their tent. He took a moment to catch his breath and look around. Kunsel was sleeping soundly on the other side, but Zack's bedroll was empty. He wriggled out of his own sleeping bag, pulling on his sweater and crawled toward the tent flaps, being careful not to rouse the other man as he went. As he stood, he saw the night was still awash with stars even as the first shades of sunrise were starting to show on the eastern horizon.

He breathed in the night air and looked around, spotting Zack by the embers of their campfire. His friend sat, watching the glowing coals, as though deep in thought, but on hearing him approach, he looked up. "Trouble sleeping?" He asked.

Cloud shrugged. There was no sense hiding the obvious, so instead he sat down next to his friend and asked. "You too?"

"Yeah." Zack reached out with a stick and stirred the coals a little so they flared slightly, sending up a few sparks. "Nightmares?" He ventured after a moment.

Again Cloud shrugged. They sat in silence for a while, as the eastern horizon slowly began to lighten.

"Well, you know you can talk to me about it. If you remember something… or if something's bothering you… right?" Zack turned to look him in the eye as he said it.

Cloud nodded. "I know." They were quiet for a little bit longer, as the lighter shades of sky to the east started changing to redder hues, lighting up a fire to replace the dying one they were sitting by. Cloud knew he wasn't the only one who was dealing with this. Zack put a good face on it, but he'd have had to be blind to not see his dark haired friend had also been affected by their ordeal. It was probably even worse for him since he actually remembered what had happened. Finally, Cloud spoke again. "You know I'm here too… right?"

"Yeah, I know." Zack reached over and ruffled Cloud's hair.

"Hey!" Cloud fended him off, but before long they were both laughing. The seriousness of the moment had been broken.

* * *

><p>When the others awoke, it didn't take long for everyone to get packed up and return to the town where their contact had met them. The job had been completed the night before. A particularly nasty monster had been hiding out in the woods and making off with the local livestock. It wasn't long after Kunsel and Zack finished negotiating with their contact that everyone had their pay, and they were headed back home to the lodge. The morning passed in pleasant company, and soon they were crossing over one of the larger bridges that spanned the channel between two of Mideel's islands. It was even less time before they reached the path leading back into the woods.<p>

"You know," Zack said as they walked along. "This kind of reminds me of some of the missions I did back at SOLDIER."

"Which ones?" Kunsel asked.

"Well, lots of 'em," Zack said. "There was always trouble with monsters back then, wasn't there?"

"Yeah, seems like we were always getting shipped off to who knows where," Kunsel agreed. "There was the odd Wutai rebel or AVALANCHE cell to take out, but most of them were just straight up hunting." He looked at Freya. "You probably would have liked it."

"Is that how you learned to track?" The huntress asked curiously.

"You have to, otherwise, some of the more elusive ones are never going to show," Kunsel replied.

"It's a good thing he figured it out before we got our commissions too," Zack said. "I don't think I would have done nearly as well without him." He clapped a hand on Kunsel's shoulder. "Do you remember that time we got lost in the mountains near Kalm when we were still cadets and you had to track our squad just to get us back out?"

Kunsel groaned good-naturedly. "How could I forget? That was just before we made 3rd."

"Yeah, good thing we found them before it got dark, otherwise we might have had to sleep in the woods." Zack chuckled.

"What other crazy things did you guys get up to?" Cissnei wondered.

Kunsel laughed. "Where do I start?"

"Start with how you met," Aerith requested.

"Hmm… all right. It was before we took the SOLDIER exams. We ended up in the same bunk room for basic and we both knew we wanted to make it in. Of course, you know Zack, he was going around talking to everyone about how he was going to make 1st class, and be a hero. In the end, we got assigned as bunkmates, and he would not stop. Talking, I mean. So eventually, I made this bet with him that if he could figure out how to talk his way into being a hero, I'd give him ten gil…"

It wasn't long before the group saw a familiar looking building in the distance, and as they walked around to the front door and came inside, they saw Elmyra busying herself in the kitchen, making lunch.

"Glad to see you're all back," She said.

"Yes, and it's also good that we got paid," Zack added. "We're probably good for a few months at the rate we're going."

"That's wonderful." The older woman smiled. "As you can see, I've fixed up some stew so grab a bowl and help yourselves."

"All right!" Zack hurried to the cabinet where the bowls were kept, though he noted that the TV was on again in the other room. His enhanced senses picked up that there was another report but with everyone else in the room, he couldn't make out the details. As the others lined up behind him, he noticed that Cloud had disappeared. Not that he was particularly competitive where food was concerned to begin with, but still…

"Zack!" He almost dropped his bowl in surprise. He hadn't heard Cloud call his name like that since Midgar.

"What? What is it?" He hurried to the door to the living room to see Cloud wearing an expression of complete shock as his eyes were fixed on the television.

The next words Cloud spoke were soft and wavering, as though he couldn't believe he was saying them. "It's Tifa…"

Zack turned his eyes to the screen and his mouth fell open as he read the ticker tape rolling by on the bottom, underneath the news anchor who was backed by photos of Cloud's friend and a black man he didn't recognize. _"…AVALANCHE TERRORISTS IN REACTOR BOMBING ASSASSINATE PRESIDENT SHINRA…"_

* * *

><p>AN: No new limit breaks this chapter, but for those of you who like to keep track of such things, the Sector Seven plate would have dropped on December 11th.

_See ya space cowboys! ^^_


	15. Here Comes the Cavalry

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spinoffs. That honor goes to Square-Enix.

Now, when we last left out heroes...

**Part II: Reunion**

* * *

><p>Chapter 15, Here Comes the Cavalry<p>

**December 13****th** **[ ν ] – εуλ 0007**

When everyone else saw Zack rush to the other room, they'd followed after him to see what was wrong. Freya ended up being the next person to come into the room after him, and as she saw the report on the television he heard her say something that sounded like "Barret?"

He saw her go a little pale as she walked to the old couch they'd put in the living room and sat down, listening to the report as Kunsel and Cissnei entered. "What's going on?" Kunsel asked.

Freya shushed him as she reached for the remote to turn up the volume.

"…_apprehended the suspects three days ago, but according to Shinra's press secretary, they managed to escape their holding cell and murder the president as he was working late in his office. Rufus Shinra, the former president's son and the acting president of the Shinra Electric Power Company made himself available for comment earlier this morning."_

The newscaster was replaced by Rufus as he spoke in an interview that had obviously been recorded earlier. As close in proximity to the man as Zack had once been, (literally right down the hall from him at one point) this was actually the first time he'd seen what Rufus Shinra looked like. The acting president barely looked much older than himself, he noted. He sat there, ice blue eyes calculating under neatly trimmed blonde hair, delivering his comments to the newscaster in a pressed white suit. _"…As time went on, there were a number of issues with the way my father ran things, and as much as I respect him for what he accomplished for the world, it was those problems that led to his downfall. However, things are going to change now that I'm in charge, and I have a new vision for the way the company is going to go in the future. Make no mistake, these terrorists have been recaptured, and they will be dealt with."_

The recording ended and the announcer returned. "_The terrorists were already scheduled to be executed on the 16__th__, as of now, the date has not changed but Shinra has authorized full media coverage of the event. We'll be back after this short break…"_

As the commercials ran, Cloud walked out the door and Zack followed him onto the porch. "Cloud?" he called after him.

His friend stopped at the steps, still looking out at the trees, as he leaned against one of the beams supporting the roof. "When we were kids… I made her a promise…" He said. He spoke haltingly, still in shock from the news. "After I joined SOLDIER, if she ever got into any trouble. If she was ever in a pinch, then I'd come to the rescue…"

Zack was surprised. He had asked about Cloud's relationship to Tifa once, before Sephiroth had torched the village, but he'd never heard him give an answer to the question outright. Not even in the lab, as Zack had tried to keep him talking to keep his mind off the pain. He knew they'd grown up together, but…

"I never joined SOLDIER… and I'm not famous… but Zack…" He turned to look back at his friend, his face hardened in determination and yet his eyes were pleading. "We've got to save her! She's all that's left of Nibelheim!"

Zack considered the statement before putting an arm around his friend. "I know. We'll find a way."

He heard someone clearing their throat behind them. As he turned around he saw Freya standing at the door, watching them with her arms folded. "Let me guess. You're going to try to stop us or talk us out of it," Zack said, letting go of Cloud and mimicking her by folding his own arms in front of him, ready for a standoff.

Freya remained calm as she spoke. "Actually, I want to help."

It was Zack's turn to be shocked and he checked her expression for any hint of a joke, but there was none. The lady Turk was dead serious. "I thought Turks were supposed to look out for Shinra's interests." He said at last.

"Who says I'm not?" Freya answered, "I wasn't lying when we fought Zirconiaide, Zack. More than that, there's someone I want to rescue too, and this is my chance."

Zack recovered the quickest from this announcement. "Okay then, I guess the first thing we need to do is come up with a plan."

"Before any of that, what we should do is call Shears. He and Elfe would probably have the best knowledge of what's going on up there at the moment. And they'd probably be the most willing to help."

"What's Veld going to think about this?" Zack wondered aloud.

"Good question." Freya grinned sheepishly. "I guess we'll find out."

They walked back into the lodge and found that in their absence, the others had been talking. "You're going back to Midgar, aren't you." Kunsel spoke first and it wasn't a question.

"What do you think?" Zack answered him. "Here's the thing. If we can do this quietly, that's how I'd rather handle it."

"What you're saying is that you want us to stay behind, right?" Aerith said.

"I'm afraid so," Zack said, "Cloud and Freya have reasons, but the rest of you should stay here. After what you told me about how Hojo found you, no one's going anywhere near that city who doesn't have to be there."

"Are you sure this can be handled quietly though?" Kunsel asked, "I mean, you do realize you're planning to go back into the Shinra building, the corporate center of the company that wants both of you back in their laboratories, to rescue a terrorist who is all over the news right now, don't you?"

"Two terrorists and a laboratory specimen, actually," Freya corrected.

"You're planning to raid the Science Department too?" The look Kunsel was giving Freya suggested he thought she had taken complete leave of her senses. Cissnei looked like she agreed.

"If I have my way, I'll be the only one who goes there. That's going to be on my own time," Freya countered.

Now Zack was looking at her like she was crazy. "Freya, just what exactly are you thinking?"

"Maybe I should go ahead and make that call to Shears before I jump to conclusions about who's going to help us, but it's not impossible. We did it before when we took the helicopter," Freya said as he finished.

"Yeah, but the security will probably be even worse now, and not just because of you," Cissnei interjected.

"No mission is impossible for the Turks." Freya reached for her PHS, and started toward the front hallway so she could make the call. At that blanket statement, Cissnei stopped. The older Turk had made up her mind and nothing she said was going to change it.

"You know, I think she might be even more gung ho about this than we are," Zack observed. He looked around the room at those assembled. "About what I said before. I'd feel a lot better if as few people had to go as possible. We're high profile targets as it is."

"I hate to say it, but you're right," Kunsel said finally, "I understand. But still, you'd better come back, otherwise, I'm coming after you myself."

"And I'll be right there with him," Aerith said, her expression severe. "We're not losing you again, Zack. Any of you."

"Well, I guess we'll just have to be extra careful." He walked back over at Cloud, who had stayed by the door as the others argued. It seemed that in the heat of the moment, he hadn't realized he'd stir up so much controversy. "Tifa's going to be fine, Cloud. We'll get her out of this."

"Thanks."

The word was barely out of Cloud's mouth when Freya returned, looking pleased. "Shears and Elfe are in, and they've got a couple of others they're also talking to. It seems we aren't the only crazy lunatics out there trying to infiltrate the Shinra building and Shears says he thinks there's something fishy about that report."

"I kind of agree with him," Kunsel admitted, "How incompetent would the guards have to be to let two terrorists waltz into the President's office unhindered?"

"Looks like we're going to find out." Zack looked at Freya and Cloud. "Three days isn't a lot of time though. How soon can we get there?"

Freya thought for a moment, weighing their options. "The helicopter would be faster, but I don't think we want to get too close to Midgar with it. There's too much of a chance of getting spotted right now, since they're going to be on high alert. Our best bet would be to fly to the Chocobo Farm and then go the rest of the way by bird. We'll get to Midgar either late tomorrow or early the day after that, if we ride fast."

Zack nodded, decision made. "That's still not a lot of leeway, but we'll make do. Cissnei?" The younger Turk looked up at him. "We'll need you to fly us to the mainland. How soon can you be ready?"

"We'll have it prepped in an hour."

"All right, we'll be taking off as soon as we're set." When he finished speaking, everyone hurried out of the room to make preparations.

* * *

><p>Cloud tried to focus on the horizon out the window of the helicopter as he wondered how he had ever talked himself into getting back into this thing again. Fortunately, for everyone involved, Rayleigh had been kind enough, before the first ride out of Midgar, to provide him with medicine for motion sickness, but even with that on hand, he was not happy right now. He wasn't about to complain about it though. Tifa was in danger. There were more important things to think about.<p>

He tried not to look down at the vast oceans of grassland below. As they neared their destination, Cissnei spoke up over the crackle of the radio. _"I'm going to take us down about two klicks to the east of the farm. You should be able to get there pretty quick."_

He felt Zack shift in the seat next to him as his friend answered, "That's perfect. Once we're gone, just head back to base and we'll call you as soon as we're ready for a pickup."

"_Got it,"_ Cissnei responded. The helicopter lurched underneath them as it halted in midair before slowly descending and in the dying light of sunset, he could see they were out in the middle of an open plain, with nothing but grass as far as the eye could see. The chopper finally landed and Zack had barely pulled open the door before Cloud pulled off his headset and climbed out, relieved to be once again on solid ground.

Zack stepped down behind him. "Okay, so next order of business is to rent some Chocobos." He stretched as he caught up with Cloud before stopping to wait for the others. As the rotors went silent, Cloud turned to see Freya leave the helicopter behind him along with Cissnei. Unlike when they'd gone after Jade WEAPON, neither of the two Turks had changed into their suits this time.

Freya walked over to join them as Cissnei stopped right at the edge of the propeller radius. "Please be careful. All right?" she called after them.

"We'll be back before you know it." With a last wave over his shoulder, Zack turned and the three of them walked towards the farm, which they could see, just over a mile away over the fields. It didn't take them long at all to span the distance and soon they reached a split rail fence containing several large yellow birds.

As they approached, a few of the Chocobos came closer to the fence to watch them curiously. After looking around the place, Zack walked off towards the barn and Cloud hurried after him. Once their eyes adjusted to the darker interior, Cloud caught the scent of fresh hay and the sounds of someone working in one of the stalls. Zack called out "Hey! Billy! You in here bud?"

A boy with freckles and a feather in his hat, probably a teenager, peeked out of one of the middle stalls, carrying a pitchfork. "Zack? Is that you?"

"The one and only!" He sauntered over to where the kid was working. "You shot up a bit since I was last here!" He said.

Billy shrugged. "It's been a really long time."

"It has. Listen, I hate to cut this short, but I was wondering if you guys happened to have some Chocobos we could rent."

The boy thought for a moment as he climbed out of the stall and shook some loose straw and feathers from his shirt. He walked over to the opposite side of the barn where a small crate containing various greens and items sat. "Sorry, but you came at a bad time. All the Chocobos here have owners and we can't lend them out. But you helped us out a lot with those monsters back when you were here for Shinra, so here's what I'll do." He reached into the crate and pulled out what looked like a purple materia. "This here, is a Chocobo Lure. We've got some wild Chocobos that run around outside the farm, and if you can use the lure, you ought to be able to catch a few to get where you're going."

"I guess if that's the best we can do…" Zack said.

"Of course, I can't let you have it for free. My grandpa would throw a fit. I'll let you have it for… let's see here…" He thought for a moment and then finished "2000 gil. A bargain, huh?"

"I think you've got yourself a deal," Zack said.

"Great." The kid thought for a moment before continuing. "Do you need greens too?"

It wasn't long before the transaction was completed and Zack and Cloud walked out of the barn. Freya had been watching the great yellow birds that were wandering around the yard, but as the two of them reappeared, she rejoined them. "So what's the story?" She asked.

"It seems tomorrow morning we're hunting Chocobos," Zack said.

"Oh?"

"They didn't have any birds for rent," Cloud explained.

Zack walked ahead of them, looking around as the last of the light started to disappear. "It's too dark to hunt for them right now, so we'll just have to wait till morning. See that hill over there?" He pointed to one out behind the storage silo. "We'll camp there for tonight."

At that moment, Cloud happened to glance over at the pen and noticed one of the birds had edged close to the fence like it wanted a scratch, and so he decided to oblige while Zack and Freya talked. It crooned at the attention, uttering a soft "Wark."

Nobody heard the reply (good thing too, because it probably would have resulted in some teasing), but everyone noticed when the Chocobo rolled something toward the fence with its foot, and Cloud picked it up. As he held it in his hand, Zack walked over to look at it. "Hey, that looks like a summon materia."

Freya joined them, curiously. "What kind?" She asked.

Zack held it in his hand briefly. "I think it's ChocoMog." He handed it back to Cloud. "Hold on to that, it may be weird, but summons can come in handy."

"As long as they aren't of the 'harbinger of death that will wipe out the world' variety, anyway," Freya added.

After a moment, Zack snapped his attention back to the present. "Come on, let's go get the campsite set up."

Without argument, Cloud and Freya followed him towards the rising slope and it wasn't long before they'd pitched their tents.

* * *

><p><strong>December 14<strong>**th** **[ ν ] – εуλ 0007**

The next morning, the three of them were up bright and early and after a quick breakfast, camp was broken down in short order. As the three of them shouldered their packs, Zack tossed Cloud the lure since he had an empty materia slot on the bangle he'd purchased, and then looked over at Freya. "So any ideas on the best place to find Chocobos here?"

The huntress frowned, considering the question. "At a best guess…" She squinted as she looked over the open plains critically. "That way," She said at last. They headed south a little ways and it wasn't long before they came across some Chocobo tracks. Freya knelt to examine them, checking the various factors such as wind direction and the changes rendered in the dirt since the birds' passage.

"What have we got?" Zack asked when she stood again.

"They're definitely around here somewhere." She looked to Cloud. "Go ahead and activate the lure."

Cloud reached down to his bangle and felt the materia warm under his hand. Once that was done, Freya walked to the top of a hill and looked around. "If we just wander around here a bit…" She said thoughtfully, "we should get some results."

They walked along the tracks for an hour or so, and Cloud was starting to get a little worried that they were burning daylight when far off in the distance, his ears finally picked up the sound he wanted to hear. "Wark?"

He perked up at the noise and judging by the way Zack froze, it seemed he'd heard it too. The two men hurried in the direction of the noise as a second "Wark" broke the morning stillness. Freya heard this one and pulled level with them as they headed towards the next hill. They almost ran straight into the birds at the top. Before Cloud knew what had happened, he found himself engulfed in a sea of yellow down and feathers as four Chocobos swarmed around him, trying to get at the lure.

"Well, I guess we found our rides," Zack quipped. "You okay in there Cloud?"

"Fine." Cloud deactivated the lure and Zack offered one of them some gisahl greens. One of the other birds nudged Cloud in the back and so he offered it some greens of his own as Freya approached one of the others, before also holding out some seeds for it to eat. As Cloud tried to dislodge himself from the small flock they had attracted, the fourth one also tried to nibble at the greens in his hand and eventually he took pity and let the bird have what was left.

Once that was finished he pulled himself up on the back of the first Chocobo he'd been feeding. "Are we ready to go?" He didn't try to hide the impatience in his voice.

"Yeah." Zack gave his Chocobo a last sprig of greens before he too hopped up onto its back. Freya followed suit and Cloud was already steering his Chocobo northwest as the others hurried to catch up.

* * *

><p>Tseng was in his office, dealing with paperwork. The last week had been one headache after another. While it was definitely a relief to him to discover that the group responsible for the terrorist bombings and claiming to be AVALANCHE wasn't related to Elfe and Shears (and therefore, Veld) in any way, subsequent events had left the Turks with a shortage of manpower. While Reno was busy hunting up leads on where the man who appeared to be General Sephiroth had gone, Rude had been forced to work alone on the breakout in Hojo's lab.<p>

The security cameras had presented a most unusual puzzle to them to say the least. General Sephiroth was supposed to be dead. Freya hadn't seen the moment herself, but she was fairly certain, and he had to admit after he'd seen the inside of the room where Corporal Strife had thrown the man into the reactor, he found it highly unlikely the General could still be alive. Even a SOLDIER of his caliber shouldn't have been able to survive a fall like that into a pit of mako, that most likely would have caused him to be poisoned worse than Hojo's experiments had poisoned Strife shortly after. Even with Mako's uncanny ability to speed the healing of injuries, said poisoning alone should have been enough to cause him to starve to death long before he could have ever pulled himself out.

Hojo himself was also an issue. Tseng had been avoiding making waves on it after the loss of Zack, Cloud, and Aerith, and thus most of his physical evidence against the man, but the death of the President, and Rufus's subsequent assumption of the role had opened an opportunity for him. He had instructed Rude that if possible, he was to look into Hojo's activities while investigating the breakout. After all, in the event that Hojo had dealt further in research that could damage the company if it came to light, it should be contained immediately. Between these three things, there wasn't enough manpower to focus on hunting down the rest of that terror cell.

It was this last problem that brought him to a sheet of paper that sat on his desk. The application had come as a surprise to him, but not too much of one, and the applicant should be coming to meet with him any time now. If she turned out to be what he needed, which he felt she would, it would go a long way towards rectifying their staffing problem. There was a soft knock on the door.

"It's open," He said calmly.

As the door opened, he found himself looking at a young woman with short blonde hair. It seemed that since the fight with Zirconiaide, Elena had shed her pigtails for a more professional hairstyle, and it fit her well, as did the dark suit she now wore.

"I can see you already look the part," Tseng observed. "Please, come in, there is much we have to discuss."

* * *

><p>"Cloud! Wait up!" They had been riding for several hours and Zack had noticed his friend pulling ahead of the others quite a bit. The shorter man directed his Chocobo to stop as he waited for Zack and Freya to catch up. As Zack pulled up next to him, he shook his head regarding his friend seriously. "I know you're worried, but we've got another day after this, and Freya just heard from Shears that we might be waiting a little bit anyway."<p>

"Why's that?" Cloud asked.

"One of the people he's talking to thinks it'd be easiest to rescue Tifa while they're being transferred and that won't happen until the day of the execution," Freya explained.

"There won't be an execution," Cloud said firmly.

"Not if we have anything to say about it," Zack agreed. He drew his Chocobo level with Cloud's as he tried to change the subject. "So are you sure this is the first time you've handled a full grown Chocobo?" He asked.

"You didn't see any back in Nibelheim did you?" Cloud returned, his tone slightly strained, as his mind was obviously still on Tifa.

"No, I guess not. Probably too cold for them there," Zack mused. "But really, I was kind of surprised we found so many so fast, and they were still hanging around after you canceled the lure."

Cloud shrugged. "I don't know, maybe they just really wanted the greens?"

"Maybe." As they pulled over another hill, Zack could see that they had reached a vast expanse of the plains that was fairly flat just before the mountains came together to meet at a gap that he knew led towards Kalm. He grinned with mischief as he looked over at his friend and then at the lady Turk, an idea starting to form as to how he was going to lighten the mood. "You see where the pass is on the other side there?" He asked as they reached the bottom of the hill.

Cloud looked up at it, curious as to why it had Zack's attention. "What about it?"

"Last one there has to find the firewood tonight!" With a yell he coaxed the Chocobo into a run and felt the wind blow that one stray lock of hair that usually fell over his face back over his head as the bird raced across the open field. He was a little worried they wouldn't take the bait, but as he reached about a quarter of the way across, he noticed a second Chocobo on his right, and shortly after that, he saw Cloud pull ahead of him. It stood to reason. Being shorter and lighter, he'd probably be less of a drag on the bird he was riding.

As he looked to his left, he also saw Freya coming up behind him and urged his own Chocobo to run as fast as it could go, but it was no use. The huntress saluted him with a laugh as she rode past him, leaving him in the dust as she followed after Cloud. Zack didn't mind. He encouraged the bird onward with another yell as the grass sped by underneath him. He'd accomplished what he'd set out to do.

Little by little, the gap they were aiming for was pulled closer as he pressed onward after the other two riders, and it wasn't long before they stopped to wait for him at the mouth of the pass.

He brought the Chocobo to a stop. "Who won?" He asked.

"Cloud," Freya said before turning her Chocobo towards the gap and leading the way. Zack probably hadn't even needed her to say anything. As Cloud steered his bird to follow her, he could see a hint of triumph in his friend's expression even as the laughter left his eyes to be replaced once again with seriousness. The laughter alone was worth a night hunting for kindling.

As they pulled beyond the gap, they found themselves on a slight rise with a river to their right, and off in the distance Zack could just barely make out the roof tops of the small town of Kalm. It was early afternoon, so the trio decided to stop and eat before continuing onward.

About half an hour later, they were back on their birds, and riding down the gentle slope by the river. They slowed down a little bit at this point because they didn't want to tire their mounts, but they kept a steady pace as the birds picked their way through the rocks, sand, and dirt by the riverbank. Zack whistled as he rode along, though he didn't think anyone could make out the melody over the sound of the rushing water. He wasn't quite sure he remembered where he'd heard it either, but he could have sworn there was a piano involved.

It was getting later by the time they reached Kalm though it wasn't quite dark yet. Zack figured if they hurried they could make it to the wastes, and once there, they could walk the rest of the way the following day. It was far better than staying at the inn in Kalm and taking even longer the following morning because the birds they were riding were wild and would have run off. Cloud and Freya were in agreement, so they rode past the town without stopping. There were almost out of sight of the town, when Zack imagined he saw a figure off in the distance. Something felt odd about it. He couldn't quite put his finger on what, but in the end, he shrugged it off.

He was continuing onward when he noticed Cloud had stopped his bird in front of him. "What's up?" He asked.

Cloud shook his head after a moment. "It's nothing. I just thought…" He frowned for a moment. "Never mind," He nudged his Chocobo forward, and that was the end of the matter.

Soon they reached another familiar landmark, the highway where Zack remembered they'd hitched a ride with that old guy in the truck. He half wondered what had happened to that motorcycle he'd lifted when those troopers had tried to catch him in the Mithril Mines. Had that really been three months ago? He marveled at how things had changed in that period of time as the flat land covered with grass began to give way to dirt and rising cliffs. The Chocobo picked its way along the side of the road along with its fellows and as the stars began to blink into existence up in the sky, he looked up ahead and saw another source of eerie green light off in the distance. Mako reactors.

They followed the highway a little further as the lights drew closer before finally making camp on a cliff that had a view of the city off in the distance, allowing the Chocobos to go free at that point. The Shinra skyscraper towered over the rest of the plate, daring anyone to challenge the superiority of the company that built it. At a guess, Zack figured they were far enough away that there was absolutely zero possibility of being spotted, but at the same time, they decided to put their campfire behind an outcropping of rock, just in case.

He was feeding the fire when Freya reappeared, having gone to scout the area. "Find anything?" He asked.

"Not much," She admitted, reaching into her pocket. "I think there was a military unit of some kind around here within the last couple of months." She fished into her pocket and pulled out a discarded clip from a machine gun. "It's been long enough since they were here that all the tracks have been washed out, but I found this a couple of hills over." She tossed it to him so he could look at it. "For all I know, it might have even been the one they sent out to get you."

Zack shivered and it wasn't just because of the cool night air. "It's probably for the best we never ran into them." He examined the cartridge before returning it to the Turk.

Freya nodded. "Most likely."

Zack looked up at the rocks. Cloud had climbed to the top of them, and he was sitting with his eyes towards the city, watching it. The ex-SOLDIER stood and climbed up after him. The city lay before them, a jewel of colored lights surrounded by nothing but darkness. "When I first saw this place, back before I joined SOLDIER, it was still being built," Zack said after a bit. "There used to be cranes all over. I don't even think the Shinra building was completely finished." He pulled up some dirt next to his friend after reaching the top of the outcropping.

"I don't think it was finished when I first saw it either," Cloud muttered. He didn't sound like he was focused on the conversation.

After a moment, Zack sighed. "Don't worry so much, all right? It's a waste of energy and we want to save that for when we rescue Tifa."

Cloud gave him a sheepish grin. "I'll try not to."

"That's what I want to hear." Zack leaned back and looked up at the stars. They were far enough away from the city that he could make out a couple of the more prominent constellations here. After a moment, he started pointing them out, and the conversation continued until Freya alerted them to the fact that dinner was ready.

* * *

><p><strong>December 15<strong>**th** **[ ν ] – εуλ 0007**

The next morning, after stowing their gear, the three of them began the last leg of the journey at a moderately fast walk. It was a little after noon before the city walls started coming into view under the plate. Another hour later put them at the wall, and soon they had reached the gate leading into the slums for Sector 8. As the three of them entered, gaining a few nervous stares from onlookers, Zack spotted a familiar man with brown hair and a camouflage bandanna. Even in plain clothes as opposed to his AVALANCHE uniform, Shears was easily recognizable as he approached offering a wave. "About time you got here! I've been waiting for a couple of hours."

"So how's life with the former Director these days?" Zack asked.

"He's not very happy with us right now," Shears' grin mirrored Zack's as his gaze turned to Cloud. "So this must be the lover boy himself. Your lady friend must be a lucky girl if her man's willing to travel across continents to come save her."

Cloud looked a bit flustered at that. "Oh, she's not… We're just friends…" He looked over at Freya and Zack could see the question in his eyes. _"What did you tell him?"_

Freya just shrugged and said nothing. Shears laughed. "I'm just kidding. It's all right though, I understand. I've seen you before, but I don't think we've been introduced." He held out his hand to Cloud. "Call me Shears."

After a moment, Cloud regained his composure and took the hand, shaking it firmly. "Cloud." He returned.

Shears nodded and then gestured that everyone follow him. "Come on, the safe house is this way." They meandered towards the center of the underside of the plate before they reached a set of emergency stairs that took them up onto the upper plate. When they reached the end of the steps, they found themselves surprisingly very near Loveless Avenue.

Zack could even see the fountain down the way. "Isn't this area a little conspicuous for a safe house?" He wondered aloud.

"Not as bad as you'd think," Shears answered him as he turned in the direction of Sector 1 and away from most of the more populated areas. "We were really shaken up when your friends blew up Reactor 1 though."

"I'll bet," Freya observed.

"I'm not surprised the Lockhart girl had friends, but I have to say," Shears turned to the Turk. "I never thought you'd turn out to be one of them."

Freya shrugged again. "I've got my reasons. Besides, she helped me out when I went to Nibelheim."

Zack wasn't surprised by that. He'd seen Freya wandering around in the village and she had been the one who had recommended Tifa as their guide. It was at that point he remembered what she had said when seeing the newscast. "So how did you know that guy… Barret Wallace?" He asked.

"He helped me get to the Mako reactor in Corel. I had no idea he'd ever get himself involved in something like this, but then again, I suppose I never anticipated what they did to Corel either." She frowned, looking around warily for potential eavesdroppers. "I didn't even know what had happened to the town until I woke up and found out it was three years later."

"Don't sell yourself short. We got Fuhito didn't we? But that's right, you did have mako poisoning after the reactor didn't you?" Shears reflected.

"Quite frankly, I'm surprised your eyes don't glow too."

"I think the support materia protected me. I wasn't in there long after I threw you out with it. Though I guess I did feel a little woozy for a bit once I got far enough away to rest." Shears shrugged. They came to an apartment building at that point, and he led them up the steps. "I get why you'd want to help the girl and that Wallace guy, but why did you want to break into the Science Department?"

As they walked into the hall, Freya went quiet for a bit, her expression hardened as she adjusted her shotgun where it hung over her shoulder before speaking. "Because now is my chance to correct a mistake."

"What kind of mistake?" Zack asked.

"The kind where we were ordered to capture someone for Hojo, and we did it without question."

"You call kidnapping someone for Hojo a mistake?"

"I'm not going to make excuses for every decision we made, Zack," Freya said, her tone frigid. "What I did can't be changed, but at the very least, I can halt any further damage."

Shears shook his head as they came to another set of stairs. "I don't know what happened to you Freya, but if I didn't know any better I'd say you're starting to sound more like us every time I see you."

"At least I didn't go around blowing up reactors."

"I'm not going to make excuses for what we did either," Shears said calmly. "The execution is tomorrow and we've got things to do."

* * *

><p><em>Hope you enjoyed the chapter! See ya next time!<em>


	16. The Plan

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spinoffs. That honor goes to Square-Enix.

And now, without further ado, the moment so many of you have been waiting for... I hope...

**Part II: Reunion**

* * *

><p>Chapter 16, The Plan<p>

**December 15****th** **[ ν ] – εуλ 0007**

When they reached the level Shears was looking for, he led the group down a short hallway until they came to a door with a brass number on the front. As he opened the door he called out "I'm back!"

He walked in, holding the door open and gesturing that they follow him in. As they entered, Zack found they were in a decently sized common room with a kitchen area near the door. A young woman with brown hair whom he didn't know stood with Elfe in the kitchen, apparently in the midst of a discussion while a little girl played with a doll on the other side of the room. The two women looked up when Shears entered and Elfe spoke first. "Good. They made it."

Shears nodded. "We have almost everybody now." He turned to Zack and the others. "I know you've at least seen Elfe before, but this lady here with her is Jessie. She ran technical support for… uh… the other AVALANCHE."

Zack was about to offer introductions of his own for their group when he noticed Jessie's eyes flicker between his face and Cloud's. "I had no idea Tifa's friends were SOLDIERs," She said, having obviously noticed the mako eyes.

"Two SOLDIERs and a Turk," Shears added with a grin.

Zack rubbed the back of his neck as he thought about how to explain things. Finally he sufficed with "I guess, but the full story would be really complicated."

Jessie shrugged. "It doesn't matter. Shears said you've got problems with Shinra. I've got problems with Shinra. We can work together."

"All right then. I'm Zack, and this is Cloud, and Freya." He pointed them out in turn. "So what's this I hear about us having one more?"

"Shalua will be here in a few minutes. She and Jessie have been working in shifts at a different location to hack Shinra's database and trawl for the information we need," Elfe confirmed.

"It's been a hell of a job too," Jessie added. "We're lucky you all had the right equipment for it."

Elfe walked over to the dining room table in the middle of the common area and sat down. "We used to be well funded."

They were quiet for a bit before Freya spoke up. "So, where's Veld?"

"He's out at the moment. Like I said, he doesn't think we should get involved, but he's taken the attitude that it isn't his job to stop us. As long as we don't jeopardize the safe house, he's just going to pretend we don't exist for a while." Shears walked over to the kitchen counter and selected an apple from the fruit basket sitting there.

Zack chuckled. "Just like a Turk." It was at that moment, that the little girl who had been playing with the doll stood and walked over Jessie, having noticed the abundance of new faces in the area, and took shelter behind her leg, looking shyly up at the three newcomers with wide brown eyes. Having been distracted from the discussion by her actions, Zack looked down at the girl and offered her a gentle smile. "Hey there. What's your name?"

The girl pulled a little further behind Jessie and didn't answer. After a moment, the woman spoke up. "Her name's Marlene. I'm sorry if she's a bit shy. She's been really nervous since we left Seventh Heaven… that's the bar we were using as our headquarters before."

"Seventh Heaven?" He looked at Jessie in surprise. "By any chance was that name held over from the previous owner?"

Jessie looked surprised. "Actually, I think so."

"What would you say if I told you I think I named that place?"

"Really?" Cloud asked, curiously.

"I don't know for sure, since I never saw the guy again, but I've never heard of another bar named Seventh Heaven." Zack removed the Buster Sword from his back and leaned it against the wall before kneeling down so he was at eye level with the girl. "It's okay. I know we look pretty strange, but we don't bite."

Marlene stepped tentatively around Jessie's leg but didn't let go of her. After a moment she asked in a quiet voice, barely above a whisper, "Are you here to help save Daddy and Tifa?"

Zack's smile reverted to more of a grin. "That's what we came to do. Me and Cloud'll have them back before you know it. That's a promise, all right?"

The girl nodded, a hopeful look now in her eyes even as she hid behind Jessie again. Deciding not to bother her further, Zack stood up so that normal conversation with the others could resume. "As things stand, what do we know about their plans for tomorrow?"

Jessie took this question. "From what I can tell, the Science Department might be the easier job, the guards are lighter there right now, and I've got the I.D. badges set up, so that part is a go. We've figured out that Barret and Tifa are on the 20th floor, but when they're moved, it'll be to the third floor basement. The transfer route's going to be from the cellblock, down an elevator and past an observation area Scarlet's set up for the press corps. Then they'll be transferred down another elevator to the actual level where the gas chamber's located."

At that moment, the front door opened and a woman with flaming red hair and glasses walked into the room. She had an artificial arm, Zack noted, and was dressed in a T-shirt and very short shorts. As she looked around, she gave an approving nod. "So everyone's here," she said coolly.

"What kept you?" Shears asked when he saw who it was.

The woman reached into her pocket and pulled out a small disk. "Just the guard schedules and security details for tomorrow. I managed to snag them before I pulled out and destroyed the terminal. No one's ever going to be able to identify who was using that charred mess."

"You weren't spotted?" Elfe asked seriously.

"Of course not." The woman walked forward and placed the disk on the table.

Freya walked over and picked it up, observing as it caught the light from the lamp hanging over the dining room table. "Well, I think we're ready to come up with a plan of our own."

* * *

><p><strong>December 16<strong>**th** **[ ν ] – εуλ 0007**

As dawn broke over Midgar, and Rufus departed the city for Junon along with Heidegger, down below on a street in Sector 1, a small contingent of troopers encountered a slender woman with red hair. Her left arm was concealed by her coat, as she approached them, claiming that someone had broken into her house and she needed their help. Several of them broke off to assist her as the others went on ahead, and she led them a ways through the Sector before bringing them to a back alley.

The troopers never knew what hit them…

* * *

><p>A small window opened and Tifa watched Barret accept the two trays of food that were shoved through. He balanced one of them on his disabled gun arm as he offered her the other one which she took, before sitting on the bunk as the other man sat on the floor. They ate in a silence as the fluorescent light buzzed overhead. This would probably be their last meal, she reflected. One of the guards had laughed when he'd told them about Biggs and Wedge's failed rescue attempt some days ago. And then there had been the news about the President. She had no idea why they were being blamed for that. After all, they'd only been in here for the last few days. They hadn't even so much as set foot in the President's office. Not that it mattered. No one here cared.<p>

She finished her meal and set the tray by the door, though as she did so, she noticed her hands were shaking. She folded her arms in front of her, trying to breathe as Zangan had taught her to when she was nervous. She had no intention of just walking to her death, but she wasn't sure how she and Barret were going to get out of this.

"You all righ' Tifa?" Barret asked.

She smiled at him. "I'm fine. It's nothing."

Barret gave her a stern look. "Don' you lie to me, girl."

Tifa sighed, fighting back tears as she wondered why she was having so much trouble thinking straight all of a sudden. "I guess I just… really don't want to die today..."

Barret stood up and very gently put his real arm around her. "Nobody's gonna die, we'll fight our way out, righ?" The two of them stayed that way until Tifa wiped away her tears and then they sat down on the bunk and waited.

It was at that moment when the door opened and they saw two troopers outside holding their weapons as one of their guards stood nearby. Two more stood in front of them, each holding a pair of hand cuffs. As Tifa observed them defiantly, the taller of the two spoke from under his helmet. "It's time. We're coming in to cuff you. Neither of you try anything funny, or there will be trouble. You got that?"

Tifa scowled as the two troopers walked in and the shorter one proceeded to put the handcuffs on her as the taller one moved to work with Barret. She flexed her right hand as he worked with her left, contemplating the right moment to punch him out. She knew she could fight her way out of this. Dealing with the troopers that had guns would be tricky, but it was possible. As though he knew what she had in mind, she felt the trooper's left hand close over her right. It was when she tried to pull back away from him, that she realized the man was strong… Unnaturally strong.

"Don't try anything," The man said under his helmet, but the tone of his voice wasn't harsh. If anything, it sounded like he was trying not to be heard. If she didn't know any better… had she heard his voice before?...

She glanced out the door, and Barret took that moment to try swinging at his guard. As Tifa whirled back around, the trooper ducked and then leapt forward, violently pinning him against the wall. "Did you hear what I said?" He growled out, "If you do that again, I will kick your ass so hard your ancestors'll feel it!" Tifa's eyes widened in shock. What were these guys? Barret seemed equally surprised, and the taller trooper took that opportunity to finish cuffing him.

Finally she looked back at the guard working on her wrists, as though through strength of pure will she could see through the visor at the person underneath it. It had distracted her so much that she almost didn't register the other cuff clicking around her wrist.

"Who are you?" She whispered when she thought no one was looking. The trooper didn't answer, but instead pulled her up and led her out of the cell without saying anything more. Barret was right behind them. The trooper with the gun checked out with the guard, and soon they were walking down a hall towards the elevator.

* * *

><p>Nanaki had long ago lost track of the time he had been here, or the number of procedures Hojo had performed on him since he had branded the number XIII on his shoulder. It had to have been several days since the incident with that strange man with the white hair and the sword, but his everyday life here, if it could be called a life, had not changed. There had been a bald man wearing the uniform of the Turks who had come to look around the lab, but that had been it. He lay in a corner of his cage, positively numb with boredom, but grateful that Hojo's interest was directed elsewhere for the time being, as he tried not to listen to the sounds of the specimens in the other cages.<p>

He heard the sound of a door whooshing open nearby and his ears perked up. Someone was coming? No… two of them. By the sound of it, it was a pair of troopers. He could tell by the boots. But that was odd. What were two troopers doing here?

He cracked open his good eye and raised his head curiously when the sounds of the boots stopped, and that was when he saw that one of them was standing in front of his cage. When the person noticed that he was awake, they signaled with their right hand for him to wait a second, and then reached over to the access panel. He growled warningly and the trooper's hand paused. Carefully, as though making sure to avoid being seen by the cameras, the trooper lifted their helmet, revealing a young woman with glowing copper colored eyes. "It's all right Nanaki. I've come to get you out." She whispered, before pulling her helmet back on again.

"Freya," he growled. He knew who she was all right. While she hadn't been cruel to him upon his capture, he couldn't forget that she was the one responsible for his being here in the first place. Still, if she was going to let him out, he wasn't about to argue. He waited patiently as she worked the security panel by his cage. He noticed that the other trooper was messing with a computer on the other side of the room. Their right hand flew across the keys in a flurry of movement even he had trouble following.

The door to his cage opened and he padded out without a word. "What now?" He asked coldly.

"We wait until she's finished, and then we leave," Freya said, her voice muffled by the helmet. They walked over to where the other woman was working and she asked "How's it coming?"

"You were right about Hojo's computer being separate from the mainframe, and there's a lot here. I've found a number of encrypted files that are of interest, so I'm loading them onto a disk and we'll try to analyze them later," she answered, also muffled by the helmet she was wearing. As Nanaki drew closer, he could see that her left arm was artificial.

"Anything specific?" Freya was looking around warily, ready to shoot if anyone walked in on them.

"Well, no sign of anything I'm looking for yet. I saw something that might be related to what you wanted though."

"Oh?"

The woman brought a file up on the terminal. "This file here, labeled 'The Jenova Project,' There's a secondary file attached to it with Sephiroth's name on it, but the whole package is encrypted. It'll probably take a little while before I can get the information for you. I'll send it to you once we've broken down the codes." As she worked, Nanaki saw another file on the screen, with the words 'Deepground' on the heading, but the contents of the file looked like they were equally unreadable.

"Is there something you're looking for in particular?" he asked after a moment.

Even under the helmet, he could tell the woman did a double-take. "You can talk?"

"I know your language," he answered her, flicking his tail impatiently, and sending a couple of sparks into the air.

"We don't have too much time left," Freya muttered, checking what appeared to be a PHS. "We're supposed to be at the rendezvous point in ten minutes."

"I'm almost finished." The other woman typed something more on the keypad and then pulled a disk out from a slot that opened from the main terminal. "All right, let's go."

The three of them left the Science Department and hurried towards a service elevator. As they got in, Freya pushed the button for the door to close and then the one for the floor she wanted.

The elevator began to move and Nanaki watched her fiddle with the machine gun she carried. "Where are we going?" he asked after a moment.

Freya looked up, though he couldn't see her expression underneath the helmet. "Away from here," she said. Her answer was soft, and he could almost see her eyes going to the one that was permanently scarred closed. It hadn't been that way when she'd last seen him.

Nanaki decided that would have to be enough information for now. Once they were away, he could question her change of heart from when she'd captured him if he cared to.

* * *

><p>When the elevator Tifa was on with Barret and the troopers slowed to a halt, she found herself looking along a hallway. On one side, she saw a room filled with chairs, some of which were occupied by photographers. One of the troopers pulled ahead of them, guarding the front as the trooper behind her guided her along the corridor. She could hear the clunking of Barret's boots behind her and that of the other two troopers behind him.<p>

Scarlet was in the room they were walking past, talking to what appeared to be one of the other reporters. As they moved beyond the door, she saw several cameras flash though a security detail was keeping the press from actually coming out of the room. Several people demanded questions but she couldn't make out what they were over the din. Everything was drowned out by her own inner noise. What was going on? Who was this person behind her? Was she really going to die like this? Was this it? She forced herself to remain calm. Getting frightened or upset would only give Scarlet more ammunition.

Each footstep along the hallway echoed in her ears in time with her beating heart. Door after door passed by in her field of vision, and soon they rounded a corner headed to another elevator. But to her surprise, rather than going into it, they walked past it.

The trooper who was guarding the elevator looked equally surprised and called out "Hey, where are you going? The route we planned was down this lift!" The trooper ahead of them remained silent as he marched towards a door nearby. It wasn't until she heard the popping noise of a gun with a silencer on it that Tifa realized the guard at the elevator had been shot so he wouldn't call for backup. As she glanced behind her, she saw that Barret looked equally confused, but the man who held her was gently leading her through the door the first trooper had opened ahead of them. Before they could question what was going on, they found themselves on a landing on the 5th level of the building's emergency stairs.

"Who…?" She tried again.

"Don't stop. Ask questions later!" the trooper ahead of her barked with a force that rivaled Barret's when he got going. She was certain she had never heard that voice before, but given that this was obviously not where Scarlet had intended them to go, she decided it might be better to follow his advice. They were moving faster down the stairs now, and the trooper behind her had moved to her side to prevent her from stumbling since her bound hands couldn't be used for balance. It wasn't long at all before they had reached the ground level and were out the door.

As they stepped into the alley, Tifa found herself looking at a black unmarked van with the back doors open. The first trooper stepped out of the way as the one behind her helped her inside before climbing in after her and taking a seat on her right. Behind them, Barret stepped into the van's interior, followed by the taller second trooper, whom she now saw, carried a set of handcuff keys. Behind them, the last of the troopers climbed in and the first one motioned that they wait. Barely half a minute later, two more troopers hurried out of the door they'd just come through, accompanied by an animal that resembled a red lion with a flaming tail. It hopped up into the floor of the van, as the remaining troopers joined them, and after pulling the doors shut, they were moving.

As the van pulled out onto the street and left the Shinra building behind, there was a collective sigh from the six troopers in the back, and almost in unison, everyone pulled their helmets off.

"I don't think I could ever get used to these things."

Tifa found herself face to face with a dark haired 1st class SOLDIER she hadn't seen in five years, as he wiped the sweat off his brow. "Zack? What are you doing here?"

He offered her a smile. "Hey there Tifa. It's been a while. I'd ask how you're doing, but… the situation kind of speaks for itself, I guess." He ran a hand through his dark hair, shaking it out into its familiar dark spiky mane. "Man, I was worried that guard would sound the alarm before we got away. Nice shooting Jessie."

Tifa looked to her left and found the brunette next her. "It was a lucky shot," she said modestly before reaching over and giving Tifa a hug, looking like she was about to burst into tears. "I'm so glad you're both all right!"

Barret harrumphed as he leaned back in his seat. "'Course we're all right, but somethin' about this ain't. Jessie, what the #$%& are you doing, joining up with a Turk?"

As Tifa looked on the opposite side of the van, next to Zack, she recognized Freya, holding on to her shotgun as though she'd missed it, her long ponytail hanging freely behind her now that it was out of the helmet.

"You're welcome Barret." Jessie hadn't let go of Tifa, even as she glared at him.

"I'm not sayin' I don' appreciate the rescue, but still…" Barret looked away, embarrassed, but in no less of a sour mood. After a moment he asked "How's Marlene?"

"She's safe," Jessie said. "We've been taking good care of her."

"That's good…" Barret was quiet a little longer before his eyes landed on the trooper in front of him. "How is it… that we've also got a couple 'a SOLDIERs in here?" he asked.

Zack suddenly remembered the keys in his hand and hurriedly gestured to Barret that he was going to unlock his handcuffs. "It's a long story. We can explain later…" Tifa looked to her right and found herself looking at another face she hadn't seen in a very long time.

"…Cloud?"

He smiled sheepishly at her, rubbing the back of his neck as though not entirely sure what to say. "It's been a long time, Tifa…"

"It's been seven years!" It was at that point she noticed the mako glow in his blue eyes. "So you did make it into SOLDIER?"

The smile wilted a little and he shifted in his seat uncomfortably. "Not… exactly…"

Zack took that moment to interupt. "Once again, it's a long story." He passed Cloud the key ring. "I think Tifa's is the middle one," He said.

Cloud nodded and after Tifa held out her hands for him, he set about undoing the handcuffs. She massaged her wrists after they were off. Upon noticing this Cloud muttered "Sorry if they were too tight."

"It's all right," she answered him. "You remembered the promise after all."

"I did." The small smile was back, tentative and anxious, but it was there, and she returned it with one of her own before he looked away. She could barely hear him mumble "And I wasn't late this time."

She was a little confused by that but let it slide for now. Suddenly the driver spoke up and she saw that it was a brown haired woman in a uniform she didn't recognize. "We're getting close to the scatter point. Get ready."

"Roger." The gruff voice she'd heard earlier spoke up again and she saw it belonged to a man she also didn't know who was wearing a camouflage bandanna.

"Okay," Freya said. "The plan is we'll leave in pairs and regroup at the safe house. Tifa, you stay with Cloud. Barret, you're with Zack. Nanaki?" The animal resembling a lion with a flaming tail looked up. "You're with me." Freya finished.

"I understand," Nanaki answered, to everyone else's surprise.

"You can talk?" Jessie asked.

"I think this conversation might be better held later," Nanaki answered as the van started to slow down. "Once we're safe, I'll talk all you want." The van pulled to a halt and everyone hurried out to find themselves in a small parking lot near the edge of Sector 6's upper plate. As they exited the van, Zack and Cloud pulled their swords out from under the seats, and slung them over their shoulders, leaving their rifles in the van. Jessie joined the red-haired woman as she checked the ammo in her pistol and then they hurried off in the direction of the train station. Zack gestured that Barret follow him down a side street in one direction and Freya and Nanaki had already disappeared in another direction. The woman who had been driving and the man with the bandanna were doing something with the engine, even as Cloud was pulling Tifa after him, headed in the general direction of another back alley that looked like it was pointed towards central Sector 8.

They were a bit further away when she heard a loud explosion behind them. Apparently the last two members of the rescue party had blown up the vehicle before departing. "How did you…?" She started to ask as they reached the other mouth of the alley.

"Later," Cloud said, looking around warily, checking for troopers in the next street. Once he was satisfied the street was safe to cross, he gestured that she follow him and they dove into the next space between two buildings. They paused as he listened for any sound of being followed and Tifa took a good look at him. He was very different from the last time she'd seen him. He looked older, and his face was much more careworn. She couldn't ignore the mako glow in his eyes either. If he hadn't joined SOLDIER, how had he gotten it?

Cloud gestured that she follow him deeper into the alley and they continued their trek further and further away from the parking lot.

* * *

><p>Tseng found himself torn between extreme annoyance and grudging admiration when he had first seen the recording of the successful rescue of Tifa Lockhart and Barret Wallace. The mission had been carried out beautifully, leaving little to no physical indication as to who might be responsible. There weren't even any fingerprints to compare, no facial recognition possible, due to those damnable trooper helmets. All of which had been taken with them by the persons posing as guards rather than being left in the debris found near Sector 7. As he looked over the details the investigative team had gleaned from the wreckage of the stolen van (completely clean, right down to the two discarded rifles found in the back) he realized this was definitely not an amateur job.<p>

The engineering department was currently going over a destroyed computer terminal in an abandoned apartment complex at the base of the Sector 4 pillar, through which it was believed someone had hacked the Shinra database, but that was also mostly clean of evidence apart from a single red hair that forensics had picked up. This could not have been the same group Miss Lockhart and Mr. Wallace were the leaders of. Their M.O. had been much less technically advanced, and they cared little about covering their tracks. No, this had been a well-coordinated infiltration worthy of a tactical paramilitary unit, or the old AVALANCHE, or the Turks.

Those last two gave him pause. The physical evidence may have been minimal, but the circumstantial evidence was a different matter. One of the first things he'd done was revisit the files for each of the individuals the enemy strike team had removed from the building. Wallace was from Corel in origin, he had every reason to hate Shinra for what they had done to his hometown. Lockhart was from Nibelheim. The specimen dubbed Red XIII by Hojo was originally from Cosmo Canyon. At first glance, there didn't seem to be a connection, but as Tseng had read deeper into each profile, he had discovered some interesting facts that could be quite damning.

All of them were in some way connected to Freya, and had in some way been mentioned before in her reports. Further, Lockhart had greater significance, as she had been in Nibelheim during the Sephiroth incident, though she had not been found by the cleanup team afterward. Nibelheim. The hometown of Cloud Strife. That also meant an indirect connection to Zack Fair. Dr. Owen had reported to him that Strife had been removed from the hospital by Aerith and one of Zack's other friends. Freya had not only guarded both of them at the hospital, but she had been working with Zack during the Zirconiaide crisis. The assumption was that after Zirconiaide had been destroyed, they had all regrouped with each other and left the city for parts unknown, as it would have been unwise to do anything else and there had been no further sign of them. Zack Fair and Cloud Strife would also explain the raiding of Hojo's computer. Dr. Rayleigh had fled with Strife as well, and it was quite possible they would want her to keep looking into Hojo's research.

However correct this hypothesis was, there was still no physical evidence to back it up. He had no inkling as to the identity of the owner of that strand of red hair, but he supposed that if he could catch the renegade, the SOLDIER, and the infantryman, he could ask them all the questions he wanted. In the meantime, he had put Elena onto scanning the security cameras in the sector where the van had been detonated for any sign of where the strike team might have gone. Rude was to analyze the files that had been copied on Hojo's computer (and discreetly make copies for Tseng's perusal as well, since with his resignation, Hojo had left an opportunity to investigate his activities that the Turks simply could not ignore). Rufus had given finding the perpetrators top priority, even as Scarlet had been put on damage control. He did not envy her job, considering the infiltrators had walked the prisoners right by the press without them even knowing there was a conspiracy going on in front of them. In the quiet of his office, a faint chuckle escaped his lips. Maybe this fiasco would teach the head of Weapons Development once and for all that it was best not to play with her food.

* * *

><p>Zack and Barret were the first to make it back to the safe house. As the door opened, after Zack knocked, he found himself facing Veld, who nodded curtly, before letting them in, apparently having decided to continue pretending there hadn't been a successful conspiracy to break out a terrorist carried out from his apartment. Not that Zack had a problem with it. He was perfectly okay with pretending the man did not live in this apartment.<p>

"Daddy!" Barret leaned down and pulled Marlene into a bear hug as she tearfully ran into his arms. He carried her to a chair in the living area, holding her like he never wanted to let her go.

It was a minute or two before he could get a word in. "I was so worried, are you all righ'?" He asked gruffly.

"I was scared!" Marlene answered. "Biggs and Wedge never came back, and then Elfe came and brought us here!"

"I know..." Barret said, a hint of sadness in his voice.

Marlene continued her story. "Then Zack and Cloud came and Zack promised they'd go get you!"

"He did, did he?" Barret spared a glance at the ex-SOLDIER as Zack removed his sword and started towards one of the back rooms.

When he saw the man looking at him, he grinned and shrugged. "We try to keep our promises."

"Well… thanks." At that point Barret turned his attention back to Marlene.

"Uh… listen." Zack rubbed the back of his neck, awkwardly. "No hard feelings about me pinning you in the cell, right?"

Barret narrowed his eyes at him. "You broke us out. We're even."

"Okay…" As Zack left the living area in search of a place to change back into his own clothes, he heard the door open again. Judging from the fact that Marlene had called out Jessie's name, it sounded like Jessie and Shalua had made it back.

It only took him a couple of minutes to slip back into his SOLDIER uniform and as he rejoined the others, he saw that Elfe and Shears had returned as well. Shalua had set up a computer on the coffee table in the living area and was working through some of the files they'd just lifted as Jessie watched her.

Zack went to the sink and got himself a glass of water, before walking over to the television and turning it on. To his surprise, the news wasn't about any break-ins, or rescue attempts. Instead, it was some human interest story about some man who went around the slums doing work for charity.

"I wonder why we're not on there?" Shalua remarked, casually typing away at her keyboard.

"Hmm. I don't know," Zack answered.

"It's probably because now that Rufus is in charge, they don't want anyone knowing someone initiated a successful rescue attempt," Elfe observed. "It's okay to talk about his father's failures, but he doesn't want his own getting out there. That would make him look weak."

"How did he keep those reporters quiet though?" Zack drained the glass he'd just filled and set it down on the kitchen counter.

"It's amazing what a solid bribe can do," Shears sat down on the couch, a reflective expression on his face. "It's even easier when you own everything. You can make it very uncomfortable for those who don't listen."

Zack shook his head. "That's kind of sick."

Shears shrugged. "Welcome to reality."

There was another knock on the door and when Elfe answered it, Marlene let out a cry of joy. "Tifa!" The dark-haired bartender walked into the room, followed by Cloud as the little girl ran over to give her a hug. Tifa knelt down to return it as Barret followed after his daughter.

"Glad to see ya made it Tif." He said.

She looked up at him warmly. "I'm glad we all made it too."

Marlene held on to her for a little bit before looking at Cloud, eyes wide with admiration as Barret picked her up again. Cloud offered her a shy grin, before quietly slipping out from behind Tifa to go find his own clothes so he could get out of his disguise. Zack couldn't blame him. He'd been just as eager to ditch the trooper uniform.

The silence after his departure was only broken by Shalua's typing, and Marlene complaining about Barret's whiskers scratching her face as he held her close. Tifa looked around after a moment and her eyes landed on Elfe. "I don't think we've met before, but I can't thank you enough for your help."

"You should really be thanking Zack and Cloud. It was their idea to come and rescue you," Elfe said.

Tifa's eyes met Zack's across the room and he offered her a polite nod and a smile. They hadn't parted on the best of terms in Nibelheim, and while in the van, he'd been friendly, he wasn't exactly sure how to approach her in this situation. Tifa returned the gesture, before turning her attention back to Elfe. "Still, who are you?"

"We used to be AVALANCHE," Shears answered from across the room. "The original AVALANCHE."

Barret looked up in surprise. "Ya mean, you guys were the ones who started the whole thing?"

Shears offered a salute. "That's us."

"Well, I'll be damned." Barret shook his head in amazement.

It was at that moment there was a third soft knock and this time, when Elfe answered it, Freya walked in, followed by the strange lion-like creature. "It looks like everyone made it," she said, glancing around approvingly.

"Of course we did," Zack answered her. "Still, I'm amazed at how we managed to make that go so smoothly. I was sure we'd end up having to do something crazy, like storming the building and fighting our way through."

"Just look at who we had on the rescue team." Freya laughed. "We had two SOLDIERs, a Turk, and three former operatives from AVALANCHE, two of them leaders. With that many experienced people, how else could this have ended?"

"I guess you have a good point," Zack conceded. He looked down at the red lion… thing. "So, you can talk, right? That wasn't my imagination, back in the van?"

The beast flicked his tail and answered "No, I speak. It's been a while since anyone has been interested in hearing what I have to say, though."

"Yeah, and Hojo's not exactly the type you particularly want to talk to either," Zack noted.

"You speak as though you know him."

"Better than I ever wanted to. I'm Zack, by the way."

The red creature's face shifted into what Zack assumed was a friendly expression. "Hojo called me Red XIII, though my given name is Nanaki. You may call me what you wish."

Zack lowered into a crouch so he was face to face with the lion/dog… thing, regarding him curiously. "Nanaki then. So… what are you? Don't mean to be rude, but I've never seen anyone like you before."

"That's not an unusual question." Nanaki made a chuffing noise that might have been laughter. "I am what you see."

"Well, I suppose that'll just have to do." He heard someone behind him and saw that Cloud had reentered the room, back in his SOLDIER uniform. He looked up at his friend, from where he knelt on the floor. "Did you have any trouble out there?" He asked.

Cloud shook his head. "No. There was a close call with some troopers, but they didn't see us."

"Good." Zack stood up straight. "I think we should probably leave in an hour at the latest. That way we'll reach Kalm before dark."

"That would be wise," Elfe agreed. "Don't go as a group though. Rendezvous at Kalm if you must, but Shinra may already have an idea of who was responsible by now."

Freya nodded. "Tseng's no idiot. I'm sure he already knows."

"How would he be that fast?" Jessie asked.

"Because he'd be able to figure out pretty quickly that we're connected to everyone that we rescued," Freya said matter-of-factly. "The hunt for us will kick up again. The sooner we leave, the less likely it will be that Tseng will find out Elfe and Shears were involved."

"You were in trouble with Shinra already?" Barret asked.

"More or less," Freya said. "It's complicated…"

The uncomfortable atmosphere was suddenly broken as Shalua exclaimed "What the hell?" Everyone who was listening to Freya turned their attention to the red head as she stared at her computer screen in surprise.

"What is it?" Zack asked.

"I downloaded this piece of security footage that had a special label on it in the lab. It was from the same night the president was murdered, but I didn't know this happened around the time he died." The bespectacled woman adjusted the angle of the screen so that everyone could see. "Look off to the right there," She said.

As Zack looked where she pointed, he recognized what looked like some kind of mako tube though he couldn't see the contents. As the video ran, an orderly walked up to the tube, before it suddenly burst open, and the man lay dead on the floor.

Nanaki had placed his paws up on the coffee table to get a better look. "I was in that room that night," he said.

"You were?" As Zack continued to watch, transfixed, a familiar man strode out of the tube with silver-white hair and walked towards the lift.

"He walked right by my cage," Nanaki confirmed. "He was tall, and had green eyes that reminded me of a reptile's. Was he a SOLDIER like you?"

"Cloud?" Zack looked behind him and saw that Cloud was also watching the footage, his eyes wide with horror at the very idea that the man of whom they spoke could possibly still be walking the planet. "He fell into the reactor, right? You saw him, didn't you?"

Cloud nodded slowly. "There's no way he could have survived."

Zack looked back at the security footage, furrowing his brows in concentration. "Then how is it…" He leaned in closer to the screen over the back of the couch, not wanting to believe his own eyes, "…that Sephiroth was walking around the Science Department on the night the President died?"


	17. Shadows and Ninjas

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spinoffs. That honor goes to Square-Enix.

**Part II: Reunion**

* * *

><p>Chapter 17, Shadows and Ninjas<p>

**December 16****th** **[ ν ] – εуλ 0007**

It was not long before Zack, Cloud, Tifa, and Nanaki left through the outer gate for the Sector 6 Slums. An hour after they left, Freya would lead the others out through the Sector 7 gate. It had been decided that they would regroup in Kalm, as Elfe had suggested. For now though, they would maintain PHS contact as necessary, and try to avoid being spotted.

Barret had been disagreeable on the idea at first, as he'd tried to suggest getting back to his plan, ergo continuing to blow up reactors and cause as much chaos as possible. However, through the combined effort of the rest of the party, they had finally gotten him to see reason. Elfe and Shears pointed out, that if he got himself arrested again, there would be no one to rescue him. Their position was such that it was too dangerous for them to step in a second time, and everyone else was leaving except for Shalua who had only been after information regarding her sister's whereabouts and had no desire to get back into terrorist activities.

Marlene was the clincher though. On hearing what everyone else was saying she looked up at him with those soft brown eyes of hers and told him she didn't want him to go away forever like Biggs and Wedge. That was when he melted. Even to the end though, he was adamant that they would find some way to keep fighting Shinra once things quieted down. By that point everyone was tired of arguing, and so they turned their attention to getting out of town.

It was now early afternoon. The first group had made it halfway out of the wastes and Cloud was glad they were headed home. The fact that Sephiroth had somehow appeared in that security footage really bothered him though. Zack was concerned about it too, and had been unusually quiet since leaving Midgar. The idea that the Silver General, especially the crazy Silver General who had skewered him on his sword, was still running around after all this time was a terrifying thought.

They had been staying clear of the roads for a while now, instead opting to go in and out of the canyons though he could tell they were getting closer and closer to the outskirts of the wastes as patches of grass were beginning to appear on the edges of the ravine they were passing through and the dramatic cliffs and depressions in the landscape were starting to slope more gently, giving way to flatter land. As they walked, Zack had pressed ahead, keeping alert for anyone who might have been following them and Cloud had been at the rear. Now that they were getting further out into the open however, Cloud pulled ahead of Tifa and Nanaki to where Zack had paused a moment to get his bearings on the crest of a hill.

His friend sighed as the two of them gazed out over the scenery for a few moments before Cloud looked up at him seriously. "Are we going to do something about this?"

Zack shrugged. "I think I'd at least like to know for sure if it's really him. But where do we even start? That security footage Shalua found was three days old. He could be anywhere by now."

"That's true," Cloud admitted. "But if it is him… I definitely don't want another Nibelheim."

Zack nodded. "I know. I don't want to see that again either."

Tifa had caught up with them at that point. "I didn't see you in Nibelheim, Cloud. How do you know about that?"

Cloud lowered his eyes to the ground. "I was there. But…" His voice trailed off.

Zack spoke up. "He was a trooper at the time. I'm not quite sure why he never came to talk to you though. I asked him about it after the first trip to the reactor."

"I was embarrassed." Cloud admitted. "I didn't actually make it into SOLDIER so they put me in the army instead."

"Then… why do your eyes glow?" Tifa asked.

"I really don't remember what happened after Sephiroth." He said. "The next thing I knew, Zack and I were out in the wastes and the Turks had picked us up. I…" He stopped, trying to think of a good way to explain but he couldn't seem to come up with the right words.

"We can talk about that when we get to Kalm. If it's up to me, I'd rather not explain it more than I have to, but let's just say for now that it involved some really bad Mako poisoning," Zack supplied. "We should keep moving. All right?"

Tifa nodded. "Yeah, you're right." With that, the four of them continued down the other side of the hill.

* * *

><p>Freya had just left Midgar with Barret, Marlene, and Jessie. She knew the area well enough to guide them to Kalm, and she'd seen no sign that there were any trooper squads in the area, so they walked along as Barret carried his daughter on his shoulder. "So where is it we're goin' exactly?" Barret asked as they started climbing down into a ravine.<p>

"Once we meet the others in Kalm we're going to meet someone at the Chocobo Farm who'll take us back to where we've been living." She answered. "I think you'll like it in Mideel, and it's pretty far away."

"Mideel, huh?" Barret echoed the name thoughtfully. "So how is it you ain't with Shinra anymore?"

"It's a long story." Freya walked along the ravine, eyes open for any sign of pursuit. She saw some tracks indicating some Kalm Fangs were in the area, but otherwise there was no indication of anything else alive out here save themselves.

"Been hearin' that one a lot lately," Barret observed. He balanced Marlene on his gun arm as he used his regular hand to grab handholds on the hillside.

"It can't be helped I'm afraid," Freya returned. "You'll get some answers when we get back to Kalm."

"You mean about that Sephiroth guy?" Barret asked.

"Probably."

They were reaching the end of the ravine and there was silence as the group worked to pull themselves out. Jessie was the last one up as they found themselves at the top of a hill overlooking a different canyon. She wiped the sweat from her brow. "Zack and Cloud sounded really spooked when they saw the guy in that video."

"Well of course they'd be. I was too. I was in the mako reactor when he was supposed to have died. Cloud threw him into the reactor core. People don't just spontaneously come back to life after something like that."

"Tifa's friend did that?" They walked a little further, Barret's voice echoing off the canyon walls as they walked into the gap. "He must be pretty strong."

"He and Zack both could have died. By that point he was running purely on adrenaline and willpower." Freya said, glancing around a bend in the canyon before ushering them along. "They're lucky they're even alive right now. Sephiroth was a true monster."

They walked on in silence for a bit, creeping further through the canyons, as the sun remained high in the sky, going between the sweltering heat of the intense light, and the coolness of the shadows by the canyon walls. Soon they too were coming to places where Freya could see hints of grass up ahead. It was also about that point that she spotted some evidence that Zack and his party had passed this way. She hoped they weren't catching up already. If so, she would personally make sure Zack was not going to hear the end of it… That was when she heard a voice. "Yes sir. I've found four sets of tracks matching two pairs of SOLDIER class boots, a pair of sneakers, and a set of four paws."

Was that? No, it couldn't be… She motioned for everyone behind her to be quiet and then snuck up ahead. When she saw who it was, she suppressed a grin. Elena stood at the crest of a hill up ahead, talking on a PHS and dressed in the standard dark suit. The girl had sworn she would never join the Turks, but it seemed she had eaten her words. It didn't look like there was anyone with the young woman either. Freya's grin became even wider as she stood up straight.

There was no way Tseng didn't know they were involved by now, but if he'd sent out Elena to track them… Well, he should have known better than to send a novice Turk after her. Although it could be the others had already been assigned elsewhere. Better a novice than no one at all. Balancing her shotgun over her shoulder, she walked nonchalantly up onto the hill, as Elena hung up her PHS.

"Hey Elena, it's been a while."

Elena gave a small yelp and turned around, caught completely unawares. "Freya? So it's true isn't it?" she demanded.

"I'm afraid so," Freya said.

"Why did you do it?"

"I have my reasons." She approached the blonde girl, looking her up and down. "The suit looks good on you. I like your new haircut too."

Elena seemed put off by this. "Ts-Tseng's going to want me to try to bring you in. You know that right?"

"I'm already a renegade; one more black mark in their book won't change a thing. _You_ know that, right?"

Elena sighed. "It'll mean Rufus'll probably want to kill you now. He might have let you off if we'd just run across you by accident."

"Oh, so you know about the deal Tseng made with Rufus." Freya continued appraising the younger Turk before nonchalantly pulling her bangs out of her face. "He doesn't scare me. After all, you should know as the greatest hunter in the Turks, I can cover my tracks pretty well…"

"Why did you do it Freya?" Elena asked gravely. "I respected you, and now you've turned around… and betrayed us."

"I've betrayed nobody," Freya answered. "Not Tseng, not the Turks, not you. I followed Shinra's lead without question for years, and they still chased me out for the very loyalty they wanted from me. How's that for irony?"

Elena looked confused, which was exactly what Freya wanted. As she tried to mull this over Freya glanced back at the spot where she knew Barret and Jessie were hiding and discreetly motioned to them that they should try to slip by unnoticed.

"So where's Reno and Rude these days? Out on other assignments? I'm willing to bet Tseng's pretty shorthanded right now," Freya commented with a sly expression on her face.

"Reno's out near Junon, hunting for Sephiroth." Elena said, and the second it came out of her mouth she looked up at Freya in horror.

"Thanks," Freya offered her a grin. "Now I'll tell you something. Sephiroth was a madman. You shouldn't go near him if you want to stay alive. Consider that my tip to you for being so helpful." With that, she walked down the hill, leaving Elena deep in thought behind her.

It wasn't long after when she found signs of Barret and Jessie's passing, and she caught up with them very quickly. "What was that all about?" Jessie asked as she got their attention.

"Just picking up a little information," Freya said. "Let's move. We should reach Kalm by nightfall if we hurry."

* * *

><p>It was evening in Kalm when the two groups found each other at the inn. Zack had taken care of accommodations there and after dinner, they retired to one of the rooms they'd rented. Barret showed up a little later having spared some time to put Marlene to bed.<p>

"So we've left Midgar, now what?" he asked.

Zack had a thoughtful expression as he spoke. "Originally, our plan was that we'd meet a friend of ours near the Chocobo farm and fly back to Mideel with anyone who wants to come with us, but now that Sephiroth might be back in the picture, I kind of feel we should at least confirm that it's really him. He'd gone totally insane in Nibelheim. If it is him, and he's still crazy, we can't let him run around."

Cloud nodded in agreement.

"Elena told me he was headed towards Junon if you want to follow him," Freya supplied. "I probably would have gone in that direction anyway, so I could make sure Nanaki gets home safely."

Nanaki glanced at her but said nothing.

Barret spoke up at that point. "So what's the deal? Why're ya'll so jumpy about this guy?"

"Does destroying an entire village and nearly killing everyone in it sound like a good enough reason to you?" Zack leaned against the wall on the opposite side of the room from the stairs, his arms folded as he spoke. "Or maybe I should add the part where he's the most powerful SOLDIER 1st Class in existence if he's still alive."

Barret looked at him in shock. " #$%."

He shot Tifa a questioning look and she nodded sadly. "It's true. I was there too."

"How did it happen?" Jessie asked.

Zack and Cloud exchanged looks. "If you are going to travel with us, you do deserve to know," Zack said at last. "It was five years ago. Tifa remembers. I was a SOLDIER 1st Class at the time, and Cloud was an infantryman with us. Me and Sephiroth had been sent to check out the reactor in Nibelheim…"

"Cloud wasn't a SOLDIER?" Jessie looked over at the blonde swordsman curiously. "But his eyes…"

Cloud looked away from her, scratching the back of his neck and Zack decided to step in. "Joining SOLDIER's not the only way to get Mako eyes." He pointed out, before pressing on. "When we got there, and we went to check out the reactor, Tifa was our guide. Freya was in town too, because she'd been sent to scout ahead."

The huntress was sitting on one of the beds, but now she stood, leaving her shotgun propped against the wall as she joined the discussion. "They called the SOLDIERs in because the monsters had gotten too numerous in the area. At least that was the official reason. The dragons were pretty dangerous."

Zack continued "There were a few of those, but when we got to the reactor, we found something way worse than dragons. We found Jenova."

"What's Jenova?" Barret asked.

"It's the source of Shinra's Jenova cells, the biological component for creating SOLDIERs. At least that was what I found out later," Freya spoke up again. "According to what I know, the body was originally found frozen in a crater, far to the North, and believed to be that of an Ancient. Professor Hojo kept it in a mako tank at the Nibelheim reactor. The village also houses the old Shinra mansion, the location where he and the original team behind the SOLDIER program conducted their initial experiments, among other things…" She said the last part quietly as though not sure whether Zack had wanted her input.

Zack gave her a reassuring nod and then went on. "Sephiroth had been told all his life that Jenova was his mother, and when he finally saw her, or it, he locked himself up in the library at the Manor. He was in there for about a week, and then… he'd gone complete completely insane. He was rambling on about how he'd take Jenova with him and they'd go seek out the Promised Land together, whatever that meant. As we said, Nibelheim burned to the ground."

"Why didn't you stop him?" Barret demanded.

Zack looked down at the floor, sadly. "I didn't get there in time. I chased him up to the reactor but by then it was too late to save the town. That was when I saw that Tifa had gone ahead of me."

The dark-haired martial artist nodded, clenching her fists angrily at the memory. It seemed to be all she could do to remain calm as she spoke. "I was furious at what Sephiroth had done. He'd killed my father. I was so angry, all I could think about was revenge."

"By the time I got there, she was hurt, and Sephiroth was in the room with the tank where they were keeping Jenova. I had tried to get him to see reason, but by that point, he was beyond talking to. I fought with him, but in the end, he beat me up pretty bad. That was when Cloud showed up." He looked over at his friend to see if he could gauge how comfortable he was with having the rest of the story retold, but Cloud was still just listening.

Zack continued. "He picked up my sword, and stabbed Sephiroth in the back with it. We were both hoping that'd be the end of it, but while Cloud was tending to Tifa, he came back out and I told him to finish it. Even wounded, Sephiroth was dangerous. He… ran him through with the Masamune."

Tifa's eyes widened as she looked at Cloud, who nodded to confirm it was true.

"I don't know how he did it," Zack went on, "But somehow, he managed to pull himself down to the catwalk and use the sword as leverage to throw Sephiroth into the core. The last thing I remember before I blacked out was seeing Cloud fall down the steps in front of me."

"I only got there just as Cloud went in the second time." Freya added. "Tifa's martial arts teacher followed us up there and he got her out, but Zack and Cloud couldn't be moved. I called in a rescue team… but… That was when Professor Hojo arrived. I had thought we were going to be helping the survivors, even as we covered up the destruction. I didn't think we would…" She stopped at that point.

"Would what?" Tifa asked.

Zack shot Cloud a questioning glance and Cloud nodded slowly. Once permission had been granted, Zack spoke up again. "Professor Hojo is the reason Cloud looks like a SOLDIER. We were taken down into the Shinra Mansion basement and he used us as test subjects in his experiments."

Even Barret looked shocked at this pronouncement. "So your tellin' me that Spiky here got made into a SOLDIER for some kinda freaky experiment? That is some messed up #$%." Zack wanted to facepalm. Did this guy even know the meaning of the word tact?

Tifa was now completely horrified, which only seemed to serve to make Cloud more uncomfortable as she walked over to him. "Was that what you meant earlier, when you said you didn't remember what happened?" She asked.

Cloud was rubbing the back of his neck again. "Like I said, the next thing I knew, it'd been five years and the Turks had caught us. I only really know what Zack told me about it…"

Zack nodded again when Tifa looked to him for confirmation. "I'm not going to get into details right now. Neither of us were in great shape by the end of it, but Cloud had mako poisoning really bad when I got us out. We were on the run for a good while, and we got caught by the Turks at one point, which is where we ran into Freya again, along with the friends we'll be meeting tomorrow. That's a story all by itself, but we've been living in Mideel ever since, keeping a low profile and finding work where we can. I think that's enough for now."

Barret gave Zack a stern look. "I can understand why ya wouldn' wanna talk about that in front'o us strangers. Still, why ain't ya tryin' to do something about it an' fight?"

Zack stood up straight at that point, stepping into the center of the room, still calm, but unyielding. "Because, at the moment, there are more important things going on. Shinra's done some awful stuff, and if I ever find Hojo, he's going to wish he'd never been born, but not everyone in the company's a bad guy. If they leave us alone, we'll do the same. If they come after us, well, Odin help them."

"An' what about the planet?" Barret walked over to Zack, leaning over him indignantly. "Did it eva occur to ya that all them #$%*&# reactors are sucking the planet dry?"

Zack took a moment to consider what Barret was saying, though he met the man's gaze unflinchingly. He knew much more about the negative repercussions of mako exposure than most, but mako reactors in and of themselves didn't seem to be harmful as long as you kept your distance, and didn't house evil abominations within their depths. In his experience, it was crazy AVALANCHE leaders like Fuhito, who didn't care about collateral damage, who were a lot more dangerous by comparison, but he wasn't about to tell that to Barret. "Honestly, me and Cloud have had enough mako to last us a lifetime, and we're a lot more worried about Sephiroth right now. If you want to come with us to figure out what's going on, then that's fine, otherwise, you can do what you want. Our hideout in Mideel is open to you if you want to hang there for a while, or you can go elsewhere. Just don't do anything to make Marlene cry again."

Barret looked further annoyed. "Listen here SOLDIER, I don' appreciate you tellin' me what to do, especially about Marlene. I'm fight'n for her after all." He turned to Jessie and Tifa. "What about you?"

"I haven't decided," Jessie said.

Tifa held up a gloved fist. "I'm going to go with Zack and Cloud. Nibelheim was my village too and I want to find out if it's really him."

"Then I'll go with ya. We ain't gettin' offa this train we're on till we see it to the end'o the line." Barret decided. He looked to Jessie. "Do ya think I could ask ya to look after Marlene a little longer?"

"I don't mind. Just don't go getting yourselves killed," Jessie replied softly.

"I guess we're decided then," Zack said. "We'll rest up for tonight and leave in the morning. I'll have Cissnei take Jessie and Marlene back to our place after she drops us off on the other side of the mountains."

As the others proceeded to get ready for bed, Zack noticed Tifa walking up to him, something clearly on her mind. "I know when we saw each other last, we didn't exactly part on good terms…" he started, "But if there was anything I could have done to fix what happened, I would have…"

Tifa shook her head. "You couldn't have known Sephiroth would do that, and actually, I wanted to apologize."

Zack shrugged. "Things happen. I understand."

"Still, I'm sorry…"

"No problem."

Tifa looked like she was about to turn away when she paused. "That's… not the only thing."

"Oh?"

She brought her voice down to a whisper. "Thank you. And not just for helping us escape. For Cloud too."

Zack offered her a small smile. "It's what friends do."

* * *

><p><strong>December 18<strong>**th** **[ ν ] – εуλ 0007**

It took slightly longer to get to the Chocobo farm than it did to ride to Midgar, on account of the fact that there were no Chocobos on hand for the return trip. But even so, they managed to make good time and had been able to stop for camp fairly close. It was mid-morning the next day when they reached the farm again, and as soon as they walked past it, they found Cissnei waiting for them, just as Zack had instructed. She wasn't alone however. As Zack approached with the others, he could see Aerith and Kunsel seated on either side of her in the open hatch leading to the passenger compartment. Zack waved and as soon as she saw him, Aerith rushed out and threw her arms around him. Kunsel and Cissnei followed at a more sedate pace.

"We missed you," Aerith whispered.

"I missed you too, is everyone okay back home?"

She nodded in confirmation and Kunsel took that opportunity to speak up. "Glad to see you made it back."

Zack flashed him a grin as Aerith loosened her hold. "Those Shinra goons didn't know what hit them. We were better than a bunch of Wutai ninjas, weren't we Cloud?"

"It was really something." Cloud agreed.

They shared a laugh as the others came closer. Introductions were soon made, and once that was out of the way, Kunsel's expression became serious. "Is it true what Cissnei said about how Sephiroth might be alive?"

"That's what I want to find out." Zack said. "We'll head over the mountains and then Ciss'll take Marlene and Jessie home. She'll meet us at that private landing pad outside of Junon when she comes back for us."

There was no reason to wait around, so everyone piled in and soon, they were away. Cissnei flew low, to avoid any radar detection, but everyone who was near a window kept their eyes peeled for any sign that someone had spotted them. Marlene was fascinated by the contraption and Barret held her steady so she could peer out the window from where they were seated. The look of wonder on her face at the fact that they were indeed flying hundreds of feet in the air was enough to soften even the most hardened warrior, and those who were in the passenger compartment found it hard not to smile at her antics. Freya even let her look into the cockpit for a little while.

The ground flew by underneath them at a dizzying pace, first over the grasslands near the Chocobo farm and then the marshes. The water glittered where it wasn't obscured by swamp scum, creating the illusion of light reflecting back up at the helicopter through a green curtain. It wasn't long after that before the mountains appeared, filled with rocky crags and Zack thought he could see the entrance to a cave system off in the distance…

…Was there a Zolom poised at the cave mouth?

By the time he looked again, it was too late, and he was left to speculate on whether his eyes had been distracted by the glare. It was only a short while longer before the mountains thinned out again and Cissnei finally brought the helicopter down to the ground.

Everyone who was leaving climbed out as the rotors stopped, but Zack paused when he saw that Marlene had come to the door and was pulling lightly on the folds of Cloud's pants. He looked down at her curiously, though Zack was sure he was trying not to let his motion sickness show. As he watched, the little girl looked up at his friend seriously. "Cloud, you and Zack'll take care of Tifa and Daddy, right?"

Cloud seemed surprised by this, looking at Zack for help. Zack just grinned and nodded. Finally he looked back at the little girl. "We'll try." He said.

Marlene smiled, apparently satisfied and went to the cockpit. Cissnei had offered to let her ride up front on the way back. "You know, she thinks we're her heroes," Zack commented as Marlene went out of earshot.

"She does?"

"It's obvious." Zack chuckled. "Did you see the way she was looking at you?" They walked a little ways away and Barret waved back at the helicopter where he could see Marlene sitting next to Cissnei, and Jessie behind them.

"Don't worry," Aerith said kindly as she walked over to Barret. "The lodge is a safe place, they'll be fine."

"I hope so," Barret muttered.

Kunsel was consulting a map, attempting to get his bearings and Zack went over to take a look. The brown-haired SOLDIER had told him about the map he'd hung up in his apartment at headquarters, but he hadn't seen it before. It looked dog-eared and he saw that several notes had been scrawled in the margins. Holes from pushpins were everywhere. It stood as a testament to how dedicated his friend had been in trying to find him. "So this is the map, isn't it."

"How else was I supposed to get an idea of where to look?" Kunsel asked.

"Fair point," Zack admitted, taking hold of one side of the parchment so Kunsel could have an easier time plotting their route.

"I think we should stick to this road here, it'll take us to lower Junon, but at the very least, it'll get us there quick and we can start searching with minimum fuss, assuming we can stay out of sight." Kunsel indicated the route with his now free right hand.

"What about that other road by… um… what does that say?… Fort Condor?" Zack asked, pointing with his left.

"The problem there is it's a holdout for anti-Shinra forces and it's currently under siege." Kunsel supplied. "Not a good place to go if we don't want to attract attention."

"Makes sense." Freya had walked up behind them as they folded up the map. "So, are we moving?

"Yeah." Zack raised his voice a little. "Let's get going guys."

He'd barely walked a few steps when Nanaki paused, sniffing the air, his ears twitching. "Wait a moment." He said.

"What is it?" Zack asked.

"We're not alone." Nanaki said. "I smell someone else nearby."

Zack and Freya went for their weapons at the same time and everyone else followed suit as they eyed the bushes. Muscles tensed as the foliage quivered, and then Cloud dodged out of the way, pulling Tifa with her as a shuriken flew out of the leafy branches. It hurtled through the air before it boomeranged back towards its point of origin. As it neared the trees, a young girl of about teenage years with short black hair jumped out into the open as she landed in a crouch. "All right, hand over all your materia and no one'll get hurt!" She looked at the crowd surrounding her and that was when Zack realized she looked familiar.

"…Yuffie?" Someone else had spoken the name along with him and he looked over to realize that Freya had that same look of recognition on her face. As his eyes met hers, they paused and then asked the same question in unison. "…You know her too?"

Upon realizing what had just happened, they laughed and then Freya said "You first."

"I met her in Wutai," Zack replied, "I don't know how she got my PHS number but then she started spamming me with these crazy treasure hunting missions…"

"She was that spammer you told me about?" Kunsel asked.

No one else had lowered their weapons, but the mood had been totally shattered and even Yuffie seemed to realize it. She was staring between the SOLDIER and the Turk, somewhat at a loss for how to proceed. Finally, she seemed to regain her composure as she too realized the identity of her opponents. "You're that… ugly SOLDIER guy!"

"Ugly?" Aerith raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, I totally kicked his ass in Wutai and then I made him go get stuff for me."

"I seem to remember that a little differently," Zack observed, turning back to Freya. "So what about you?"

"I also met her in Wutai, but we were clearing out AVALANCHE headquarters at the time." The lady Turk shrugged. "We didn't exactly part on the best terms. She got really upset when she found out I was with Shinra."

Yuffie turned her wrath upon the lady Turk. "That's right! You betrayed me. You said you were there to help when really you were working for our enemy!"

"Betrayed you?" Freya scoffed. "You never asked who I was working for!"

The treasure princess scowled. "And what are you doing out here anyway?" She demanded. "On another mission for Shinra?"

"Actually, she's not with Shinra anymore," Zack said, trying to defuse the situation. "None of us is."

"But I'll bet you have materia!" Yuffie walked over to Cloud and Tifa, looking them over as though trying to detect where they might be hiding them.

Zack sighed. "We're not giving you any. And it's probably better if you try not to attack anyone else. Come on guys, let's go."

"Oh, running away?" Yuffie hurried over to Zack like she was going to try to punch him. He put an arm out and her blows windmilled in the air. "Come on! Aren't you gonna fight me like a man?"

The others stifled a laugh as Zack looked down at the girl with raised eyebrows. "I'm not really in the mood right now, besides, I'd probably hurt you," he said at last, stepping around her and gesturing that the others should follow him.

Yuffie turned back to Cloud since apparently she figured he didn't look as sure of the situation and punched the air in front of him. "Stay and FIGHT I said! What's the matter? You're pretty scared of me, huh?"

Her assessment of Cloud was wrong, because he gave her an answer so flat no one could have missed the sarcasm. "…Petrified." He too, walked on by.

She put her hands on her hips and leered at the remaining group. "Just as I thought, what did you expect with my skills? If you feel up to it, maybe we can go another round. Later!"

Zack spared a glance behind him and saw that the ninja had not moved. Seeing his eyes on her, she said "I'm really gonna leave! REALLY!"

That was when Zack realized what it was she wanted and an idea formed in his mind. "Hang on a sec." He walked back over towards her.

"What, you have something for me?" Yuffie asked. "I know you want my help, because I'm so good!"

Zack grinned. "If you say so."

Yuffie pretended to consider it. "You've really put me in a spot. Hmm, what should I do?... All right, I'll go with you."

Zack ruffled the girl's hair, and with a laugh, he turned back in the direction the group was headed.

"Hey! HEY!" Yuffie called after him. "Aren't you going to introduce me to everyone?"

"They already know your name." Freya called back to her.

As they walked, Kunsel caught up with Zack. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

Zack nodded. "Trust me. It'll be better if she's with us than if she's running around getting into trouble. We've got enough eyes between the eight of us to keep a look out if she tries anything."

Kunsel looked back at the ninja as she appeared to be watching the others with interest. "I hope you're right."

* * *

><p>As they neared Junon, Freya paused to put a call in with Valerie. After some discussion over the PHS, she rejoined everyone else and told them that Allen would meet them just outside Junon and smuggle them in. It wasn't too much longer before they caught sight of the gigantic cannon hanging out over the water, guarding the central shipping routes that ran between the city and other locations along the western seaboard. They were almost into town when they found Allen, the Turk who wielded nunchaku, standing by a van in plainclothes, his blonde hair obscured by a newsboy cap. As the man spotted Freya he waved them over. "I hear you've been keeping yourself busy."<p>

Freya shrugged and offered him a grin. "Well, you know how it is. Some things just can't be helped."

The other Turk returned it with one of his own. "I didn't think we'd see you again so soon." His expression turned serious. "So what's this I hear about the General still being alive?"

"We haven't confirmed it for sure." Zack joined the conversation at that point. "But what we saw looked an awful lot like him."

Allen looked thoughtful as he reached for the keys to the van in the pocket of his shirt. "I guess you would know wouldn't you."

"I'd like to think so."

Allen nodded. "All right, Freya, you'll ride shotgun, we've got some things to talk about. The rest of you can get in the back. It'll be crowded, but it's the best we got."

After Allen unlocked the doors he ushered everyone inside. It was a tight fit, but somehow, everyone managed to find a place and soon they were underway. At least, it seemed they were underway until they discovered something rather problematic about their new companion.

"Ooh… I don't feel so good…" Yuffie moaned from the spot where she'd been scrunched between Cloud and Aerith.

"You get motion sick too?" Cloud asked after a bit.

Yuffie nodded. Since Zack was one of the closest to the front, he leaned toward the driver's seat. "So how long is it to your place?"

"It'll be about forty minutes, once we account for traffic and getting up the elevators," Allen answered, glancing worriedly in the rearview mirror at the very ill ninja. "We haven't quite reached the city limits yet."

As Zack turned back around, he saw Cloud reach into his pocket and hand Yuffie some medicine. Surprisingly, he didn't seem to be suffering quite as much. Zack wondered absently if he was gaining more of a resistance to it, having spent so much time in the helicopter lately. Yuffie looked up at him with gratitude before downing it.

"Maybe we ought to put her up front too," Zack suggested.

"You're probably right," Freya agreed, much to the relief of everyone else in the van. Allen brought the vehicle to a halt so the Lady Turk and the ninja could switch and then they continued onward, crisis thankfully averted. No one could really see outside except those who were up front as they passed through Junon's undercity, but it wasn't long before Allen rolled down the window to speak to a guard, handing him an ID to look at and claiming he was going up to his house on one of the upper tiers. Soon afterward, he had pulled the van onto an elevator and they were going up. Zack really hoped they'd be able to keep things as quiet as they'd managed to keep them in Midgar. The last thing they needed was to have every SOLDIER and trooper in Junon coming after them.

* * *

><p><em>Yay! New party member! And Aerith and Kunsel are back too! I missed them as much as Zack did! ^^<em>

_See ya next chapter!_


	18. Operation Grunt

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spinoffs. That honor goes to Square-Enix.

**Part II: Reunion**

* * *

><p>Chapter 18, Operation Grunt<p>

**December 18****th** **[ ν ] – εуλ 0007**

The van rolled along the city streets on the third tier of Junon's upper city at a fairly smooth pace now that Yuffie had the option of looking ahead of her to help rectify her motion sickness. It was a different experience riding in this area in the daytime, Zack reflected. The last time they'd come this way, it had been night, and the most he'd been able to see were the occasional glow of streetlamps on the street where they'd eventually gotten out. This time, as he leaned over the passenger seat to get a better view, he could see row after row of town houses, much like the one to which they were driving. Like on Midgar's upper plate there was absolutely no sign of trees or earth around here. Though the tier above them was still angled back so it was structurally in line with the rising terrain on which the city was built, they were still far enough away from the edge of the overhead tier that he couldn't see the sky very well.

When the van approached their destination, Allen pulled it into a garage before letting everyone out. Even though they were well away from Midgar, they were still known fugitives, with the possible exception of Yuffie and even her status was questionable.

As everyone climbed out, Allen beckoned that they follow him through a door and they found themselves inside a kitchen. Valerie was waiting for them and she walked over and offered Freya a hug. "It's good to see you made it safely," she said.

"Well of course we did." Freya answered. "But right now, I need to know, have you guys seen anything since I called?"

Valerie shrugged. "Yes and no. I've heard rumors that there's a guy running around in black, but we haven't confirmed or denied that it's him. We have yet to see him ourselves. Still, it seems what he's been looking for is transportation to the Western Continent."

"How do you know that?" Zack asked.

"Because yesterday, he was spotted by the docks and no ship leaves until tomorrow when Rufus has his ceremony for taking office as Shinra's president. It might not be a bad idea to try the airfields too."

The dark haired SOLDIER nodded. "We can look into it."

Barret had been listening to the conversation for a bit and now he spoke up. "Rufus Shinra, huh? I might want to pay my respects."

"I believe the plan was to not be seen if we could help it." Zack reminded him.

"Whatever." Barret moved past them so the others could get inside.

"Is there anything else we ought to know about tomorrow?" Freya asked, as the others came inside.

Valerie thought for a moment. "Well, we've already hunted up some disguises for those of you who don't have them, so getting access won't be a big issue…" She looked down at Nanaki. "What about this… um…"

Nanaki rose up on his hind legs and Zack was impressed to see he was maintaining his balance incredibly well. As he did so, he spoke "I can adapt if necessary."

"Good to know, because when Freya told me about you, I thought we might just have to keep you here." Valerie said, apparently taking the talking quadruped very well, considering it seemed like she'd never seen one of his kind before.

As Nanaki dropped back down to all fours, Allen walked ahead of them, towards the room where they had contacted Veld when they had come here to fight Jade WEAPON. "I think we'll be a little more comfortable talking in here," he commented.

Freya, Cloud, and Tifa fell in step behind Zack as he followed the renegade Turk into the room. As they entered, Zack heard Yuffie exclaim from the rear "Wow, it's like you've got a secret spy room!"

"Well, these guys did use to be Turks," Kunsel explained patiently.

"You mean, they used to be Shinra too?" Yuffie looked at their hosts suspiciously.

Kunsel didn't dignify that with a response as he took a seat near the door. Nanaki took an alert position nearby as the others filed in. Once everyone was situated, Allen spoke up again. "I was thinking I should go out with you to help scout the docks. I know the layout there pretty well since I was working there undercover on one of my last missions before Zirconiaide. Considering what's going on, we'll need to know our way around."

"Sounds good," Zack agreed. "So who wants to go where?"

"It doesn't seem a probable choice, but I'll check the airport," Freya volunteered.

"All right." Zack looked around at the rest of the group. "How likely is it he'll leave by land?"

"Not very. You come to Junon to cross the ocean," Allen commented. "Besides, we've got a piggybacked channel on all the security feeds for most of the major land routes out of the city that'll tell us if he does. Val's gonna stay here to monitor that just in case, and to make sure no one spots it."

"So land's covered," Valerie confirmed.

"Why are you doing this?" Tifa had been very quiet for a while, but now she was regarding the former Turks with caution, as she asked her question.

"Because Freya's a Turk," Valerie said.

Zack leaned back in his seat with a smirk. "This is nothing. You should have seen them when their former Director got in trouble."

* * *

><p>After plans had been finalized, most of the group had dispersed about the house, to rest or find something to do. So it was that Cloud found himself looking out over the sea from a small balcony on the second floor. It was very different from the quiet protection of the woods in Mideel. Here, he had no barrier from the wind as it blew salty air off the water. It was much higher up too, providing the illusion that beyond the descending slope with tier after tier of streetlamps, stood a vast and endless void, broken only by a glimmering line of ripples from the moon, as waves churned invisibly from below. The giant cannon stood overhead, far off to his left, and as the guide lights along the barrel faded in and out in a rhythmic blink to alert incoming aircraft to its presence, it hung across the lighted gap of the streets below as a bridge into the dark.<p>

He leaned on the guardrail, not really looking for anything in particular but just taking in the view. That was when he heard a door open behind him. He spared a glance to see that Tifa had joined him. "There you are, I was wondering where you got off to." She walked to the edge of the balcony and stood a respectful distance to his right. The last time they'd been properly alone together had been during the rescue, and that had not been a particularly good time to talk. Before that, the last time he remembered talking to her, if it could be called that (more like nonverbal communication), he'd been hiding under his helmet as he prevented her from following Zack into the reactor while Sephiroth was still sane. Just thinking about that made him want to gather her up into a hug and tell her how glad he was that she was okay, but somehow that idea was far more terrifying than anything he'd ever thought of. They'd never been that close before, why should he presume they had that now?

He resigned himself to continue looking out at the water, only daring a nod of acknowledgement and a small smile. "Just wanted some fresh air."

"It is nice out here, isn't it?"

Cloud nodded. "It's better than Midgar."

Tifa was quiet for a bit. "It wasn't so bad there. We were in the slums, but the bar I was running did okay, and I could definitely hold my own if the customers got too rowdy."

"Jessie said it was called Seventh Heaven."

Tifa nodded. "It's a shame we had to leave it. We were kind of a family there."

"Sounds nice. If a little crazy. Why did you decide to blow up reactors?"

"Because I was angry," Tifa looked out over the water. "Shinra took everything from me, and I guess trying to take something back seemed like the answer. You should be able to understand."

Cloud nodded. "I do. I may not remember what happened to us in the lab, but if I find that guy Hojo before Zack does, it won't be pretty."

"The more I hear about him, the less convinced I am he's even human," Tifa commented.

Cloud sighed. "I don't know. Zack doesn't like to talk about it."

"You sound very close."

"We were friends before but… He saved my life when all I was able to do was slow him down. If I could make it up to him, even a little..."

Tifa smiled gently. "I'm sure you'll get the chance one day. I mean, you kept the promise, right?"

Cloud looked away from her, also smiling sheepishly. "I had help."

"But you still came."

"I did…"

"And, how did Zack put it? Oh yeah, you were better than Wutai ninjas." Tifa finished. The two of them shared a laugh before it died into a warm silence, in which they continued to look out over the ocean for a while. Eventually, Tifa stretched her arms and yawned. "I'm going to head back in. If we're going to find Sephiroth tomorrow, we need to be ready for him."

Cloud nodded. "I'll come back in soon."

_There you are…_

He gritted his teeth and brought a hand up to his face as a stabbing pain ran through the inside of his skull. He remained standing, but as his senses reoriented themselves he heard Tifa next to him. "Cloud?"

"It's nothing…" he said softly, willing it to be true as the pain slowly faded before disappearing entirely. He looked up to give her a reassuring smile which she returned before walking back inside. He took stock of himself, assessing if anything had changed. He felt okay aside from the attack having caught him completely unawares. Still, where had that voice come from?

* * *

><p>In a small backyard behind the townhouse, obscured by a high fence, Nanaki had laid down by himself, taking in the ambient noise. Even the unnatural sounds of vehicles on the street sounded welcome to him when for almost a year, the only thing he'd heard were the sounds of Hojo's other specimens. Of course there was the ocean a ways off, but down where he was, close to the street, it wasn't as easy to hear over the echo of cars passing over and under the nearby levels. If it were up to him, he'd have climbed to the roof, but his flaming tail would have set off alarm bells for anyone who noticed him. Considering he was lying on the metal plate that supported this tier of the city, it wasn't really much better than when they were in Midgar.<p>

He heard a sound from the back door and cracked open his good eye to see Freya walk out with her shotgun and a black leather case. She sat down on the step and opened it, preparing the tools it contained before proceeding to clean the weapon with meticulous care. She had turned that gun on him when she and the other Turk sent to catch him had taken him back to Midgar. He knew how dangerous it could be.

The faint mako glow in her eyes caught his attention as she looked up from her work and noticed him there. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were trying to sleep out here."

He lifted his head from his paws. "Maintaining weapons is important too, and I wasn't asleep per se." She may have captured him before, but she had made it clear she wasn't his enemy now. There was no sense causing disharmony in the group and he didn't expect to be with them for long. She shrugged and went back to cleaning her shotgun. Nanaki watched her as she worked, using a brush to clean out the barrel, oiling the various mechanisms and shining the wood finish.

"What made you change your mind?" he asked.

Freya stood and experimentally aimed the gun before pulling back on the forend with a click, chambering out shells she hadn't yet loaded. "A lot of things."

"You had misgivings even then, if I remember correctly. Yet that didn't stop you."

"It's funny, isn't it?" The huntress knelt down to put away her tools. "They tell you that you finish the job no matter what. I did, even though I didn't always like it. I was convinced it was for the greater benefit of Shinra and the world as a whole. We all were. It took actually seeing what had happened to… the results of what we had done… before I was even willing to admit I was wrong. It took way longer than it should have for me to realize the cost." Her eyes went to the one that Hojo had scarred closed again, and she bit her lip nervously. "I'll make no excuses for what I did to you. That was what I was ordered to do. I did it, and I don't expect forgiveness for it. But I intend to correct what I can."

Nanaki thought over her words, flicking his tail as he considered them. "I suppose that's all you can do," he said at last.

* * *

><p>Dr. Rayleigh was sitting in the small office she'd acquired at the clinic near the lodge, looking over some notes on a file for one of the patients assigned to her when her PHS beeped. Upon checking it, her eyes widened. The title of the message read "Partial Decryption." After checking the address, she recognized it as belonging to Shalua Rui. Cissnei had slipped the mail address to her, telling her that Freya had apparently made contact with the woman in Midgar. She carefully shut the door to the office, locking it and pulling the blinds before checking the message in full.<p>

_The Turk told me you had an interest in Sephiroth's information. This is what I've managed to decrypt so far. I've checked it for viruses. I'll send more when I have it._

Thank Gaia she was still working with Turks. Freya and Cissnei had managed to rig the entire group's PHS's so they would be secure from tampering, but if anyone had seen this message and its contents, there might have been trouble. She searched her drawer for a connector wire and hooked the PHS into her computer. After accessing the file, she loaded it up onto the screen and started searching the contents. There wasn't a lot that wasn't gibberish, but she was able to make out the Silver General's age, blood type, and some of his relevant data. There were a few other things that were fairly mundane, such as his date of birth and… hello…

She peered closer at the document in surprise. Hojo was his father? She hadn't known that, and in the place where his mother was supposed to be listed… odd. It was blank. The story was that Jenova had been the name of Sephiroth's mother, but having actually seen Jenova once, and having heard the story Zack and Cloud had told her about Nibelheim, she was fairly certain that was not the case. Never mind that a body frozen in the Northern Crater shouldn't be capable of producing normal human offspring, just a visual assessment of the body's anatomy could tell anyone that the placement of all those collection tubes would have prevented any offspring from surviving even if the body possessed a viable womb. Still, it was something to file away for later, she supposed. She looked at the other notes in the file, and found her vision blurring as she realized most of them were still gibberish. There were a number of words that stood out in several places though; the recurring themes being 'S-cells','Jenova', and much later, 'Reunion.'

What did that mean?...

She stared at the file a little longer before realizing she needed more information in order to make heads or tails of the thing. After disconnecting her PHS from the computer, she keyed a short reply to Shalua's message, and prepared to leave for the night.

* * *

><p><strong>December 19<strong>**th** **[ ν ] – εуλ 0007**

The next morning was a bustle of activity as everyone scrambled to make sure they were ready for the search. Zack and Cloud had both hoped they would never have to wear trooper uniforms again, but unfortunately, this was not to be. At least they were not alone this time. The entire group was wearing them, with the exception of Yuffie and Barret, who instead had been given sailor suits since they would be going with the group headed for the docks. The trooper uniforms didn't come in their sizes it seemed. Cloud sighed as he pulled himself back into the uniform. He could hear Zack fidgeting with his own across the room, and off in the distance, they could hear the sounds of music playing. At the very least, the noise and activity would make it easier for them to hide.

As he hitched up the rifle next to his sword, he heard Zack swearing. "How did you ever manage Cloud? The fabric on this thing is so weird; it's like wearing sack-cloth."

"It's probably the same stuff," Cloud replied. "But you did all right last time."

"I guess, but it's still awful." He turned around. "Do I look convincing?" he asked.

"Sure." Cloud finished with his own disguise and then the two of them walked downstairs to join the others. The others appeared to be in various states of readiness. Allen was already wearing a deckhand's uniform made up of a set of coveralls and his hair was secured neatly under a hat. Tifa joined them along with Freya and Aerith.

"We're like a small platoon aren't we?" Kunsel commented coming up behind them.

"It's either this or sticking out like a sore thumb," Zack replied. "So, is everyone ready?"

Freya nodded. "Let's move out."

Zack and Cloud went out first. It had been decided they would hang around the main street, just in case. That way they would be within running distance of both groups. Allen had directed them to the correct elevator, and soon they were riding down to the main street. Zack stretched, as he looked around. "This sure brings back memories, doesn't it?"

"Not many I care to think about," Cloud admitted. He remembered being stationed in Junon a couple of times during his stint as a trooper, but the memories that stood out the most were the ones of applying at the SOLDIER recruiting office and then waiting for the evaluations to be finished followed by the disappointment of getting sent into the army. That, and getting forced into missions that required travel… oh the agony…

"I guess you have a point. Whenever I ran into you here, you never did seem to feel all that great. Though you seem to be doing better with the motion sickness these days."

Cloud raised an eyebrow, though Zack couldn't see it under the helmet. Come to think of it, aside from Yuffie getting sick he didn't remember needing the medicine at all in the van. Either that, or he'd been more worried about Yuffie and hadn't noticed. As the elevator stopped and they stepped out on the main street he saw that the crowds had not quite yet assembled for the parade. It wouldn't be long before they did though, so they walked along hoping to get to a good vantage point that had easy access in both directions they wanted open. A lively marching tune was being played off in the distance and it was hard to ignore the celebratory atmosphere as people started coming out on the streets.

They were nearing the end of the road on which the elevator down to lower Junon was located when suddenly they heard a voice behind them. "Hey you two, didn't I tell you not to wander off before the parade?" The two of them stopped and glanced behind them to see a trooper captain walking up to them.

"Oh crap," Zack muttered.

The captain caught up with them and pointed them to a door. "We gotta get ready for the ceremony. You idiots get in here!" Ignoring their assertions that they weren't assigned to ceremonial duties, he hurried them into a nearby building and soon they found themselves in a locker room.

"All right, you two stay put until everyone gets here! That's an order!" Zack and Cloud looked at each other under their helmets as the captain glanced out the door.

"What do we do now?" Cloud asked in a whisper.

"Stay cool. If we run for it, he'll know something's wrong. We'll sneak out once we're sure he's left…" Zack trailed off as he noticed the sergeant looking back at them with a critical eye.

"Ten hut!"

Cloud remembered that order. He stood at attention with the butt of his rifle in his right hand, the barrel resting on his shoulder. Next to him, Zack followed along. Thankfully he still somewhat remembered what it was like to be a cadet.

The captain was apparently not impressed. "I hope you at least remember the greeting procedure, right?"

Cloud's thoughts echoed Zack. _Oh crap_.

As the two of them struggled for an answer, the captain gave them a look of further exasperation. "So you really did forget. All right, I'll show you again!"

A couple of other troopers walked into the locker room, and stood at attention on the other side. "We'll help too!"

"This is how you do it!" the other one said.

"And we'll sing too!" the first one finished.

How by the planet had they gotten themselves into this? Cloud's wondering was cut short when the captain spoke again. "Now this is the welcoming march!"

The two troopers demonstrated the march for a little while and then they heard something neither of them wanted to hear. "Rufus has arrived! Preparation completed!"

The captain clapped his hands together. "All right, show time! Don't disgrace yourselves!" Before either of them knew what was going on, the captain had pushed them out the door, and they were caught up in the platoon of troopers headed towards the parade route.

They hurried along the street for a while before the captain called out "Oh no! No one's here!" he muttered a few things to himself as he tried to make sense of the situation.

"Should we try to go now?" Cloud whispered.

Zack shook his head. "Too many of them, they'd spot us in a heartbeat. Just be patient."

"Captain! We'll take a short cut!" one of the other troopers called out.

"Right! Good idea. Get over here!" He directed them to a side street and as they walked past the buildings they soon found themselves approaching the main parade route. It wasn't that hard to find really. Families hung out of apartment building windows, children strained to see and people lined the crowded streets, if the rain of confetti had not been enough. And then there was the marching soldiers. That was a pretty obvious giveaway too.

"All right, just try to sneak into the back when you see an opening," the captain ordered. Several of the troopers jumped into line as one particular rank of them passed by, however, when it came time and Zack and Cloud were ready to make the dash, the captain seemed to want to complain at them some more. "Now listen up, this is going to be broadcast live on Shinra TV all over the world! If you look bad, the whole Junon army will look bad. Remember that and don't screw up! Go when I give you the sign to go. Sneak in from the back, and don't mess up the row! And whatever you do, don't go in from the front!"

_We get it already! Just let us go so we can get out of here! _Cloud silently pleaded. He could already see Zack fidgeting, and he'd seen about two perfectly good ranks of troopers to hide in pass them by now.

"Start Marching!" the captain finished. Well, there was nothing for it. They did as ordered and waited for the next available line. Fortunately there were two spots in the ranks that looked almost perfect, so they went for it. Good thing he remembered how to handle his gun from back in those days. As the troopers held their rifles in the air, he followed suit. He'd done this in drill so many times it was almost second nature, even after more than five years. Unfortunately, Zack seemed to be having trouble. Whenever the troopers brought their guns up, his went down. They brought out their left feet he went with his right. Eventually, he seemed to get the rhythm down, but by then, they were almost to the end of the parade route. Why someone tossed them a grenade, he could never figure out.

At the end of the parade they took formation in the back and Cloud saw a young blonde man about their age standing with a fat guy in a green military suit with a beard observing the spectacle. "Good, we made it!" The captain whispered loudly behind them and then his eyes landed on the younger man. "Oh! President Rufus!"

There was a higher ranking officer at the front and when he noticed the captain he yelled "Hey! Line up and shut up!"

Cloud chuckled a little under his helmet. It seemed their 'captain' had gotten in a little trouble all his own. "Don't make a move!" The other officer boomed.

The troopers around them finished their performance and Zack and Cloud did their best to look like they belonged as Rufus spoke up. "What happened to the airships?"

The man with the beard rubbed at his hair uncomfortably. "The long range airships are still being prepared. They should be ready in about three more days. Gya ha ha." What was with that laugh?

"Even the Air Force's Gelnika?" Rufus asked.

Why was this guy still laughing?

Rufus seemed to have the same opinion because he walked up to the man and Cloud could feel the tension in his voice as he calmly spoke. "Stop that stupid horse laugh. Things are different from when father was in charge." The man in green seemed at a loss for words as Rufus walked away from him, though as he reached the elevator again, he spared a few more words for him. "Is the ship ready?"

"We'll have it ready quickly," He answered.

With a dramatic brush of his smooth blonde hair, Rufus turned his back on the man and climbed into the elevator. Cloud's eyes promptly bugged out as the man in green started slugging the troopers remaining. He missed getting knocked about by a hair's breadth as Zack pulled him out of the line of fire. After tiring himself out, the man in green followed Rufus into the elevator.

"Who was that?" Cloud whispered as Zack let go of him.

"I think it was Heidegger," Zack said. "Kunsel told me he's in charge of the whole military now that SOLDIER's been brought under his control."

"What a disaster," one of the other troopers said.

"Heidegger was really irritated..." another one said.

"The man in the black cape's been spotted roaming the city, but we can't find him." At that, both Zack and Cloud stopped, alert for further information.

"A guy in a black cape?" Zack asked after a moment.

The trooper who'd spoken nodded. "He showed up two or three days ago, and killed a few of our soldiers. He disappeared right after that. There's a rumor going around that it was Sephiroth."

At that point, the higher ranked officer called out "Attention! Dismissed!"

As Zack and Cloud were about to try and beat a hasty retreat, their 'captain' called out. "Oh no, no break for you. Get over here!" Cloud could hear the groan under Zack's helmet, and he wanted to do the same. But they couldn't break cover. Not with so many troopers around. The captain led them back to the locker room and continued to act like they actually were soldiers from his platoon. "This is the military, soldiers! Your orders for today are to send off President Rufus at the dock! And we're gonna keep drilling until it's time!"

By now, Cloud wanted to laugh. Hysterically. It was a good thing no one could see his face under the helmet. This had to be a dream. The situation was far too silly to be real. Yet here he was, drilling in a locker room while Sephiroth was stalking the streets of Junon, and Zack was right here with him, continuing to do terribly at handling his rifle. How could a guy so adept with one weapon be so clumsy with another one? It had to be the weight, he decided. The Buster Sword was so much heavier than a rifle, his over-compensation for it must have been throwing him off.

Finally, the drilling stopped and one of the other troopers asked "Commander, what's today's special pose?"

The captain thought for a moment. "Huh… I haven't decided yet." After thinking for a bit, he turned to Cloud. "All right rookie! I'll let you decide! Show me your best move!"

Cloud and Zack exchanged glances and he shrugged. Finally, he took the rifle, raised it up in the air, and swung it in a circle, the way Zack liked to do with the Buster Sword when he was victorious after a fight, before bringing himself back to attention.

"Wow!"

"That was awesome!"

He felt oddly self-conscious about it, and he could feel Zack's eyes on him as the other troopers praised his pose, but allowed himself a nervous chuckle as the captain spoke again. "All right! We'll go with that as today's special! Practice it!"

"Yes sir!" the other troopers assented.

The captain turned back to Zack and Cloud. "Well then, meet at the dock! Don't be late! Dismissed!"

As everyone left the locker room, Zack let out a relieved sigh. "Close one. Still…That was pretty awesome Cloud." He clapped him on the back. "Nice going."

"Thanks. So, we're leaving now?"

"Yeah, now."

They were about to head out of the locker room when suddenly Cloud's PHS rang. He was a little surprised at first. Why would anyone be calling him after all? But after a moment, he reached into his pocket and saw that it was Tifa. He lifted up the helmet so he could answer it. "Hello?"

"_Cloud? I think we've found him. There's a man with a black cape down here and he looks like he's heading for a ship. You and Zack might want to get moving._"

He looked up at Zack. Thanks to SOLDIER hearing he'd understood the whole thing, so he nodded and gestured that Cloud follow him. Cloud drew his attention back to the PHS as they hurried out of the building. "Hang on, we're coming." He put away his PHS as the helmet dropped back over his face and they were halfway down the street before he realized with a sinking feeling that they were headed right to where the troopers would be sending off Rufus. This could be trouble.

* * *

><p>Activity in the harbor had mostly been centered around a single ship getting ready to depart for Costa Del Sol. Tifa and the others had been in and out, pretending to be deckhands and guards. Fortunately no one had called attention to their presence. They had all been keeping an eye out though, just in case. Tifa had been observing the docks from a catwalk a short ways away from the ship when she'd noticed the man in a black cloak approaching. She'd been uncertain at first, but then she'd seen a lock of silver-grey hair fall from the man's hood, and that was when she dialed Cloud.<p>

Down on the dock, she saw that Allen had also noticed the man, and was trailing him at a distance. Barret and Yuffie had also spotted him. He wasn't close to the crowd of people near the ship yet, but they couldn't let him get there. She lowered herself from the catwalk in a practiced motion and as she tamped down on her fear and hatred of the man, she walked purposefully towards him. Nanaki was nowhere in sight, but she could only assume he'd find somewhere to ditch his disguise before coming out to help.

The music from the parade continued off in the distance as she walked quickly along the dock. They still had at least a couple hundred feet before he got within range of the crowd and the soldiers. Behind her stood a wall of girders where her catwalk had been arrayed with cranes and scaffolding. Ahead of her, the long dock, lining the water's edge with the ship behind it. The water stank of pollution even as gulls flew around overhead and rested on bulkheads and pier supports. She was about thirty feet in front of him when she stopped in his path, her face set in anger. She felt Barret come to a halt behind her still in his sailor suit as she pulled off her helmet. Yuffie and Allen had set up a perimeter to either side of the man, and she finally saw Nanaki slink up behind him, completing the circle. The man stopped at that point, pulling back the cloak to reveal the long black coat and flowing silver hair. It caught the wind as he played with Masamune at his side, but seemed to be waiting for something as he gazed, slightly bored, in her direction. The message was easy to understand. _You aren't the ones I'm interested in._

She didn't look away but wordlessly returned his gaze, the fiery hatred in her wine-colored eyes reflecting in the light bouncing off of them from the water's surface in the midday sun. They stared each other down for less than half a minute, before she heard the sound of two sets of boots running their way.

Cloud was at her side and Zack was right next to him as they too laid eyes on the man standing before them. They both tore off their helmets to take a better look, the shock etched on their faces.

Finally, Zack reached for his sword and drew it in a defensive position. "Sephiroth!"

The former General looked back at him with hungry green eyes. "After a long sleep… the time… has come…"

"Time for what?" Cloud demanded.

Sephiroth's eyes landed on him with a venomous smile. "Who are you?..."

Cloud blinked in surprise. "What do you mean?" he asked.

Without warning, the general suddenly started laughing, before a brilliant flash lit up the dock.

* * *

><p><em>I was really worried that I overdid the comedy this chapter, as evidenced by the fact that the current version of the parade is actually somewhat toned down from the rough draft. The biggest problem being that Rufus's welcoming ceremony was already really silly without my help.<em>

_Still, I tried. Until next time folks! Hope you enjoyed it!_


	19. Uh, Guys? Wasn't Corel the Other Way?

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spinoffs. That honor goes to Square-Enix.

**Part II: Reunion**

* * *

><p>Chapter 19, Uh, Guys? Wasn't Corel the Other Way?<p>

**December 19****th** **[ ν ] – εуλ 0007**

Cloud looked up at the huge being that materialized where Sephiroth once stood with a combination of awe, and revulsion. The gigantic mass of goo and tentacles that stood before them, vaguely resembling the shape of a woman with a pair of outstretched wings, seemed familiar to him somehow, but…

"Jenova?" He heard Zack next to him.

It did kind of look like her, now that Cloud could make the comparison.

Whatever it was, their surprise was short lived as it suddenly shot a laser in their direction and the group was forced to scatter. When the dust cleared, he saw a shuriken fly through the air out of the corner of his eye before a hail of bullets rocketed overhead from Barret's gun arm. Zack was already running in with his sword, and Cloud hurried in a different direction, going for one of the tentacles at the base of the thing.

He caught the flash of a Bolt spell being cast nearby as he sliced his sword into the curling tendril. Jumping away when it flailed out in retaliation, he barely missed getting hit by another laser beam. It seared the ground a few feet in front of him. He spared a moment to find another opening and caught sight of Zack, leaping back into action after getting knocked away and Tifa landing a punch on a tendril she'd frozen with an Ice spell, causing it to shatter, before he rushed in again, using his forward momentum to stab his sword into the thing tentatively believed to be Jenova. He pulled it out, cutting through its flesh and leaving a deep gash before everyone hurriedly backed away as a cloud of noxious gas suddenly permeated the area.

Backing away to avoid the fumes, he heard Zack nearby. "Head for that construction site, we can take cover in there!"

Sure enough, on the side of the dock opposite the water, there was some kind of building being constructed, though now it was a skeleton of steel girders, wires, and scaffolding. Even now, he could hear shouts nearby as members of Rufus's entourage were starting to notice the disturbance. It would definitely be better to be out of their line of fire too. He got off a Fire spell as they retreated to the building. Yuffie was already scaling a girder, climbing to a better position to throw her shuriken as Barret was headed for a set of stairs leading up to the network of scaffolds.

In the time its attackers were getting in position, the giant tentacled monster followed the two swordsmen until it couldn't follow them anymore. Cloud slashed at another tentacle Tifa had just frozen when another wave of lasers peppered the ground. He heard Tifa yelp as one of them hit her and looked up to see her race in with several hard punches as he felt the energy from a limit break going off. Tifa ducked back to safety among the building supports as Barret found a roost to his liking and resumed shooting at the thing.

It was at that moment when Cloud noticed that slightly to his right, Zack was rushing towards a wire holding up a pallet of construction materials. Using the Buster Sword to cut the wire as he grabbed it, he was propelled into the air, landing on one of the higher girders before lunging to meet the monster in front of him.

Ducking to avoid another laser directed at himself, Cloud followed Zack from the ground, rushing forward and bringing his sword once again to bear on the hide of their opponent's gelatinous trunk. A tentacle reached up and knocked him away, sending him flying until his back connected with something hard. He picked himself up, sparing only a glance to see that the girder he'd hit was slightly bent out of shape, before racing back to the front, channeling a limit break of his own. Ramming his sword deep into the morass of tendrils, he leapt into the air slashing through it as though it were nothing, before coming to a halt a few girders up. Looking around he noticed that Nanaki was standing as still as a statue nearby and Allen was attempting to help cover him.

He leapt back to avoid another tentacle, landing gracefully on the ground near the Turk, when suddenly, he heard the sound of a gun going off that wasn't Barret's. As if out of nowhere, a second shotgun blast fired and then Freya landed next to him with catlike grace, followed by Kunsel, and Aerith hurried up behind them.

Kunsel drew his sword looking up at the monster they were fighting in surprise, as he took in the size of it. "Sorry we're late," He said.

"No problem," Cloud stepped up next to him and the two swordsmen charged back into the fray, rushing past Allen while he cast another Bolt spell and Tifa, casting another Ice. The two of them rolled out of the way when more lasers peppered the construction site and then Kunsel raced forward, slashing at one of Jenova's tentacles as Cloud vaulted up to the first level of girders. He saw a second wire hanging down the side of the building. Taking hold of it to keep himself from falling with his left hand, he ran sideways along the girder before jumping off of it and propelling himself at Jenova's head. He landed, digging the sword into its body, using gravity to pull him down towards the ground. A laser went off nearby and as he leapt back to avoid a second beam, he felt a limit channel and saw Kunsel standing in front of Tifa, having taken a blow for her.

The great hulk of Jenova looked very beaten at that point and it may not have been necessary for Zack to give it another stab, but he did anyway, before it gave a final shudder and dissolved into nothing.

A hush fell over the construction site and a final limit break channeled behind them. When Cloud looked, he saw Aerith standing by Nanaki. He was shaking himself after having been released from the Stop. Near the edge of the building, there lay a small piece of something that Cloud suddenly realized was Jenova's arm.

Zack was standing a few feet away from it, and he deliberately raised his hand and cast Firaga at it, burning it to ashes. Once that was done, he reached out with a gloved hand and picked up a small red orb that had appeared in Jenova's remains. At that same moment, Cloud heard Freya behind him on her PHS. "Cissnei, I hope you're close because we're going to need a pickup, now."

It was then that the final aspect of this scenario came into focus. Forming a perimeter around the building, guns aimed squarely at them, stood a whole horde of troopers, and standing centered in front of them, was Rufus with Heidegger right next to him.

"What happened here?" The president demanded, taking in the assembled group.

"Sephiroth was here," Zack answered coldly, "And if you're smart, you'll take those guards of yours and search for him. He's probably still around, trying to get to the other continent."

Rufus regarded him curiously before looking around at the others, finally resting his gaze on Freya and Allen. The two Turks stood tall under his gaze, looking right back at him with feigned disinterest. "You. You're both renegade Turks." Rufus took in the others in various trooper and sailor uniforms. "And what about the rest of you?"

"Zack, ex-SOLDIER 1st Class!" Zack answered and the others seemed to take this as an invitation to sound off.

"Kunsel, also ex-SOLDIER."

"Cloud! Former infantryman!"

"Barret, I'm part of AVALANCHE!"

"Same here!"

"A research specimen!"

"A flower girl!"

"A kick-ass ninja from Wutai!"

Rufus shrugged as a wry smile spread across his face. "What a crew." He brushed his bangs out of his eyes as he paced a few steps to the right. "Well, you may already know this, but I'm Rufus, the current President of Shinra Inc."

Barret scoffed. "You only the President 'cause yer old man died!"

Rufus didn't act offended in the slightest. "Maybe, but let me tell you, I am quite decidedly not my old man." He walked up to Zack, looking him in the eye. "He tried to control the world with money, and sure, it wasn't the worst plan one could come up with…" He moved onward to Kunsel, his expression unchanging as he spoke. "The population thought Shinra would protect them…" He moved on to Cloud. "…Work at Shinra, get your pay. If a terrorist attacks, the Shinra army will help you…" He moved past Freya and Allen as though they weren't even there, instead gliding over to Tifa. "It looks perfect on the outside…" He finished his inspection of those standing in the center of the construction site before walking back to his spot in front of the troopers. "As for myself, I do things differently."

He faced them all, his expression hungry, like a guard hound who has just spotted a fresh piece of meat. "I'll control the world with fear. It takes so much less effort than my father's way of doing things, and it will keep the common people kneeling at my feet where they belong without wasting the resources."

"I don't know about all that," Zack commented. "But you sure do like to talk."

Kunsel laughed. "I guess that's something you two have in common, huh Zack?"

"I guess so. I'm not particularly crazy about the fear thing though. We might want to get going before he starts trying to scare us into going with those guards of his."

"Go where?" Aerith asked.

Rufus continued to smirk, certain of his own control over the situation. "The flower girl's right. Where are you going to go, if not with my guards?"

Freya pointed out the set of stairs that Barret had climbed. "I'm going to say… that way!" As one, all of the party that had remained on the ground rushed in that direction, some going more quickly than others. Zack ducked back to get Aerith since she wasn't running as fast, and before long they were halfway to what was going to be the roof. Yuffie had been standing on one of the nearby girders and she generously threw a couple of smoke-bombs to cover their retreat before the troopers could fire on them.

The sound of gunshots echoed through the steel structure, the metal bits vibrating the girders under their feet as they ran. Zack threw up a few Wall spells on the people in the back as Barret and Freya gave them covering fire. They were almost to the fifth and final floor when Cloud saw his friend pause and reach into his pocket. A wild grin spread across his face as he pulled out what was in it, and Cloud realized it was the grenade he'd been given after doing so horribly at the parade.

"You know what? I think I'll give this back!" Zack yelled as he pulled the pin and tossed it down the stairwell. It rolled down the stairs as they reached the top before a loud explosion reverberated through the building's girders near the base.

"That won't hold them for long!" Freya yelled.

"I know. Do you think Cissnei'll get here in time?"

"She'd better." The Turk chambered out her spent ammunition before loading fresh shells in her gun.

"Did she say how far out she was?" Kunsel asked.

"A minute or so, maybe…" At that point, they were interrupted by the sound of troopers racing up the stairs they'd just climbed and Zack readied his sword, balancing himself neatly on one of the girders between the rest of the group and the stairs. Kunsel took his place on a girder adjacent to them and Barret took a cover fire position a short distance back, ready to spray the stairs with bullets at the first sign of movement. Cloud jumped to the girder that was at Zack's right side after a moment as he heard Zack yelling back at the others to have their spells ready.

As the first few troopers ran up the steps, Barret unloaded his gun-arm at them with a battle cry before the three swordsmen leapt forward. Cloud easily knocked a trooper off his girder before seeing three more attempt to duck past Barret's barrage. Zack and Kunsel seemed to be all right for the time being, and so he set about unleashing a Fire spell in the area around the stairs. A trooper ran through the inferno, straight onto Zack's girder, but the ex-SOLDIER quickly dispatched him with the sword. It was around that point they heard the sound of rotors and soon the wind began to pick up.

Allen spoke up behind them "I think this is where I leave you guys."

"Are you crazy?" Zack demanded.

The blonde haired Turk just smiled. "You've got your ride. I've got mine." He reached for his nunchaku and ran to the far edge of the building. A wire hung there just within reach and the Turk looped his weapon around it before using it to slide away from the fighting and far out of sight.

As the helicopter neared, Cloud saw a rope slide down near where Aerith and the others were. Zack glanced over at Kunsel, yelling over the sound of the rapidly spinning blades. "Get Aerith and Nanaki up! We got this!" Kunsel nodded and hurried back as Yuffie shimmied up the rope with the grace of… well, a ninja. Cloud turned his attention back to the oncoming enemies, landing a kick on a trooper that had gotten too close to him on the steel beam. Another one tried to run along the beam Kunsel had just vacated, but Zack leapt the gap, blocking his way even as the man tried to raise his rifle. Zack held up his sword and pressed forward until the trooper lost his balance.

A trooper in front of him collapsed as though he'd just been shot, but it hadn't been by Barret. Looking back, he saw that Freya was holding a trooper rifle up in the chopper and she gave him a nod indicating she was covering them.

"Barret! Get moving!" Zack called, once he saw everyone else was clear. The older man nodded and ran for the rope. Zack and Cloud were the last ones on the roof. They spared a glance for each other before Cloud unleashed a last Fire spell and Zack let off a Firaga as they backed away towards the rope. They were almost there when Zack gestured that Cloud go first. He did so without argument, climbing hand over hand until he reached the grips on the landing gear and pulled himself the rest of the way in. Zack was already climbing up even as they pulled the rope in after them.

As they slammed the hatch shut, Cissnei pulled the chopper forward and called out over the intercom "_Hang on guys, we've got company!"_

Zack pulled on a headset and asked "What kind of company?"

"_I've got two other helicopters coming after us. If we try to head for home we'll be flying right into them."_

"Then head west!"

"_You do know that'll put us over the other continent, right? Unless we find fuel, we won't be able to get back." _Cissnei was incredulous.

"Right now, all I care about is getting away from Junon. We can decide what to do next once we're away from here!" As he spoke, Zack was gripping the earpiece on the headset hard enough Cloud wondered if he might break it.

"_Understood. Strap yourselves in. This could be a rough ride."_ Everyone scrambled to find a seat and go for the seatbelts as the helicopter zoomed forward. Cloud didn't know how fast they were going, but there was too much adrenaline running through his system at the moment for him to have time to be airsick. There was no chatter as the helicopter zoomed over the water, a solid deep green mass flowing beneath them in a blur.

* * *

><p>The helicopter lurched as Cissnei jerked the flight stick, but not even Yuffie complained. There was the sound of an explosion nearby.<em> "We've got missiles." <em>Cissnei commented, her voice eerily calm as she continued to maintain the chopper's speed.

"Anything we can do about that?" Zack asked. The helicopter lurched again and another explosion flashed outside the window.

"_Not unless you think you can shoot down those birds with rifles, or does someone have a materia they can use?"_

Zack stood and grabbed one of the handholds on the ceiling of the passenger compartment, searching through his pockets. Finally he pulled out the red materia he had picked up on the dock, holding it in his palm to identify it before speaking. "Would Ifrit work?"

"_You can try."_

He fought to stay standing as another missile went off and then he looked around at the others, an idea forming in his mind. He turned his attention to Kunsel. "I need rigging."

Kunsel gave him a worried look. "If you're thinking of doing what I think you are…"

"Who here feels they can concentrate well enough to cast a summon over a moving helicopter?" Zack interrupted, yelling over the sound of the rotors.

Everyone looked at each other before Aerith raised her hand. "I'll try!" She called out.

Zack looked hard at her. He really didn't want her in the line of fire if he could help it, but there wasn't time to argue. "Kunsel, make sure she's secured to me, I think you know what I'm planning."

The other SOLDIER stood, almost losing his balance as the chopper vibrated from another explosion nearby and hurried to the back of the vehicle, returning with a parachute harness, some rope, and carabiners. Zack went over to Aerith and once she pulled herself to her feet, he put an arm around her so she was positioned in front of him and wouldn't fall over. Kunsel worked quickly, helping her into the harness before the next missile shook the helicopter. After Cissnei had stabilized the craft again, he threaded a rope through the harness and tied her securely to Zack. As they moved towards the door, the dark haired SOLDIER handed Ifrit to her.

"You all right?" he asked.

She slipped it into her bangle. "I think so!"

"If you're sure. Just focus the best you can. I've got you, okay?"

She nodded. Kunsel secured the rope to a handgrip hanging from the ceiling by two of the carabiners, giving Zack the thumbs up once he was sure they were secure. Once that was done, he took a position by the door. "Cissnei," Zack spoke into his headset. "I need a ninety degree turn to the left!"

"_What?"_

"Just do it!"

"_If you're sure!"_ As soon as the helicopter turned, he signaled to Kunsel to pull open the hatch and a rush of fast moving air blew through the interior of the passenger compartment. It was flying slightly slower now that it had turned, but Zack hurriedly took a step out onto the landing gear, holding Aerith close while she found her footing in front of him. They looked out over the ocean and he saw one of the helicopters coming closer even as Aerith was already aiming at it. The materia glowed in her bangle and for a second, it seemed like nothing happened, but then there was a spark of yellow orange flames on the front of the enemy chopper. He thought he saw something that vaguely resembled the outline of some great fiery beast start clawing at the cockpit before the helicopter's flight pattern became erratic as it tried to get the thing off. It wasn't long after that when it burst into flames, retreating back the way it had come, probably to explode before it made it back to the airport.

"Yeah!" Zack crowed and Aerith looked up at him with a determined smile.

Because it would be too dangerous to remain flying perpendicular to the other pursuing helicopter while Ifrit was detained, Cissnei pulled back into flying straight again, and the two hanging out the side were slightly buffeted by the force of her acceleration. Zack felt secure though. With Kunsel's rope work and his strength, he knew neither of them would be knocked from their perch at the opening. A moment or so later, Aerith tapped him on the shoulder indicating she was sure Ifrit was no longer busy before something whizzed by on the other side. Zack held Aerith tight to his chest to keep her from being jostled.

"What have we got?" He asked after a moment.

"_Just the one left. If we can repeat that one more time, we should be all right!" _Freya answered him.

He looked down at Aerith. "You think you can do that again?"

The flower girl nodded, her face alight with determination.

"All right, Cissnei! Give us another ninety!"

The helicopter turned again and they saw the other chopper closing in fast. Once again, Aerith raised her hand and the fiery beast reappeared before the other helicopter was covered in flames. "We got it!" Zack said into the mic.

In a curving line, the helicopter resumed its course west as Kunsel helped Zack and Aerith back through the hatch, and pulled it shut. After he disconnected the two of them, they promptly plopped down into their seats while the others cheered.

* * *

><p>The helicopter had passed over Costa Del Sol before landing on a patch of grass to the south of town. It was late when they set up camp, but no one complained. Freya, Nanaki, and Yuffie went out to forage for food while the others pitched tents and got a fire going. Once those chores were finished those who hadn't gone out to hunt sat around the campfire, exhausted from the day's exertions. Kunsel was looking at his map again and Aerith leaned tiredly against Zack. He held an arm around her while they watched the flames together. Cloud sat next to them along with Tifa and Barret, while Cissnei stood a little bit away from the group, talking on her PHS.<p>

After she hung up she walked over to sit cross-legged next to Aerith. "I just talked to Legend and Kemp. They said we'd be the first to know if Sephiroth is spotted in Costa del Sol."

"Good," Zack said gratefully. He'd never spoken with the demolitionist or the male martial artist, but it was good to know someone was around to watch for the former general.

"What was that thing?" Barret asked.

Zack reached out with a stick and poked at a log that was hanging out of the fire too far for his liking. "I'm pretty sure it was Jenova."

"That was Jenova?" Barret looked a little concerned. "I thought we were chasin' Sephiroth."

"We are," Cloud said, "But it looks like he has Jenova with him, somehow."

"How did he have her arm with him though?" Zack wondered aloud. "Back at the reactor, the only thing we saw him try to take was her head, never mind that I don't remember her moving on her own before."

"Seeing as none of us actually knew what he's been up to since Nibelheim, we can't be sure what happened after you guys blacked out, and Freya left," Kunsel mused, "Though honestly, I'm having trouble believing he's still wandering around. If Cloud threw him into the reactor, even if the fall didn't kill him, the mako should have."

"But it was definitely him. It had to be. I'd never forget that face," Tifa asserted.

Zack frowned. "You don't think… Hojo found a way to fish him out of the reactor, do you? That might explain how he was in the Science Department."

"That begs a couple of questions though," Cissnei said.

"She's right." Kunsel looked up from the map, having given up on perusing it for the time being. "For one thing, if Hojo had the original Sephiroth, then why would he go to the trouble to use you guys to recreate him?"

"I dunno," Zack shrugged. "Maybe he wanted more than one? Or maybe before now Sephiroth wasn't able to do what he wanted. I mean, he did fall into a reactor core. That's the most undiluted mako you'll ever be exposed to. It'd be tough to avoid getting sick from that, even for him."

At that point, the three SOLDIERs heard the sound of footsteps approaching and not long afterward, Freya and Yuffie returned, followed by Nanaki. The red lion and the ninja sat down next to Cissnei and Freya began making preparations for putting the bird she'd caught on a spit so it could begin roasting, starting by plucking the feathers.

"Any trouble out there?" Zack asked her.

"Nope. Everything's quiet except for the animals, and they probably all cleared out when I found our dinner." She gestured to the bird she was preparing.

"At some point we need to figure out where we're going. We can't leave the helicopter out here too long or someone will notice it," Cissnei pointed out.

"Rocket Town," Freya said, "They may be Shinra but they're far enough removed from the company we can probably negotiate with them without trouble."

"You sure about that?" Kunsel asked.

"Oh, I'm sure there are people there who are loyal and would turn us in at the first opportunity, but since the space program's defunct, there's hardly any garrison there to speak of, and it would take forever for them to call in reinforcements. We can be gone long before they get there. Tseng could be there by tomorrow, but he's focusing on Sephiroth, so he'll probably leave us alone for now. Most importantly, we need fuel. If we want to stay in the air, we don't have a choice."

"Speaking of Sephiroth, what about him?" Tifa asked. "What happens if he shows up in Costa del Sol while we're gone?"

Freya didn't even bat an eye at that. "Legend and Kemp know what's up right?" She asked Cissnei.

The younger Turk nodded.

Once she'd received confirmation, she turned back to Tifa. "They'll tell us if he shows up. And even if they miss him, if there's anywhere on this continent that Sephiroth might go, where would it be?"

"Nibelheim," Cloud answered immediately.

"That's what I think too. None of the other towns in the area have anything of interest, at least pertaining to him. Corel's a wreck. The Gold Saucer's an entertainment district. Gongaga? Too small. And Cosmo Canyon? He's never shown any interest before. But if we can find a way to work our way back from Nibelheim, I'd say our chances are pretty good that we will run into him again."

"My parents are in Gongaga though," Zack said gravely. "Kunsel, can I see that map for a sec?"

The other SOLDIER handed over and Zack walked over to Freya, holding the map so she could see too. "The only way to get to Nibelheim on foot would be to head around the south end of the continent. He'd have to pass Gongaga to get there."

Freya shook her head. "Yes, but he's not going to just walk in there. It's too far southeast and it would mean going out of his way just to destroy a village he has no connection to and wouldn't care anything about, unless there's something you haven't told me. So far, with the exception of the President, whom he had ample reason to get rid of and was a convenient target at the time, he's only killed anyone who got in his way."

"What were they in the way of, specifically?" Nanaki wondered.

Zack folded up the map and gave it back to Kunsel. "Your guess is as good as mine. There was that whole insanity about the Promised Land when he went to find Jenova in the reactor, but I wouldn't know where to start looking for that."

Aerith looked thoughtful. "The Promised Land… I wonder if it has anything to do with the stories my mother used to tell me."

"You mean, Elmyra?" Zack asked.

"No. My real mother." Aerith sat up straighter, reaching for the bow in her hair and pulling on something wrapped in its folds. When her hand pulled away, Zack realized she held something in her hand that he'd never noticed before. It was a small materia, clear and white. He'd guessed Aerith was adopted. How could she not have been? Otherwise Elmyra would have been under survelliance by the Turks too. "I'm not sure what it is exactly… but what I do know is that she used to say the Cetra are born from the planet, speak with the planet, and unlock the planet. And then… the Cetra will return to the Promised Land. A land that promises supreme happiness. She said I'd find it one day…"

"I wonder what it means," Kunsel mused aloud.

Aerith shrugged. "I wish I knew."

"So what's that white materia?" Nanaki approached the object in her hand, regarding it curiously.

"It was a gift from my mother. It's special." She said with a giggle that completely broke the seriousness of the mood, putting it back in her hair ribbon. "It's good for absolutely nothing."

"Nothing?" Cloud asked.

"Nothing." Aerith confirmed.

Zack wasn't sure if she was telling the truth or deflecting questions, but he didn't mind, as his thoughts drifted back to the previous topic. "Much as I don't particularly want to go back, Nibelheim is just south of Rocket Town, and there is a pretty good reason for us to go."

"That's true," Cissnei agreed, "Rayleigh did want us to take a look around the mansion."

"Why there?" Tifa asked.

"Some of Hojo's notes might be left for one thing," Freya said, "We still only have a rough idea of what he was trying to do in there, and any information we can get for Rayleigh might bring us one step closer to figuring that out for sure."

"I guess it's settled then." Zack looked around at everyone. "Tomorrow, we're going to Rocket Town."

* * *

><p>Tseng took in the streets by lamplight outside the sprawling picture window on the back wall of his office at the Turk headquarters in Junon, contemplating his next move. Thanks to Rufus, he now had confirmation of a number of things. It seemed Zack and Cloud had indeed been involved in the invasion of the Shinra building along with Freya. Further, somehow it seemed they knew about Sephiroth. More important, though it was uncertain where they had gone immediately after fleeing west from the city, he was quite certain that whatever they were doing, they were highly likely to try to find the former general again.<p>

He watched the street crews below as they worked to clean the confetti and other debris off the streets from the parade. They had searched the city for Allen for quite a while, but the renegade Turk had disappeared more completely than a ghost. To be expected, of course. If there was one thing Tseng knew about his former subordinates it was that they were the best at what they did. He didn't think the other renegades would be stupid enough to openly oppose Shinra. More than likely, as he'd pointed out to Rufus, the blonde Turk had simply joined them because he was in the area and had been contacted by Freya. Tseng knew better than anyone the extent of a Turk's loyalties. To him, it wasn't a stretch in the least.

If his former subordinate was keeping true to Turk protocol, Allen probably didn't know much more about Freya's movements than Tseng did, which meant that as tempting as it would be to try and catch him, it would serve no purpose except to divert attention from tasks that were much more pressing, such as tracking down an insane former general that somehow just didn't die.

They'd searched the entire ship thoroughly before Rufus departed with Heidegger, just in case the man turned up, but there hadn't been a trace of him. Jenova on the other hand… It seemed Zack had torched the part of her that had turned up on the deck, but there were enough remnants that the Junon laboratories had been able to identify the dead cells that hadn't been completely flash-fried. It was an interesting conundrum. How had Sephiroth acquired that fragment of Jenova? And what was his aim? Between tracking the former general and trying to find Freya and Zack, he didn't have the manpower to investigate and that was a big problem when it might turn out to be extremely important. It occurred to him that it might be time to outsource.

He gathered the series of reports that littered his desk, looking over them meticulously. Based on their last sighting, the stolen helicopter had been headed west, which meant he already had an idea of where they might be headed. Freya would undoubtedly be aware that Rocket Town was a risk for them, but it was the kind that they had no choice but to take if they wanted fuel, which a helicopter would need after a trip across the ocean. Tseng's plan was also a risk, considering that if the agent in question was spotted, he would be recognized right away, but if they were successful in inserting their operative, it would mean one less task to have to focus on. He reached for his PHS and punched in a number. It rang twice before someone picked up.

"_Tseng?"_ The voice on the other end was a rich, smooth baritone, honed with diplomatic precision.

"Reeve, I'm calling to make use of your services again."

* * *

><p><em>A couple of things to note. First off Kunsel showed us a new limit break this chapter. The details are below.<em>

Loyalty: Level two limit break, based off of, what else? That Cover Materia the party never got. It ups his defense and enables him to cover for other party members easily, like he did for Tifa there.

_Also, in the scene with the helicopters, yes, I know summons can't be used in a single battle more than the number their level is, but how can you enforce that when we're going for more realistic combat? If it's a big issue, just count it as two individual fights. ^^;_


	20. The Unfulfilled Dream

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spinoffs. That honor goes to Square-Enix.

**Part II: Reunion**

* * *

><p>Chapter 20, The Unfulfilled Dream<p>

**December 20****th** **[ ν ] – εуλ 0007**

Freya watched the mountains roll by underneath her as she piloted the helicopter towards Rocket Town. The view was incredible, with the snow-capped peaks dipping into valleys, occasionally revealing a small village or town, but otherwise providing a barrier that prohibited most regular travel along the north end of the continent. After passing over the Corel mountain range and near the Northern Wastes, the tall peaks soon gave way to foothills and then to the gently cresting waves of grassland surrounding a small collection of houses near a rocket on a launch pad. It listed to the side, a forlorn reminder of another failure Shinra refused to admit. It had been over four years since she'd come here for the launch and still, no one had bothered to correct its positioning on the pad. She hoped Cid remembered her, though she certainly didn't want to reopen old wounds.

It was noon as she brought the helicopter into a descent some hundred yards out from the first buildings. Even from this distance, as the helicopter sank below the tree line, the rocket cut a dramatic visage as it rose overhead through the windows of the cockpit. That was before the aircraft sank low enough that the giant towering hulk seemed to line itself up with the sun, making it hard to look at and the lady Turk averted her eyes to the ground. Some of the townsfolk were watching, but no one had stepped forward to meet them.

Cissnei sat next to her in the copilot's seat, also observing the outside environs but her expression was more curious than anything else. She'd never been to Rocket Town before. Without a word, Freya brought the helicopter down near a small stand of trees and cut the engine. Once the propellers slowed to a stop, she pulled off her headset and headed back into the passenger compartment. The door had already been thrown open and Cloud and Yuffie were the first out, though Cloud seemed significantly better off than the young ninja. At least he was still capable of walking in spite of being somewhat uncomfortable. Yuffie just went and sat down by a tree, determined she wasn't going to move for a while.

Zack and Kunsel fell in step behind her as she walked towards the village. There was little notice from the villagers as they passed between the first two shops that marked the edge until the lady Turk paused to talk to someone.

"Excuse me," she said politely.

"Yes?" The man replied.

"I was wondering if Cid's still in charge around here?"

"Oh, the captain? Yeah, you should be able to find him by the rocket."

The Turk nodded in acknowledgement, thanked him, and continued onward. As they approached the rocket, Zack asked "Who's Cid?"

"He was the pilot for Shinra's space program before it went defunct… He's a bit rough around the edges, but he's all right."

"Wait a minute." Kunsel paused, recollection dawning on his face. "Back in Junon there was that airship you and Aerith wouldn't stop looking at. When you say Cid… You know Cid Highwind? The astronaut?"

"I helped him out a little a few years ago."

Kunsel grinned. "Damn Freya, who don't you know?"

"Maybe a few minor celebrities," Freya quipped, "Just the ones that don't matter… Are you a fan by any chance?"

Kunsel shrugged. "The space program was just getting big around the time Zack and I joined SOLDIER, and I was definitely paying attention. It could have opened up a lot of interesting possibilities."

Zack looked thoughtful. "That is pretty neat that they were planning to send someone into space."

"Cid wanted to make it all the way to the moon if he could." The wistful expression was back on Freya's face as they approached the launch site.

"All the way to the moon huh? I wonder what it's like up there."

Freya shrugged. "It's hard to say. As things stand we haven't found out yet." They walked across a couple of bridges crisscrossing over the wiring and tubes splayed out over the ground around the rocket before stopping at a long set of stairs leading up to a ladder. Freya turned to face the others. "It might be best if you guys waited here, it's kind of cramped up there."

"That's fine," Zack agreed.

With that decided, the lady Turk continued up the stairs and started climbing the ladder. The climb was pretty long but eventually she reached the top to come to rest on a catwalk leading to the entrance to the rocket. Careful not to look down, she walked purposefully to the entrance and looked inside, finding herself facing aged access panels, wiring, and rusting metal. Memories of walking in and seeing technicians hard at work flooded through her thoughts, as the painted steel had glistened under their hands and the equipment hummed with life and energy. Now there only stood a single man before the airlock leading to the command deck. He stood with his back to her, polishing away some rust that had collected on a bulkhead.

"It's been a long time Cid," she called out to him leaning against the wall that framed the airlock.

The man in the flight jacket and airman's uniform jerked up with a start at the sound of her voice before turning to face her. "Freya? What're you doin' in this neck of the woods?"

The lady Turk smiled. "Just business at the moment, but it's good to see you too. How have you been?"

The pilot's face hardened as he considered the question. "What the hell do you think? Since the space program's been cancelled I've been sitting up here, rotting my ass away. The rocket tips to the side a little more every year. To be honest, I'm wondering what'll happen first. Will it fall or will I leave?"

"Sorry I asked."

"Don't be. If it weren't for you I'd have lost more than just this old tin can." He banged around in the airlock for a little longer and then decided to change the subject. "You said you had some business?"

Freya nodded. "Yes. You see, I was wondering if I could buy some fuel for a helicopter from you guys. For a good price, of course. You still have the airfield near here, right?"

"Fuel huh? Shit. That ain't a problem. We'll see what we can arrange." He thought for a moment before remembering where he was. "This ain't the place for that kind of talk though. Meet me down at the house. I'm just about finished here."

Freya nodded. "Will do."

She turned around and walked out, carefully heading back along the catwalk. Though as she neared the center of it, she heard Cid call out behind him "And tell that #$%^& Shera to make some tea!"

She was a little surprised by the expletive in relation to the woman, but decided not to risk Cid's temper by asking. She knew from experience that it could be quite fiery. Shera… huh? The name sounded familiar, though she couldn't place it. She paused, taking in the view of the open field. A chill wind blew from the north as she reached the ladder again, and she brushed her bangs out of her eyes, watching the tall grass below bend back and forth in its wake. She could still remember the fireworks and the excitement the day before the launch. She turned to look towards the village. It hadn't been here last time, but now that her eyes landed on a certain aircraft in one of the backyards, she laughed. There was no question whose house was Cid's even if he hadn't told her.

Easing back to the present, she lowered herself over the edge and climbed down the ladder to rejoin Zack and Kunsel.

As she walked down the last few steps, Zack looked up. "How did it go?"

"He's willing to deal. We'll need to go to his house though. He wants to talk there."

"Where's that?" Kunsel asked.

Freya grinned and pointed to a cottage where the Tiny Bronco sat, almost like it was beckoning to its owner up in the rocket, daring him to go for a ride.

"That's a nice looking plane," Zack commented as the group walked towards the cottage.

"It's his pride and joy." Freya led them around the side of the house to the door and knocked.

After a few moments, the door was answered by a mousy woman in glasses and a technician's uniform. She looked at the three of them in surprise before asking uncertainly, "May I… help you?"

Freya offered her a warm smile, though she wondered at that point if it had been the best move to bring two very tall and muscular SOLDIERs with her. She didn't want to scare the poor woman. "Sorry to bother you, I'm a friend of Cid's. Are you Shera?"

The woman nodded. "I am."

"Cid asked me to wait here for him. I don't mean to impose…"

"No, that's all right. Come in." Shera pulled back the door for them, beckoning the three of them inside. As they walked in she gestured to the table with its simple wooden chairs. "I'm afraid it's not much, but make yourselves at home… um…"

"Oh, that's right. We haven't met. I'm Freya, and this is Zack and Kunsel," the lady Turk hurriedly introduced.

"It's nice to meet you." Shera walked over to the sink and started filling a kettle with water. "So, how did you meet the captain?"

"I used to work for Shinra and I had business out here around the time they were going to launch the rocket. I helped him get his plane back when AVALANCHE tried to steal it."

Her eyes lit up slightly, which was a surprisingly dramatic change considering that she looked rather downtrodden by Freya's reckoning. "Now I know who you are. He talked about you before the launch. He was impressed that you did so well flying his plane for the first time."

There was the creak of a door opening as Freya laughed. "Yeah, that was me. I was lucky though. If I'd been in the wrong spot at the wrong time, the fireworks might have scorched it."

"What matters is you brought her back to me." Everyone turned to see Cid walk into the cottage, and almost immediately his gaze flitted to… was she his wife? " #$% Shera, why haven't you served them any tea yet?"

Shera winced when he raised his voice but only mumbled a soft "Sorry…" before going back to the kettle she'd place on the stove.

"Uh… that's okay, you don't have to go to any trouble…" Zack trailed off as Cid turned his attention onto him. The dark-haired SOLDIER was clearly stunned, almost to the point of mortification, and Kunsel shot Freya a worried glance.

"Shut up, sit your ass down in that chair, and drink your goddamn TEA! Or is my hospitality not good enough for you?" It was probably only his military training that kept Zack from jumping back in surprise at the ferocious tone the pilot directed at him before turning his attention back to the Turk. "Freya, when you're ready to deal, I'll be out back with the Tiny Bronco."

Freya kept her tone even as she answered him. "I'll follow you out in a few moments then."

The pilot nodded and walked to the back door. As the door shut behind him Zack let out a breath of air he'd apparently been holding. "Did we make him mad?" He asked anyone who was listening.

Shera shook her head. "No, he's always like this. By his standards, this is actually one of his good days."

"I knew he always was a little crusty, but he was almost civil with me, up at the rocket. Why the change all of a sudden?" Freya wondered aloud.

The other woman smiled sadly. "It's because I made a stupid mistake and destroyed his dream."

Freya remembered, but she remained quiet as Zack asked his next question "What happened?"

Shera realized the water was beginning to boil and she selected a pair of teabags to steep before continuing. "I was always kind of slow in my work," she began, "He used to pick on me endlessly for it, but it wasn't out of spite. He just wanted me to be more efficient."

"That's still no excuse for what we just saw," Kunsel interjected.

Shera shook her head. "He didn't use to be so bitter. He was impatient because he wanted it done. But I wanted to make sure it was done right. After all, if an oxygen tank fails up in space, how is it going to get repaired?"

"Right," Freya agreed.

The technician adjusted her glasses. "Unfortunately, it cost us the launch and the space program. The countdown had already started, but I was still working. I wasn't happy with the tests I'd run on some of the tanks, you see. But mission control got impatient. They told Cid to forget about me, but he didn't want to become a murderer if I didn't finish in time, so he aborted right as the rocket was starting to lift off, to save my life. After that, funding was cut back, and the launch was cancelled. It's my fault that his dream was destroyed."

She took the tea kettle off the stove and prepared some cups as she continued. "It's all right. I don't care what the captain says, or what he calls me. I'll live for him until my last breath."

"I remember that," Freya said sadly. "I heard the news afterward. Cid must have been heartbroken."

"We all were," Shera agreed.

"Kunsel's right though, that's still no excuse. You shouldn't let him treat you that way." Freya walked towards the door, deciding she was ready to go talk to the man they were discussing.

"Don't tell him that, it'll only make him mad," Shera said, bringing the tea tray over to the table. "Please?"

"It's not my job..." She paused as she reached the door leading to the yard. Back in the day, those words would roll off her tongue so easily, and make it okay not to care. Why wasn't it working now? She laughed at herself derisively. Could she really call herself a Turk anymore? Zack must have been rubbing off on her more than she'd thought. She was beginning to think she wasn't sure. But then again, you never left the Turks. She sighed and opened the door to find Cid adjusting the controls for one of the wing flaps.

"There you are," The pilot said, "come over here and toss me that wrench."

The lady Turk looked where he was pointing and saw the implement he desired poking out of a tool box that was sitting on the ground nearby. She picked it up and handed it to him.

"Thanks." Cid continued his adjustments, muttering to himself about what needed to happen next for a few minutes before speaking up. "I can safely say we got the fuel you need. I'm not gonna ask what you need it for, and really I don't care, just make your offer. If you want, I can even arrange it so you can come back as long as you got the gil. I know the guys at the airfield would love to have your business."

"That sounds wonderful, we'd appreciate that. Let's see… how about 4500 gil per tank to start with."

Cid laughed as he reached for one of the cigarettes tucked in the headstrap of his goggles. "Low balling it, huh? I'll play. My starting offer is at 6000, of course there'll be a 500 gil docking fee for using the airfield, but that's no worse than a decent bribe…"

"I'll accept the docking fee, that's more than fair, but oil prices haven't gone up that high in the last few years, and we all know why that is. 4700." Freya climbed up to sit next to the pilot as he worked with one of the propellers.

"Yeah, I know. Gas isn't competing for the power grids any more. But there are fewer oil refineries too. 5850." Cid lit the cigarette and took a belligerent puff as he spoke.

"Even so, the demand is very limited so the supply hasn't had much need to try keeping up, unless you count Shinra, but they only use it as a backup and for some of their vehicles. 4750."

The verbal tennis match continued for quite a while as the two haggled until finally, Cid bellowed "Damnit woman, we ain't runnin' no charity here. 5220!"

"Call it 5200, and I'll say we have a deal."

Cid thought about it for a moment, and then grudgingly held out his hand. "Done! I'll explain things to the guys and they'll have your bird ready first thing in the morning."

"Great!"

"Whatever, just take care of yourself, ya hear? We expect a lot of business from you with this great deal we've hammered out." With that, he turned his attention back to his plane.

The lady Turk couldn't help but smile. There would be no helping this guy when so much had been taken from him. "Hey Cid," she said at last.

He looked up as he was adjusting another piston on a wingflap. "What?"

"I'm still looking forward to hearing those stories about outer space. Don't give up. It'll happen one day."

The pilot took a drag from another cigarette he'd just lit and grunted as she walked back into the house.

* * *

><p>While Zack, Kunsel, and Freya were off negotiating with their contact, the others had been waiting near the edge of town. Eventually however, several of them broke off and decided to go exploring. Cloud had been charged with the task of following Yuffie to make sure she didn't steal anything and was trailing the ninja around town as she explored the various streets, along with Tifa, who seemed to think it was a good idea to get some supplies. They walked along the main road as the younger teenager ambled along in front of them, looking in shop windows and occasionally talking to herself before they approached a crossroads. As Cloud looked off in the distance, he could see the rocket, listing to the side on the launch pad.<p>

Tifa was watching it too, curiously. "I guess that's why they call this place Rocket Town," she mused after a few moments.

"Probably," Cloud said. "But could they really get it off the ground?"

"Of course they could, sonny! They almost did too!" Their attention was drawn to an old man as he walked over to where they were standing. "Would you like to look at it with me?"

Cloud cast a wary glance at Yuffie to make sure she wasn't up to anything, and then shrugged. "I guess so." He thought the old man would take them around the back, but instead, he just stood with them where they were, looking up at it.

Finally he turned to speak with them again. "I'm glad you're willing to indulge me. It's kind of a hobby of mine."

"That's okay," Tifa answered, "We don't mind."

"I appreciate your patience," He turned his attention back to Cloud, "I know we all have our interests. As for you, young man, you look like you might prefer artistry of a different sort. Come here." He ducked back through his front door and returned with what was clearly a sword in his hand. A katana, it appeared. "It's called the Yoshiyuki. They say its owner fights best when his comrades are in danger and his back's against the wall. I don't really have much use for this ol' thing, but you seem like you'd take good care of it."

"You don't have to do that…" Cloud rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"Naw it's all right, take it. I don't need it anyhow." The old guy pressed it into his hands before he could say anything further.

"Uh… thanks." Taking a moment to recover himself as the man went back into his house, Cloud glanced around and spotted Yuffie looking through the window of the item shop with a hungry look in her eyes. Tifa had noticed too and was already heading in that direction. Cloud shrugged, balanced the katana in the loose sheath he carried, next to his regular sword and followed her. Back to minding Yuffie's sticky fingers.

* * *

><p>Sometime in the afternoon, on the outskirts of Costa del Sol, three figures in black suits were headed southwest, following the trail of a fourth man in black, who had come in this direction not half an hour before. Rude was checking the signs in the grass as Reno and Elena talked nearby.<p>

"You told her where I was?" Reno asked.

"I'm really sorry. It was an accident. Though it doesn't look like you ran into her." Elena looked at her shoes, ashamed that she'd slipped up.

"Eh, don't worry about it. You're still new. Just learn to keep it quiet next time, okay?"

They followed Rude a bit further as he followed the other man's trail. As they walked, Reno played with his EMR rod, tossing it in the air and catching it every now and then. As the silence became uncomfortable, Elena fidgeted with the sleeve of her blazer before she spoke again. "Is it true what Freya said? About Sephiroth?"

Reno balanced the rod on his shoulder. "She saw him burn down a whole village, I think she'd know. We only saw the aftermath, but it looked pretty bad."

"He sounds pretty tough."

"Oh he was tough, even for a SOLDIER. But we oughta be able to take him." The redheaded Turk flicked out the rod in a lazy swipe at an invisible enemy, before lifting it in an upward swing. Somehow as he continued his antics, he still managed to keep the conversation casual. "We're Turks after all. And then we're going to make him tell us how the hell he made it out of that reactor."

"If you're sure." Elena still looked worried as Reno balance the rod on one finger in front of him, trying to see how long it would stay up as he walked.

"Don't worry about it," he said.

Even so, Elena was worried about it. Tseng had given her the files on everyone Freya was traveling with, including Zack. It had taken no fewer than six Turks, including Reno and Rude, slowly wearing him down before he could be recaptured, and even then, there had been injuries. She'd seen him fight too. Even with that heavy sword, he was fast. If Sephiroth was quicker and hit harder than Zack, then she privately wondered if they wouldn't have some problems if it came down to a fight. It gave her plenty of food for thought as they continued to follow the trail south.

* * *

><p>Barret was waiting near the helicopter when Freya, Zack, and Kunsel returned from negotiations. "Good news!" Freya called out cheerfully. "We've got fuel!"<p>

Cissnei looked out from the door of the passenger compartment. She'd been running equipment checks while everyone else was gone. "Great!" She called back.

"I can't believe that guy though." Kunsel shook his head as he set his sword against a nearby tree and pulled out some rations. "I know he's a friend of yours Freya, but how is it okay for him to treat Shera like that?"

"It's not. But she didn't want us to do anything, so we shouldn't meddle in it. It's simple as that. Doesn't mean I have to like it."

"What happened?" Barret asked.

"The guy was a total asshole to his wife, pretty much right in front of us. I don't get how she puts up with him," Zack explained.

"You want me to go teach the #$%^& a lesson?"

"Please don't," Freya said quickly, "I only just got done negotiating for our fuel, we don't need damage costs too." She turned her attention to Cissnei. "We'll need to fly the helicopter over to the airfield once Cid let's us know he's cleared it with the staff there."

"Got it…" Cissnei voiced her acknowledgement but it was quickly cut off as she was distracted by a noise, which Zack soon realized was coming from her PHS. "Legend?..." There was quiet for a little while as she listened to whatever the other Turk was telling her before she finally said "Okay, I'll let them know." He heard rustling as she placed the device back in her pocket and then she climbed out onto the grass.

"What's the story?" Kunsel asked.

"Sephiroth was spotted in Costa del Sol and he is now headed south. Reno, Rude, and Elena are following him. Rufus and Heidegger seem content to watch from a distance for now."

Zack's expression hardened. "Do you really think he's headed for Nibelheim?"

"Where else would he go?" Freya asked.

"I don't know… something just doesn't feel right about this." He ran a hand through his dark spikes.

"I understand, but if we can get the information we're looking for and can head him off, we've killed two birds with one stone right?" the lady Turk offered placatingly.

Zack sighed. "I'm not changing the plan. We're still going to Nibelheim. I just have a bad feeling." It was at that moment when Aerith returned with Nanaki, and just after her, Cloud and Tifa were dragging Yuffie, who seemed to be very put out over something.

"What's got you all bent out of shape?" He asked the ninja as Cloud and Tifa let go of her in the middle of the clearing.

"They wouldn't let me stay in the shop by myself," Yuffie grumbled.

"Maybe we'd be more willing if you gave us a reason to trust you around other people's materia." Cloud suggested calmly.

Yuffie scowled at him before going over to sit next to Nanaki, putting an arm around him as though he would shield her from the blonde swordsman, but didn't say anything else. Nanaki simply ignored the gesture and pretended to be asleep.

They were all distracted from the current discussion as a man in a now familiar flight jacket walked into the clearing. "Here ya are." Cid puffed at his cigarette. "I talked to the guys at the airfield for you. They say to come on over."

"Thanks," Freya answered him.

"You can tell them we'll have our helicopter there in a few minutes," Cissnei added.

Cid nodded and then turned to head back towards the rocket. Freya sighed. "I guess we should go. Why don't you guys see if you can find rooms at the inn? We'll join you in a little bit."

* * *

><p>As the afternoon wore on near Nibelheim, a dark-haired man with glasses and plain brown clothes walked along the road, carrying a ruck sack. He was nothing more than a traveler by all appearances, except for the katana at his hip, and the scar marking the side of his face. Mao looked out over the rolling foothills and the rooftops of the small hamlet off in the distance and felt himself tense. Years of being a Turk had trained him to notice when things were off, and while he knew very well that Shinra had rebuilt the village after Sephiroth destroyed it, there was something else disquieting about the place now that set him completely on edge.<p>

It had been nearly two months since he'd left Cissnei and Freya with Zack and his friends and since then, he'd been traveling on his own, enjoying the peaceful adventure of simply taking in the world. While there had been that one time in Cosmo Canyon, where his presence had attracted Jade WEAPON's attention and he'd contacted Veld after it had fled the area, for the most part, he'd been completely out of contact with the other Turks.

Now however… he rushed through the trees and brush towards the village, silent save for the occasional swish of a branch as he passed. A few minutes later, he was looking out over the village from a bluff, watching the goings on with curiosity. Yes, the place had been rebuilt, but now that he looked around, he didn't see many villagers. Instead, wandering around the place were a number of strange-looking figures in black cloaks. He listened intently as they shuffled listlessly around the village, alert for any sign of a threat, or an answer to the absolute wrongness he felt about these… were they people? He wasn't entirely sure.

He crept closer as the wind began to pick up. There was a storm rolling in from the west. He could tell from the way the air pressure was changing. He'd probably want to get his tent up soon, preferably somewhere a ways away so as not to attract attention. First however, he decided to get a closer look at these strange beings.

He neared the outermost buildings of the town as the first edges of a dark thunderhead began rolling over the mountains in the distance. As he positioned himself at a vantage point where he was within earshot of the nearest cloaked figure, he started to hear it muttering. Most of it was unintelligible, but there were a few words that stood out. "Must… get… for… Sephiroth…become one… Reunion…"

The low and distant roar of thunder off in the distance alerted him once again to the fact that he needed to get to shelter and so he retreated, going back to a small, ravine with a spot flat enough to pitch a tent. It didn't take him long to put up his shelter, and he quickly put up the rainfly before crawling in. He considered his next move as the thunder grew louder, before reaching into his rucksack and pulling out a PHS. He had no idea what was going on here or even whether or not there was a way to proceed. But where he knew nothing about this, maybe Veld or one of the others might have a better understanding of this disquieting phenomenon. If nothing else, it was worth reporting to the former director. One never knew when such information might prove useful to someone.

* * *

><p>A couple of hours had passed, and Zack had reserved a couple of rooms. Most of the group dispersed since they had plenty of time before the helicopter would be ready. Zack, Cloud, and Kunsel were passing the time training in a nearby field though they'd probably be coming in shortly to eat. Aerith had been watching them along with Tifa for a while. Yuffie was there too, but had decided to prove her prowess by sparring with the guys and had quickly worn herself out. After a bit, Aerith wandered off on her own, as inspiration struck. She walked away to a stand of trees, her staff in hand, and once she was out of sight, she assumed a forward stance. She brought the rod up in a block before bringing her weapon down in a hard swing. She then whirled around to bring it into a forward thrust, before pulling back and swiping it across.<p>

"You really shouldn't just run off like that. There might be Nibel Wolves running around." She looked up to see Zack leaning against a tree watching her.

"I'll try not to next time." Aerith smiled sheepishly.

"No worries. So, are you practicing?"

Aerith held the staff upright in her hand, the tip contacting the ground as she nodded. "I thought we might be doing some more fighting and if that's the case, I want to be ready."

Zack regarded her for a moment before walking over. "I could help, if you want."

"Really?"

"Of course I would! Anything for my favorite flower girl." Zack put on his most infectious grin as he rubbed his hands together; ready to get down to work. "Why don't you show me your fighting stance first?"

Aerith complied holding her staff at the ready.

Zack walked around her, evaluating. "Okay, first thing I'm noticing is that you need to widen your stance just a little bit. He tapped the ground a few inches out from her shoe with his own booted foot.

"All right." She adjusted slightly so that her foot was positioned where he'd indicated.

"Try also adjusting the hold you have on your weapon." He stepped out of her sight, gently putting his arms around her so that he could move her hands to the positions he'd indicated before moving back to her front so that she was facing him. "Now, take a swing at me."

"Won't I hurt you?" She asked, a little nervously.

"Don't worry about it. I can take it." He assumed a defensive stance. "You ready?"

"I guess so."

"Go ahead."

She nodded and then brought it forward in a downward motion. Zack easily caught the weapon in his hand, but as he did so, he offered an encouraging smile. "Did you feel the extra power there?"

"Yeah, I did."

"Okay, why don't you try it again?" He relinquished his hold on her weapon and readied himself. Again she swung at him, and this time he dodged. They worked at it for a few minutes, going back and forth. Aerith swung one last time as Zack caught the weapon in his hand, listening for sounds she couldn't hear. "I think that's enough for now. Kunsel and Cloud are probably getting tired of sparring. I don't hear them anymore," he said at last.

"Okay." She stepped forward and gave him a small hug. "Thanks," she whispered.

"Anytime." He upped the ante with a short kiss to her forehead. "Do you feel good about it?"

The mischief in her smile mirrored his own. "Those Nibel Wolves won't stand a chance." They started back towards the field where Cloud and Kunsel were training. As they walked, Aerith felt Zack encircle her hand with one of his own. It was strong but gentle through the worn leather of his gloves. "When we were in Junon" She began, "Freya pointed out an airship that she said Cid built. He's really talented."

"He'd have to be if they wanted to send him into space," Zack agreed.

"I think I'd like to fly in that airship once. Just to see what it's like." She continued.

Zack shrugged. "Maybe I'll take you on it someday."

"That would be really nice," Aerith agreed. They continued back towards the clearing where the sound of clashing swords had quieted. As they approached, she saw that the two of them were sitting under the shade of a nearby tree, drinking water from their canteens in silence. They both looked up as they heard them return and Cloud stood, bringing the sword Zack had given him around in a wide circle before sliding into his sword harness.

Aerith giggled as she saw it. "He's picking up some of your bad habits," she teased.

"Who says they're bad habits?" Zack returned.

As though sensing they were talking about him, Cloud promptly looked down at the ground, sheepishly. Zack let go of Aerith and walked over to where the Buster Sword rested against another tree, also twirling it in the air playfully before setting it against his own back. It was at that point when he noticed the extra hilt peeking out of Cloud's sword harness. "Where'd you find the extra sword?"

Cloud pulled it out and showed it to his friend. "Some guy in town just gave it to me. I told him he didn't have to but he wouldn't take no for an answer."

"This is a nice katana." Zack held the blade up to the light appreciatively before swishing it lightly through the air. Done with his inspection, he handed it back to Cloud. "I could show you a couple of things with that later, if you want?"

"Sure." Cloud returned the sword to his harness.

It looked like they were about to come back inside, and Aerith saw that Tifa looked like she was about to walk back to the inn. She hurried over to join the martial artist, and they had just walked behind one of the trees when she heard Zack speak again behind her. "Are you okay with this?"

Aerith paused as she heard Cloud answer, "With what?"

"Nibelheim. The fact that we're going back." Tifa had also stopped, and they looked at each other, guilt written on their faces over their eavesdropping, but neither of them had moved.

"Are you?" Kunsel spoke up.

"Not really. I told you what happened there. If circumstances were different, we wouldn't go anywhere near the place." Zack paused. "Sorry Cloud, I know it used to be your home."

"Don't worry about it. I can't say I'm looking forward to going back either, but if it'll give us some answers, we should, right?"

"You're right, but…" Aerith could almost imagine her boyfriend rubbing the back of his neck. "A lot of terrible stuff happened there. Sephiroth was bad enough, but… you don't have to go into the mansion if you don't want to… That was where Hojo…" He paused, collecting his thoughts before going on, "But if you do… you won't face it alone, okay?"

There was silence for a few moments and then she heard Cloud answer "You won't either."

"I think we've heard enough." Aerith whispered. Tifa nodded and the two of them continued walking.

As they neared the edge of town, Tifa seemed to be deep in thought. "I'm not sure I want to go back to Nibelheim either, to be honest."

"That's right, you were there too, weren't you." Aerith noted.

The martial artist nodded. "Cloud was right next to me the whole time, and I didn't know it."

Aerith smiled. "Do you like him?"

"Um… well, we grew up together," Tifa said.

"That must have been nice."

"He used to get into fights all the time."

She stared at Tifa in disbelief. "Really?"

Tifa nodded. "I don't know why though. The reasons always seemed silly."

"I guess he grew up a little before I met him." They walked a little further as Aerith continued. "In some ways, Zack hasn't changed a bit. He's still as sweet and nice as he always was, but in other ways… Whatever happened in that mansion really hurt both of them, and they're still trying to get through it. But I don't intend to let them face it alone either."

"You aren't the only one." Aerith looked up to see Freya and Cissnei behind them as they neared the inn. It was Cissnei who had spoken. "Freya was there, and while I wasn't, Zack's my friend too. We'll all be there."

Tifa smiled. "So will I."

They were about to walk into the inn when they heard Yuffie give out an undignified squawk. "Hey! Let go of me!"

"Then keep your hands off of my materia, you little scamp." The four of them looked up to see Kunsel holding onto Yuffie at arm's length, keeping her away from the bangle on his opposite arm.

The little ninja tried futilely to get him to release her from his grip and finally relented. "Okay, I give up, you can let me go now." The second his hand released her arm, she took a combative stance. "Come on and fight! I'll teach you to mess with the White Rose of Wutai!" She dived forward with a punch to his gut, which the SOLDIER didn't even bother to dodge. Instead Yuffie pulled back, holding her hand in pain. "Ow!"

Kunsel shook his head in pity for the girl before walking past her, this time, keeping the bangle with his materia well out of reach. "Next time, don't try to take on enemies that are out of your league. I won't try to kill you. Someone else might." He said over his shoulder.

Yuffie scowled and folded her arms in a huff.

As the other four women walked into the inn, Aerith beckoned that Yuffie join them, hopefully to keep her out of further trouble. They were almost to the stairs when Cissnei's PHS buzzed again. When she pulled it out of her pocket and saw who it was she answered quickly and her tone was one of complete surprise. "Mao?"

* * *

><p>That night, a small figure crept through the shadows at the airfield. From a distance, most people probably wouldn't have noticed the little cat, though if one were a little closer, they might have realized that it was hardly a normal feline. If anything, it looked like a stuffed toy with its gaudy red cape, tiny crown, and little boots. Cait Sith had been flown in early that morning. His mission: To stay out of sight and observe Zack and Freya's group as best he could. He couldn't join them directly. The two renegade Turks would have recognized him and his connection to Reeve a mile away. So instead, the little robot crept across the airfield with admittedly catlike grace, towards the helicopter, staying in the shadows where he could, avoiding the warm glow of the lights around the fueling station. When he was as close as he could get, he darted under the helicopter and stealthily began searching for a way inside.<p>

The little robot froze as he heard the sound of one of the airfield security guards yawning nearby. The guard walked along the tarmac, checking for any sign of movement but saw nothing. Cait Sith remained crouched in the shadow of the helicopter until he was a good distance away, and then crawled up the fuselage to work the lock on the main hatch. Soon, he had it open and had slipped inside, pulling it closed after him. It wasn't long before he had settled into one of the more out of the way storage compartments and curled up like the cats his creator had decided to emulate when building him.

* * *

><p><em>No limit breaks this time, but I can guarantee there will be a few next time. As well as some more mystery, and angsting... I'll leave it there for now. ^^<em>

_Also, a quick note: By my calculations, had this been the original timeline, the party would be still retroactively regrouping in Costa Del Sol right now, in stead of um... not recruiting Cid... Don't get me wrong, he's one of my favorite characters, but no one's here to steal the Tiny Bronco... again... at least for the time being... Make of that what you will. Until next time! ^^_


	21. Descent into the Nightmare

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spinoffs. That honor goes to Square-Enix.

**Part II: Reunion**

* * *

><p>Chapter 21, Descent into the Nightmare<p>

**December 21****st** **[ ν ] – εуλ 0007**

The next morning found everyone at the airfield, preparing to board the helicopter to fly over the mountains. Cid hadn't bothered coming to see them off. When Freya had asked, the flight crew told her he had most likely gone back to the rocket. Cissnei was privately relieved. Better that there was no further risk of any altercations over what had happened with Shera. As Freya and Cissnei ran the pre-flight checks, the others were hard at work, loading up supplies. The younger Turk was finishing conducting her visual inspection and had gone back into the cockpit where Freya was checking the switches and rotor position.

"All green on the visual." She dropped into the copilot's seat.

Freya did not look up as she continued working with the control panel. "Got it. Are we almost loaded?"

"Kunsel says it's only a couple more minutes." Cissnei looked out over the airfield, taking it in with a sigh.

"Something wrong?" Freya asked.

The younger Turk shook her head. "No, just thinking." There was a lot to think about. Apparently Mao had been directed to them by Veld after he'd called the former director from Nibelheim. Those strange people in black cloaks were definitely worrisome. But not nearly as worrisome as what they were muttering. What could it mean? Her old partner had instructed them to meet him outside the village upon their arrival. In the meantime, he planned to investigate the village, though he would leave the mansion until they arrived. Shortly afterward, they had contacted Dr. Rayleigh. The doctor had been understandably curious about the cloaked figures, but after she heard that one of them had mentioned the word "Reunion", she had immediately asked Freya to collect samples from one of them if possible. If they were capable of communication, she did stipulate that it be with permission (much to Freya's indignation on it being assumed that as Turks, they wouldn't at least try to ask first), but this development was definitely cause for concern.

Zack didn't recall seeing any of these strange cloaked figures when he'd left the village, but that could easily be written off as him being too busy escaping with Cloud to pay much attention to what noncombatants in the village were doing. She hadn't seen anyone either when she'd come to investigate. She wrapped her arms around herself as she leaned back in the seat, remembering how thin both men had looked after the escape. The hollow, empty, look in Cloud's eyes that had remained until even a little after the Turks had captured them in the wastes. The determined but fearful glint in Zack's when they stood facing each other on the beach. When she had decided she would risk everything to save him. She still hadn't even told him her real name. She knew she could never take Aerith's place in the SOLDIER's heart, but part of her still yearned to at least have her feelings acknowledged…

…"_You let him go didn't you?" She was sitting alone in the bar after returning from the mission to Nibelheim. There was no lying to her dark-haired partner. Mao himself had been from Gongaga once, though he'd left at a fairly young age. Zack wouldn't have been old enough to know him before he'd traveled to Wutai, back when there was still an illusion of peace. Even so, she'd talked at length to Mao about him, and the swordsman Turk was no fool. He was old enough to recognize infatuation when he saw it._

_She nursed her drink carelessly and didn't answer, her thoughts on the SOLDIER whom she hoped was miles away from Nibelheim by now. Mao sat down next to her, ordering a beer. "I'm only saying this because you're my partner, but… listen. You do realize where he's headed, right? You know he's not going to give up on the Ancient just because you saved his skin, right?"_

_Cissnei remained quiet. Mao looked hard at her as his lips moved, speaking her real name, imploringly, before going on. "This is a big risk. If anyone finds out what you've done, you're throwing away your career with Shinra and possibly your safety." he looked away from her, running a hand down the scar lining his face. "I know you don't like what I'm saying, but… I'm worried."_

_Cissnei looked up at him, her eyes filling with tears. Mao had been her partner from the beginning, and after leaving the orphanage, he was the closest thing to a big brother she'd ever known. She felt her voice cracking into a sob as she spoke. "I know…"_

"Cissnei?" Freya's voice called her back to the present.

"Hmm?"

"I'm almost done with pre-flight. Could you check on everyone else's progress?"

"Oh, right. Sure." She climbed out of her seat and headed back into the passenger compartment. The timing was perfect, as Cloud had just brought in the last of the supplies and the others were starting to find their seats. Zack came in after Cloud after having done a final check around the vehicle to make sure they hadn't forgotten anything before asking Cissnei "So, are we all set?" No one missed the fake cheerfulness in his voice.

"Yes. We'll head out in just a minute," she answered before ducking back into the cockpit to give Freya the all clear. A few minutes later, the helicopter was flying south, towards the village where the nightmares had all started.

* * *

><p>It was still morning when the chopper began to descend a few hundred yards away from the village's main entrance. As it lowered, Cloud looked out over the familiar houses in shock. It was exactly as he remembered growing up. Looking beside him he saw that Tifa had come to the same conclusion. This couldn't be right. No, more than that, it was beyond wrong.<p>

Freya brought the helicopter in for a touchdown and as everyone got out, he saw Mao waiting for them a safe distance away. Cissnei brushed past him, a smile on her face as she hurried forward, putting her arms around the other Turk in a hug. "It's good to see you too." The swordsman laughed as she pulled away.

Cissnei spent a moment looking him over, taking in his traveling clothes before the others caught up. "Anything new?" Freya asked as she approached.

The sword-wielding Turk shook his head. "No, they're still wandering around aimlessly. I did what you asked and tried to talk to one of them, but they just keep rattling on about that thing they're calling Reunion. Makes my skin crawl to be honest."

"Well, I got the equipment, so I guess if we can't reason with them, we'll have to do this the old fashioned way," Freya said.

At that point Cloud felt Tifa's hand on his shoulder. "I don't want to hear any more of that. Let's take a look around."

"You sure that's a good idea?" He asked.

"I've got you with me, don't I?" Tifa looked back at him with one of her gentle smiles, and Cloud shrugged.

"I guess you do."

Zack had apparently heard them talking because the taller SOLDIER appeared behind them. "I'll go with you. I think the others'll look around for a bit too, but we're going to meet up in front of the mansion at about noon. We'll be handling that as a group."

"All right." Cloud made sure his two swords were secure and then the two swordsmen followed Tifa to the village entrance. As they reached the main entrance, he heard two more sets of footsteps behind him and saw that Aerith and Kunsel had caught up with them. He allowed them to pull level with Zack before following Tifa to the house that used to be hers. She walked up to the old familiar door, first knocking and then finding it not quite latched and letting herself in. Upon entering, Cloud had to admit, it looked very much like the house his friend had grown up in, but there were subtle differences a craftsman would not have been able to account for. The biggest difference, however, were the two hunched figures wandering around in the main entrance.

They didn't even seem to be aware they had visitors. They just lurched about, muttering to themselves. "Sephiroth… must find it... become… one… Reunion…"

Tifa gave them a wide berth as she walked to the stairs and started to climb them. Cloud kept pace with her. Odd, how this place stood out to him as so familiar, yet he could only really recall being here maybe once or twice. She walked to her room and stood at the door, looking in with a pained expression. This was so wrong. Cloud remembered the flames on his face as the village had burned to the ground. None of this should be here…

The martial artist walked over to the piano for a second, running her hands along the ivory keys, before returning to the door where Cloud and the others waited respectfully. "I think I've seen all I want to see here," she said softly. "Let's go."

Cloud nodded before allowing her to pass him as they returned back to the first floor and out. They looked around the village before Cloud's eyes landed on the house he had once shared with his mother, and found himself walking towards it. In his mind, he could almost see her, throwing the door open to him, welcoming him back home, but he knew it wasn't going to happen even as he knocked. To his surprise, the door opened revealing an unfamiliar older woman. "May I help you?" she asked.

It took a moment for Cloud to find his words. "…I lived in this house until I was fourteen… but this town was burned down..."

The women's face suddenly constricted in fear. "Are you sick… saying those things? Get away from here!" With that, she slammed the door in his face.

Cloud stood there for a moment, stunned before Zack walked up behind him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Come on, let's go." He allowed his friend to guide him away as the others followed until they stood near the water tower.

"It's okay Zack, I'm all right, I think," he said.

"If you're sure. Why don't we take a moment to calm down though, okay?" It was at then that he realized his fists were clenched at his sides and allowed them to relax. On seeing the movement Zack let go of him. "That's better. Was there anything else we needed to see here or are we ready to go?"

"I think we've seen more than we want of this already," Tifa said angrily.

Zack shifted his weight nervously, rolling his shoulders and stretching as though to shake out tension. "I hate to say it, but if we go into the mansion, it's probably going to get worse from here."

* * *

><p>"Must… get… it… Sephiroth… where are you?... Reunion…" The cloaked woman the Turks had subdued behind one of the houses continued to mumble as she lay on the ground, easily restrained by a pair of handcuffs behind her back as Mao kept her in a regulation hold for subduing suspects. Cissnei exposed the woman's arm as Freya applied a tourniquet and inserted the needle. The woman didn't even seem to react to the pain, which was probably the most unnerving aspect of the whole thing. Once the procedure was complete, the lady Turk pulled back the hood, doing her professional best not to wince at the deathly white hair on a scalp that had definitely once been covered by more, and collected a sample. Having acquired the lock of white strands, she placed it in a sealed bag next to the ones already containing a swab with skin cells and the vial of blood.<p>

"All right, done. We can let her go now." She removed the gloves she was wearing and disposed of them in a fourth bag which Cissnei promptly burned using a Fire materia.

Mao undid the cuffs and backed away with a look bordering on disgust as the hooded figure shambled away like nothing had happened. "There is definitely something wrong with these people," He observed.

"Agreed." Freya picked up the bags. "The cooler in the chopper is prepped right?"

"Already taken care of. It's properly insulated, and filled with plenty of dry ice," Cissnei confirmed.

"Good." Without another word, the three renegades walked back to the helicopter to stow the samples before the planned meeting at the mansion's gate.

* * *

><p>When Cloud arrived at the mansion with the others who'd gone to investigate the village, he saw that Barret and Nanaki were waiting for them at the gate.<p>

"This place gives me the shivers," Barret commented, looking over the wrought iron fence.

"You're not alone there," Zack replied. He joined the gunman in staring up at the mansion, his jaw set in an uncharacteristically serious expression.

Aerith walked up behind Zack and took his left hand in both of hers. "Are you all right?" she asked.

"No," he admitted, "But that doesn't matter. Once the Turks get here, we're going in."

Cloud walked up to the fence, resting his hand on the gate. The place was old, and probably in disrepair. There was definitely something ominous about the old house. He would have felt it, even if he hadn't known what had happened to him and Zack here. He couldn't remember what had happened to stir this reaction in his thoughts, but he found he was somewhat afraid, and yet, oddly, drawn to the place. It was a disquieting thing to realize this was where he and Zack had both been… where Hojo had made them into what they were now. His hand tightened on the iron bars. Guilt twisted his gut as he realized his own weakness had made getting out of here so much harder. If only he hadn't been so useless they might have been able to escape sooner…

"Hey, somethin' wrong?" He heard Barret behind him.

He released the gate and looked up at the black man with a noncommittal shrug. That was when they heard three sets of footsteps and looked down the trail. Freya, Cissnei, and Mao were walking up the hill and as they approached, Freya asked "Is everyone here?"

Once everyone sounded off to the affirmative, they cautiously swung open the gate and walked in towards the mansion's two large front doors. Kunsel and Mao approached first, each grabbing a door and pulling them open so everyone else could walk inside. There was a collective intake of breath from everyone who hadn't been here before as they took in the foyer with its vaulted ceiling and dusty chandelier. The room was backlit by sunlight filtering through the three towering windows on the wall behind the balcony connecting the second floor, which was accessible by a set of stairs curving up from the right of the foyer.

As they stood there, taking in the ominous silence of the place, Cissnei took a couple of steps forward, looking down at the floor as Freya walked up behind her. "Someone's been here since the last time I investigated," she observed. "Might even have been Hojo, I'm not sure."

"You came here?" Zack asked.

"After I found you and Cloud," Cissnei confirmed. "Unfortunately, Veld was here too and my investigation got a little derailed."

"What happened?"

"AVALANCHE happened, and then the army happened. The president let Scarlet off her leash and said she could try to take us out because I was spotted helping Veld look for the support materia." The younger Turk thought for a moment before speaking again. "I wonder if Vincent knows anything about Hojo's last stay here. It might be good to ask him."

"Who the hell's Vincent?" Barret demanded.

Cissnei ignored him and walked to the library. "I don't know if they moved the key to the room where they kept his coffin or not. Fan out, maybe we can find a clue…"

"Coffin?" Yuffie exclaimed, slightly alarmed. "What is he, a vampire?"

Cissnei shrugged. "He didn't say, but according to Veld, he used to be a Turk."

The group dispersed searching around for clues, though it wasn't long before Nanaki spotted a scrap of paper in the small office off the foyer. He approached Zack with it in his mouth.

"What'cha got there?" The SOLDIER asked.

"I found it in the other room. I think there's more than one kind of ink on it. There's a portion that smells different from the rest of the paper."

After calling everyone back to the foyer, Zack unfolded the paper and read it aloud. "I must get rid of all of those who stand in the way of my research. Even that one from the Turks. I scientifically altered him and put him to sleep in the basement. If you want to find him, then search the area. But… this is merely a game I thought of. You don't have to participate if you don't want to." As he read, another scrap of paper fell out from behind the first and Cloud snatched it up before it hit the floor to return it to his friend. Zack thanked him and then looked at the new piece of paper. "It says we need to try to open the safe, and it looks like there are clues to the numbers that'll get it open."

Zack read off the clues and then everyone dispersed again, going off in groups of two and three. Cloud found Tifa next to him as they followed Yuffie up the stairs and to the left as Freya and Kunsel went right across the balcony. He found that he vaguely remembered this part of the mansion. He'd been asked to guard the area and had run some errands for Zack up here during the week leading up to Sephiroth's rampage. It seemed odd to be back here, especially given what Zack had said about the aftermath.

The three of them wandered into the first room on the right and found themselves in a library, though one wall was taken up by a writing desk and a rather large safe. "I guess that's what we're trying to open, huh?" Yuffie tried to take a stab at conversation.

"I guess," Cloud agreed. They walked around the room for a bit, searching for anything that might correspond to the clues, but eventually decided to move on. Tifa led the way to the door at the end of the hall and as she pushed it open, Cloud found they were in a greenhouse filled with potted plants, but at the center of the room, sat a box.

"Hmm… plants expel oxygen, don't they?" Tifa mused aloud.

Cloud walked forward and checked the lid. Lo and behold, the number was there. One down.

* * *

><p>It was several minutes later when everyone convened in the library. Kunsel knelt in front of the safe with Freya next to him as Zack read out the numbers, which he'd scrawled in the margins as everyone else had reported their findings.<p>

"I think we're ready," Zack said, once everyone sounded off.

"Hang on. That's only three clues," Kunsel interjected. "Where's the last one?"

"Maybe the guy who wrote the note couldn't count?" Yuffie suggested.

Zack snorted derisively. "Not likely…" Then he remembered what Nanaki had said earlier. "You said there was more than one kind of ink on this note didn't you?"

The red lion nodded. "I could smell it."

"I've got an idea. Does anyone have a light?" Zack looked around at the crowd in the room. Everyone checked their pockets until finally Mao came up with a small lighter he generally used for starting campfires. Zack clicked it on and held it carefully under the paper. As the others gathered around, his expression became one of triumph, and if he wasn't holding the lighter, he would have fist-pumped the air. "We've got it."

Kunsel placed a hand on the dial as Zack began to read out the combination. "Okay, the first number is right 36."

The brown-haired 1st turned the dial and it clicked.

"Left, 10." The dial clicked again.

"Right, 59." Another click.

"Right, 97."

Almost as soon as Kunsel clicked the last number, the door unsealed, and then, his hazel eyes widened and he promptly threw his weight against the door as the safe gave an eerie shudder.

Freya gave him a surprised look. "Is something wrong?"

The most anyone could get from him at that point was "Weapons! Now!" And then he was thrown across the room as whatever it was inside the safe suddenly burst loose.

A huge red and purple… thing… started filling the space in the library as everyone backed out the door and began to take position along the balcony. Zack and Cloud stayed behind to cover Kunsel as he picked himself up and the monster swung a long red tentacle at the two of them. They held stance as the brown-haired SOLDIER joined their ranks, casting Barrier on Cloud and then on Zack in quick succession.

The monster brushed past them (though how it managed to squeeze out the library door, much less fit in the safe, remained a mystery too large to ever be solved) and took a flying leap down into the foyer below. The three swordsmen hurried after it while Freya fired a blast from the balcony and Barret let loose a barrage from his gun arm. Mao joined them, leaping after it to slice at the monster's purple half with his katana as the SOLDIERs flew down the stairs.

As soon as blade met flesh, the monster howled with rage. Zack raced in, covering Mao's escape as it brought up a huge arm to swing and he blocked it, before Cloud also jumped forth, bringing a powerful swing at the monster's gut. It let go of Zack's blade and swung with its red tentacle, sending the three SOLDIERs flying towards the stairs. Zack crashed into the ground, wincing but otherwise okay, as he picked himself up and saw that Mao had managed to get behind the monster, sheltering in a spot under the stairs that wasn't quite as easy to hit.

Channeling a limit break, he shouldered the Buster Sword, diving in as memories of Angeal tempered his fists and he landed blow after blow on his target. Somewhere above him, he felt the temperature drop while Freya used Blizzara and he rolled out of the way before he too could get caught in the spell. His attention temporarily distracted by the lady Turk, the monster hopped back up to the balcony with a roar, attempting to grab at Freya but only managed to knock her aside as she rolled away. Barret only just managed to pull Aerith out of the attack range as Nanaki began casting.

"Tifa!" He heard Cloud racing for the stairs as the martial artist began casting a spell next to the flame-tailed lion and almost at the same time as he caused the beast to erupt in flames, poisonous green acid dripped into the monster's face. It roared again, releasing its hold on the balustrades as it fell back down to Zack and Kunsel.

Zack felt another limit break channel up on the balcony as Freya fired a particularly powerful shotgun blast at their enemy. The ammunition combusted on impact with a loud bang, knocking the beast back for a few moments before he noticed it beginning to change again. It was shifting into a new form, turning red, with a shaggy mane of hair and tentacles arching out where the arms used to be. Shiva, what was this thing?

Not to be outdone, Cloud paused at the landing on the stairs, and held his sword upright before slicing the air with a two handed strike and sending a beam of energy at the monster. Zack and Kunsel both jumped, angling their swords into the fur as it roared again before backing off as two shuriken hit their mark from the far side of the balcony. It was then that a flaming monster materialized on top of their opponent and Zack saw that Aerith stood in front of Barret, her hand out and the Ifrit materia glowing in the bangle on her wrist. Ifrit engulfed his target before disappearing, leaving the hairy monster dead on the floor.

Zack shouldered the Buster Sword with a sigh of relief and then looked up at his girlfriend with a grin. "Thanks Aerith!"

The Cetra leaned on the balustrades at the landing. "Is everyone okay?"

"I think we are, mostly," Cloud said as he walked past her, his eyes on Tifa, appraising whether or not she'd been injured. To Zack, she seemed all right, but as Tifa's gaze met the blonde swordsman's, Cloud seemed to remember himself and looked away, turning a little red at his own concern. Everyone regrouped on the balcony with Zack in the lead as they cautiously made their way back into the library. It seemed to be empty of any further monsters. Something glittered at Zack's left boot as he entered and he picked up what seemed to be another summon materia. Odin, from the feel of it.

He pocketed the materia and moved out of the way as Kunsel tried once again to look into the safe. As Cissnei stood next to him he pulled out what looked to be a book of some kind, which Nanaki recognized, saying that it belonged to Cosmo Canyon and asked that it be placed among his belongings in the small sack he carried. There was also a small key. Cissnei picked it up and looked at it. "I think this is it," she said. "Come on, he's probably still in the same chamber."

* * *

><p>Across the Western Continent at the Gold Saucer, a man walked through the crowds towards the Battle Square. As Dyne approached the man standing at the entrance, a woman screamed, diving into one of the tunnels leading to a different part of the Saucer. He had raised the gun grafted to his left arm and unleashed a barrage of bullets on those standing in his wake. He let out a cry of hopeless anguish as he wreaked his desperate vengeance on the guards who were coming into the lobby to stop him, trying vainly to subdue him. Eventually, he was the only one there, as everyone lay still. He looked around as though unsure what to do, angry tears falling down his face, and then, as though following orders, he walked until he came to the trap door leading down to Corel Prison. Oddly fitting, he thought, that written around the hole in lacquer and paint, were the words, Gateway to Heaven.<p>

He could already hear the guards coming as he lifted the door and climbed down into the bowels of the desert that was all that remained of the south end of the once-bustling mining town that had been his home. The place that had also once been home to his daughter Marlene, and his wife, Eleanor. Murdered at Shinra's hand, both of them. He didn't give a damn, all he wanted was for everything to end. To destroy it all! As he reached the bottom of the supports he was climbing, he didn't even pay attention to the other inmates in this prison, except those who got in his way. Those he gunned down without remorse… no there was remorse, but it was the remorse of a man who had lost everything, a man who no longer cared what anyone else could lose.

He limped his way towards the graveyard where inmates would sometimes take time to bury their deceased friends and sat down, the hot tears still streaming down his face. He didn't know how long he sat there, with irrational thoughts coursing through his mind. Angry thoughts of Barret, who'd lost his grip when they'd been attacked by Shinra troops. Of that #$%^ who'd callously destroyed his home. Oh, how he would love to have taken that scrawny neck of hers and wrung it until she no longer drew breath. Or shot her skull full of holes, along with those faceless troopers who had destroyed his world, burned his friends and neighbors alive. As the day drew to dusk, the thoughts in his mind, addled by the heat and the dying flow of adrenaline, turned in a final direction. Release.

He looked down at the weapon grafted to his left arm. If there was one way to destroy the world… his world at least… really, that was the only one left, and it was in shambles as it was… that would do it…

* * *

><p>Zack was doing his absolute best to stay calm as everyone walked towards the bedroom with the secret passage that led down to the basement. The very idea of going down there again was more than he really wanted to contemplate, but he had resigned himself to it. As they entered the room, he took the lead, pulling the mechanism that opened the door revealing the spiral staircase. He remembered climbing it as a blur, his thoughts still muddled from the mako as he gently lifted his friend up each and every step. He'd already been bleeding from fighting the monsters in the caverns, but he only recalled the injuries as a dull pain through the mental haze. He looked back at the others. "Here's the thing. What we see down there… It's not going to be pretty. If you don't want to go, you'd better speak up now."<p>

The Turks naturally remained silent. It was already understood they were going. Aerith walked up behind Zack and took his hand. "I'm going, whether you like it or not." Zack tried to smile, but it didn't make it to his face. He was grateful, but at the same time, he would give anything for her not to have to.

"Me too," Tifa added. "We decided we'd come before we even got here."

Cloud looked uncomfortable again, but his jaw was set. His answer written on his face. Kunsel's too. They'd already talked it over at length.

"I believe we'll stay up here then," Nanaki spoke up. "This is personal business, and I certainly wouldn't want to interfere with it."

Yuffie took one look down the spiral staircase and went back to where Nanaki was sitting. Barret frowned. "Ya sure ya'll be all righ' down there?"

"Pretty sure. Three SOLDIERs and three Turks alone should be plenty." Zack said, trying to push some of his old bravado back into his voice.

"Well then, I'll jes' go stand guard at the door in case those guys in the cloaks start somethin'. I don' trust 'em even if all they do is talk crazy." After checking his gun arm for ammunition, the AVALANCHE leader walked back towards the stairs.

Yuffie waved half-heartedly as Zack led the way down with Kunsel at his back, both with their hands on their swords. "Stay close," he called up behind him.

"Don't worry," Cissnei called from behind the pair of hazel colored lights that were Kunzel's eyes. "I pulled a flashlight out of the helicopter's tool box so those of us without SOLDIER senses should be okay."

"I'm glad you thought of that," Freya admitted, and as Zack rounded the outer edge of the steps he saw Freya's faintly glowing eyes as she carefully picked her way down at the back, just in front of Cloud. "When I first got back on the job some of the others used to ask me if I could see in the dark. But I can't."

As Zack continued halfway around the next segment of the staircase, he saw a cone of light extending from the flashlight in Cissnei's hand before he turned his attention back to his own path down. It took them a minute or two to reach the bottom, and there they found themselves in the hollowed out caverns under the mansion. Straight in front of him, was the path that led the way to the labs, and he could already feel his heartrate accelerating. There was no mad scientist waiting there, he knew, but he was still biting down hard on the impulse to turn right back around and go back up into the daylight where he was sure he was supposed to be. Cissnei and Aerith caught up with him at that moment and the younger renegade pulled ahead of them, her flashlight in hand. "Vincent's room should be this way," she said. "Follow me."

As if that alone would keep away the dark thoughts in his mind, Zack focused on the beam of light. Aerith's hand was in his as they walked down the path.

Behind them he heard Tifa asking nervously "What's that smell?"

"Whatever it is, we probably don't want to know," Cloud answered her.

They walked in a little further before a new smell assaulted Zack's senses. Mako… he swallowed hard. The smell had filtered out this far from the lab? He shook his head. _'Not now Zack, get a hold of yourself.'_

…"We're here." He turned away from the huge door that stood at the end of the cavern as Cissnei paused in front of another door that was locked. Pulling out the key, she inserted it into the lock and he heard it click. Glad for a distraction as the younger Turk moved back, he stepped up and pushed the door open, leaving a space for her to walk through.

"Vincent? Hello?" she called into the room, shining the flashlight onto a dusty coffin in the center of the room. Zack looked around and was relieved to see that the light didn't splash out much further than that. The other coffins were open, and there were bodies in them. Funereal urns lined the back wall. He shivered as he wondered morbidly if this was where he and Cloud would have ended up if things had been different.

'_No… don't think about that. Don't think about that! Focus!'_ Next to him, he felt Aerith grasp his hand a little tighter. She was definitely also trying not to focus on the area outside the beam of the flashlight.

He glanced beside him as he heard another set of combat boots next to Aerith's shoes and saw Cloud's glowing blue eyes move to the front, and in the backglow of the flashlight, he could see Tifa behind him.

Cissnei walked closer to the coffin. "Vincent? Are you in here?"

Slowly, almost imperceptibly, the lid moved, and then slid across to the side of the room as though floated there by some unseen force. He heard Tifa and Aerith both draw a breath as the flashlight beam revealed the form of a man in a black jumpsuit and a red cloak, with a golden gauntlet on his right arm, blinking red eyes as though he were trying to reorient himself after being asleep for a long time. He sat up slowly, taking in the onlookers before his eyes fixed on Cissnei. "You were here before… with Veld. Why have you disturbed me again?"

"I thought, since you knew so much about what goes on in this mansion, you might know something about Hojo's last stay here. Last time we were looking for a materia, but this time, we need information."

"Hojo? If he is gone, it is no concern of mine. Leave here, and don't return. This place holds nothing but nightmares."

"You can say that again," Cloud muttered. That, in Zack's opinion, was an incredible understatement.

Vincent looked over at the glowing blue eyes belonging to Cloud, his eyebrows raised under his headband even as he squinted and Cissnei lowered the flashlight so it wasn't shining in his face. "You speak from personal experience," he observed.

Zack spoke up. "For us, it started when Sephiroth lost his mind down here when he discovered Hojo's research. After that, it only got worse."

Vincent's face hardened in greater concern. "Sephiroth?" No one could miss the recognition in his voice.

"You know him?" Cloud asked.

Vincent stood in the coffin, stretched, and then flipped in the air, landing perched on the far edge of the coffin. "You start first."

"In that case," Mao said from the rear of the group, "Freya and I will go investigate the lab. You can find us when you're done here."

"I'll go with them," Kunsel added.

As he heard the three of them walk off into the darkness, Zack swallowed hard, and then turned his attention back to Vincent. He really didn't want to have to tell this story again, especially not here, but there didn't seem to be an alternative. "You might want to make yourself comfortable," He said finally, "this could take a while…"

* * *

><p><em>Okay, so for the tally of new limit breaks, this time we've got one for Freya. Kind of odd that we're only just now seeing her level one, but that's the way things went.<em>

Blast Spread: Level One Limit Break, uses special combusting ammo for a powerful barrage across three enemies.

_Tune in next time as more secrets are revealed! I can hardly wait! ^^_


	22. Diving Deeper

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spinoffs. That honor goes to Square-Enix.

**Part II: Reunion**

* * *

><p>Chapter 22, Diving Deeper<p>

**December 21****st** **[ ν ] – εуλ 0007**

"…And now the Turks who haven't gone renegade are tracking him in this direction, so we're planning to try and catch him from the front as soon as we're done here," Zack finished.

"So Sephiroth learned the truth about the Jenova Project," Vincent mused. "and he was thought dead but just recently reappeared. He's killed many people and is now searching for the Promised Land."

"As far as I know," Zack said. "I have no idea what else he'd be trying to do. But anyway, we've told our story, so what about you?" He stood in the doorway to the tomb, as Cissnei continued to hold the flashlight. He was thankful Aerith had not let go of him the entire time he'd spoken.

Vincent regarded them impassively and then said "There is no need. I've only one more sin to haunt my dreams, and I cannot."

"Well that's disappointing," Tifa huffed. "We were really hoping you'd be of help to us."

"Vincent," Cissnei said. "If there's anything you can tell us about what happened, it might help."

The man in red paused, thinking. "As a Turk, have you ever heard of Lucrecia?"

"Who would that be?" Cissnei asked.

Vincent was silent as he considered his words. "She was the woman who gave birth to Sephiroth."

"So his mother wasn't Jenova? That's definitely a relief," Zack said.

Vincent remained as still as a stone, his body barely moving as he continued. "Presuming he has a connection to Jenova is not completely wrong, but Sephiroth was born from a beautiful woman, and that woman was Lucrecia. She was an assistant to Professor Gast, of the Jenova project and worked here, with Professor Hojo… Beautiful Lucrecia…"

"She was used as a human experiment wasn't she?" Cloud observed.

Vincent's nod of ascent was barely noticeable even as his expression remained blank. "There was no way to stop her. I tried and failed, and that was my sin." He sounded almost as though he was talking to himself, beginning to slide back down into the coffin. "I let the one I loved, the one I respected the most, face the worst…" He was already pulling the lid of the coffin back on even as Cissnei walked forward, stopping its movement with her hand.

"And you think sleeping down here is going to make it any better?" she asked. To Zack's surprise, he thought he heard a hint of anger in her voice. "I know how that feels… but you can't use it as an excuse to waste your life. Do something about it."

"She's right," Aerith agreed. "If you stay down here, you won't accomplish anything."

Vincent paused and for a moment, Zack thought he might get up again, but then, he lay down, gently pushing Cissnei's hand away and closing the lid.

Zack decided there was nothing further to gain by waiting in here. "Come on. We can't make him tell us anything else if he doesn't want to." He walked out the door and Cloud and the girls followed him. As he left the room, the stench of Mako filled his nostrils once again, and he remembered where they were going. Maybe in the time he'd spent in Vincent's room, he'd forgotten, somewhat, but now, the realization hit him full force. A cold sweat started to form on his body. He thought he imagined the world spinning as he saw the big metal doors in front of him, and his heart raced as thoughts and memories flitted to the forefront of his mind. Oh Gaia, the tanks… the operating table… Cloud… the mako… the cell… Hojo… He stopped walking, casting about for anything to anchor him, and found his hand still clasped around Aerith's.

"Zack?" She was looking up at him now, worried. He glanced behind him and saw Cloud and Tifa were coming closer, with Cissnei behind them. He leaned up against the wall, and tried to focus on breathing like he'd done when Rayleigh had first been called in at the hospital_. _

_Inhale… Exhale…_ _That's it Zack, keep it together, _He thought to himself, letting the air flow into his lungs, forcing them to take it in slowly and let it out. Aerith had wrapped an arm around him, he noticed, and he took comfort in her touch. He needed it so badly right now. "It's okay..." He finally got out. "I'm okay… just… need a little time… all right?"

"Are you sure?" he heard Cloud behind him.

"Perhaps you should go back," Cissnei suggested.

"No… I'll be fine." Zack took another breath, let go of the wall and stood a little straighter. He looked over at Cloud and saw his glowing blue eyes looking right back, just as worried as everyone else. He wasn't sick, and he certainly wasn't floating in any mako tubes. He was standing right there in front him. They were back, but no one here was going to hurt them. There was no one here at all, aside from Vincent, and maybe some sahagins he hadn't killed on the way out. "Don't worry about me." He let go of Aerith's hand, and gestured that she back off for a moment. He steeled himself for what was coming, and pushed open the doors. A line of light fell across the darkened cavern, growing into a larger rectangle whose origin was a fixture on the ceiling of the next room with five naked light bulbs.

As their eyes adjusted, the light revealed the inside of the lab and the door to the library that lay beyond. The operating table that adorned the center of the room was just as he remembered it… metal and cold as a fluorescent light shone down upon it, the echoes of blood stains shining off the surface in his mind. He shivered, diverting his eyes away, landing them next on the mako tanks. Someone had cleaned up the glass, from where he'd broken out. The tanks were empty now, but he could still remember the dull burn of the mako on his skin, his face, in his eyes. The empty blank stare as Cloud looked back at him from the other tank when he'd tried to scratch a message on the glass about feeding time, silently begging for his friend to give him some kind of answer. He could still see the scratch marks where he'd carved them. It had been one of the last things he'd done before the mako overpowered him. He'd felt so hopeless, when he saw that Cloud probably couldn't even read it, and his own eyelids drooped from the soporific, yet painfully acid chemicals…

"…Zack?" Cloud had walked up behind him and was looking around uneasily.

"I'm all right." He tried to put as much emphasis behind the assertion as he could. "Are you?"

"I'm fine. But… this is the place, isn't it?"

"Yeah." Zack glanced around, realizing that everyone else was watching him too. "Let's just do what we have to do and get out."

* * *

><p>As Zack, and the girls wandered into the library, and he heard Kunsel acknowledge their entrance, Cloud lingered in the lab. Up until now, he remembered very little about this place. The most he'd been able to draw from the recesses of his mind, outside of the nightmares, had been from one time he'd passed through here to run a message to Sephiroth from Zack. For the most part, he'd stayed topside, watching the entrance down to the caverns. His gaze wandered over the various test tubes and equipment. What dark shadows did Zack see in this place? Even without that knowledge this room gave him a disquieting sense of unease. Something felt very wrong here.<p>

He heard footsteps behind him, a pair of sneakers, and he felt someone watching him. Turning around, he saw Tifa standing by the next door, and walked past her to follow Zack. Upon entered the library, he saw Kunsel looking through some books at the desk, while Freya and Mao searched through the shelves.

Freya dusted off one of the volumes she was holding before trying to suppress a sneeze. "Ah-choo! I don't get it!" She said after she'd regained her composure. "I would have thought we'd find a lot in here, but all we've found are some journal entries from some assistant and a whole bunch of stuff about the Ancients. The only thing we've seen related to what we're looking for was that status report in the lab."

"Maybe he took his research with him when he finished," Mao suggested.

"I guess it's possible it's all in those files we stole at the Shinra building. But until Shalua finishes decrypting them, we'll have no idea," Freya mused.

Kunsel was looking through a book at the desk as Zack looked over his shoulder. Aerith was also paying attention. "The thing is, all of this stuff seems like it's geared toward the theory that Jenova was an Ancient. I don't know if that's important or not, but…"

Suddenly a thick stack of papers stapled together landed on the desk, thrown there by Mao, who was standing on a ladder against one of the higher shelves and Kunsel diverted his attention from the book he was holding. "Hmm, a scientific thesis?" Cloud came a closer to see as the brown haired SOLDIER read the heading. "Jenova's Legacy…"

"What's it about?" Zack asked.

Kunsel read the first few lines, his brow furrowed in concentration. "It sounds like a paper on the properties of Jenova cells." He checked the author. "It looks like it was written by a Professor Gast Faremis… though Hojo apparently made contributions, along with… Professor Hollander? Huh." He checked the date. "It's pretty old, but it might be of some use." He stuck it into a small pile of books and papers that sat nearby on the desk.

"This can't be the only part of the lab," Cissnei said.

"There's more all right," Zack replied, the bitterness apparent in his voice.

"Where?" Cloud asked.

Zack looked down at Aerith. "I'll be right back."

She was clearly worried, but saw that he wasn't going to let her argue and answered "Okay."

He then strode out of the library, his focus on the door back out into the caverns as he walked through the lab. Cissnei was behind him and Cloud opted to follow. Once they exited the lab, Zack made an immediate left and entered another chamber full of coffins. That was when he heard more footsteps indicating Kunsel was following behind them.

"Where are you going?" He asked.

Zack glanced around the crypt before his eyes landed on a chain hanging from the ceiling and he reached out his hand to give it a light tug. Cloud heard a grinding noise coming from the back wall, and as they all watched, the rear wall slid open revealing a new path deeper into the facility. Zack walked in, his jaw still clenched. This was clearly the last place he wanted to be, but he was doing everything he could to keep himself under control. As they continued further into the darkened hall, Cissnei spotted a power switch on the wall and threw it, sending a line of fluorescent lights down the corridor. It was then Cloud realized they were walking along a line of what appeared to be cells. Zack looked to his left as the lights flickered on, blinking in surprise. He peered into the room he stood by as though transfixed, and over his shoulder, Cloud took in the details. It was an empty cell, maybe about seven feet deep by seven feet wide, if it was even that, with a small alcove to the rear with a toilet and two tiny bunks. Standard Shinra issue. As Zack registered the cell's contents, his expression darkened, and he placed his hand on the door, slamming it shut before he turned away.

The sounds echoed off the cavern walls as the dark-haired SOLDIER drew in a breath and let it out. The others watched with concern as he continued down the hall. It was rare to see him this upset. To Cloud, it was unnerving. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all. Maybe he should say something. But what should he say? What right did he have to say anything when he couldn't even remember the horrors they had endured?...

"This is as far as I've gone," Zack called over his shoulder. "I think there's another lab down this way, but I never saw it." They walked further down the corridor, taking in the other cells until it opened out, revealing a huge mako tube and another doorway, leading to a second library.

"Who worked in here?" Cissnei wondered.

"Judging from the extra layer of dust, I'd say this place has been used even less recently than the library in the other lab," Kunsel noted, walking through the door and up to one of the bookshelves, taking in the titles. "The Harbinger of the End, Chaos and the Lifestream… On Omega… None of this sounds particularly like it was along Hojo's line of research. But we'll check the rest just to be safe."

Cissnei joined Kunsel in searching through the dusty tomes when Cloud again heard Tifa behind him. As he turned to face her, she glanced around the room nervously, unsure and perhaps a little worried of what she might find. "What's up?"

"Freya said it might be good to start taking things back up to the surface and wanted to know if you and Zack could help with that," Tifa answered.

Seeing the look of relief on his friend's face, Cloud answered quickly, "Sure, we'll be right there."

Zack looked back to Kunsel. "Do you need us for anything before we go?"

"Probably not. If none of this has to do with Jenova, Sephiroth, or Hojo, than we should get through it pretty quickly," Kunsel replied. Zack was about to leave when the brown haired SOLDIER spoke again. "Get some fresh air, all right?"

He gave his friend a grateful nod, and then he hurried back down the passage. Cloud followed him with Tifa close behind. The SOLDIER did not stop until they were out in the main cavern again, and as Cloud emerged behind him, he saw Aerith carrying a small stack of reading material in her arms and placing them on the cavern floor near a few other similarly sized stacks.

She looked up as she heard them and relief was evident on her face. "I thought I'd bring what we were planning to carry out here for you. There isn't a lot, but we didn't think it was a good idea for anyone to be wandering around in the dark who couldn't see where they were going."

"Good call," Zack said, his focus diverted to the task at hand. He walked forward and leaned over to collect the books and papers Aerith had set out until he had a single stack and quickly made his way back towards the spiral stairs.

To his surprise, as Cloud approached, he saw that there weren't very many items for him to carry. "Is there anything else?" He asked, thinking the least he could do was wait until he had a full load.

Aerith considered the question. "I don't know. They're still going through what's left in the library to make sure we haven't missed anything. I'll go see how they're doing." With a swish of her long braid, she left the opening to go back to the library, though in her wake, a slip of paper that had previously sat on the operating table suddenly caught the breeze generated by her passing. The sheet floated through the air before landing just at the door's left side and Cloud knelt to pick it up. He glanced at the text in front of him, and felt a chill run up his spine.

"**Analysis of Procedural Failure**

**Failed Case #1: SOLDIER 1st Class**

**Summary: Desired effect did not occur. Strong tolerance to Jenova cells due to SOLDIER conditioning assessed as cause.**

**Failed Case #2: Shinra Infantryman**

**Summary: Weak tolerance to Jenova cells led to toxicosis. Lack of response to outside stimuli suggests severe system damage. Recovery highly unlikely."**

"_Failed… how appropriate…"_

_What?..._

…_He felt a dull phantom pain all over his body… all he could see was a fog of relentless burning green that misted cold over him, blurring his vision, dulling his mind, already empty and incapable of thought. He felt distant, as though he were aware of it, but it was happening to someone else. There was a crashing noise at the edge of his consciousness, and then suddenly a figure stood in front of the tank… dark hair dripping mako… his body swayed as he fought dizziness… a worried expression… a SOLDIER uniform… the man pressed a button to the side of the tank draining the mako out. He felt himself drop into the man's arms as he heard a clunking noise far away and someone whispering a name he could barely register as his own… "Cloud…"_

…_A bright light shone in his eyes, and terror ripped its way through his body. "We'll make the incision here. If there are results, it will be easiest to see that way." He wanted to scream, but the sound wouldn't come. A gloved hand was touching his side but the light prevented him from seeing clearly who it was. "Now, prepare the clamps, let's begin." His breath caught in his throat as he trembled in fear until finally it found release as a white hot jolt of pain cut deep into his abdomen…_

…"_Cloud, I have to go to Midgar, do you wanna come with me?"..._

…_he lay curled in on himself on a small bunk in what looked like a tiny cell. Spasms worked their way through his muscles twitching painfully when he moved, and his eyes burned. He almost didn't feel, and yet felt too much, the hand that had landed on his shoulder. "They gave you mako, didn't they." _

_He didn't answer. He knew he wasn't okay. The whispers in his ears were driving him crazy, making him wish Zack would knock him out just so they would stop. He didn't want to open his eyes either, but Zack was already trying to help him up, asking him to open them so he could confirm what he thought but hoped wasn't true. The darkness gave way, and he saw Zack's face harden. "I was afraid of that."…_

…"_Just kidding, you know I wouldn't do that to you. We're friends, right?"..._

…"Cloud?... Cloud!" He blinked. His head ached as he tried to regain his bearings. He had fallen to his knees in shock and as his vision cleared, he saw Aerith standing in front of him. Tifa was leaning over him trying to get his attention and it was she who had called his name.

He leaned against the door, realizing he'd been holding his breath. "What happened?" He asked.

"That's what we want to know," Tifa answered. "You were acting like you were going to pick up that paper and then you just started staring off into space."

He reached up a hand to massage his temple as he felt the pain slowly begin to recede. Finally, he stood, taking in the tanks and the operating table, which, he now noticed, had restraints. "I'm not really sure," he said after a moment. "I saw something…" He was strangely tired, and there was also a strong desire not to be here anymore. It was then he remembered what he'd been waiting for and his gaze landed on Aerith "Was there anything more to carry?"

Aerith shook her head. "Don't worry about it." He noticed she was carrying the slip of paper he'd been looking at in her hand. "Let's wait for the others and then we'll go back up together, okay?" Her voice was gentle, yet filled with authority, even as her brows were knitted with concern. When she saw where his eyes were directed, she slipped the report into one of her jacket pockets. Realizing there would be no further arguing, he walked a bit away from the door and after placing his sword next to him, he sat down against the wall next to it, his gaze directed out into the darkened cave. Tifa joined him, sitting next to him, though maintaining a polite distance. "What was it?" She asked.

"Memories, I think."

"Oh." She bit her lip nervously.

"I'd rather not talk about it right now," He added after a moment.

"It's okay."

The three of them waited in silence until they heard footsteps coming from the other corridor, revealing Kunsel and Cissnei, the flashlight illuminating their path. Shortly after, Mao and Freya appeared behind Aerith in the doorway. Almost as soon as they appeared, everyone's attention was immediately drawn by the sound of a familiar pair of combat boots as Zack returned from the surface. He seemed a bit more composed than when he'd left. "Everything I took's up in that bedroom the secret entrance opens to. We just need to run it to the chopper and we'll be done," He confirmed. His eyes almost immediately landed on Cloud and the worry returned to his face as though he knew instinctively that something wasn't right, but seeing him stand and return his swords to his harness, he merely gave Cloud a look that said he'd be asking what was up later.

Kunsel picked up the items that remained on the ground and started toward the exit. "Sounds good. Let's go."

Everyone had just passed Vincent's room when suddenly, Cloud heard the door creak open and a soft baritone voice echo after them. "Wait!" Everyone turned in surprise to see the red cloaked man standing behind them, his expression serious. "If I go with you, will I meet Hojo?"

Zack thought about the question. "I can't make any guarantees, but if we're looking for Sephiroth, there's probably a good chance we'll run into him. Even if we don't find him soon, I'm thinking we'll have to deal with him eventually, and I have no problem with you helping to solve that particular issue."

Vincent considered that for a moment, and Cloud could have sworn he heard him whisper "Lucrecia…" before he faced them again with a dramatic swish of his cape. "All right, I've decided to go with you."

"You're coming with us?" Tifa asked.

"As a former Turk, even if there are already a few here, I may be of help to you."

Zack nodded and gestured that they go back to the surface. "Great. Welcome aboard Vincent! We'll introduce you to everyone else once we're topside, all right?"

The ex-Turk inclined his head in slight surprise. "Everyone else?"

Cissnei had just turned on the flashlight again and they were walking back towards the stairs when Kunsel suddenly give a soft chuckle. "What is it?" Zack asked.

"It's nothing important," The brown haired ex-SOLDIER replied. "It just occurred to me, this is the first guy who's joined us that you or Freya didn't already know."

They reached the first few steps and began to climb as Zack took a moment to consider the observation and though he definitely still had his mind on other things he shrugged. "Small world, huh?"

* * *

><p>Cait Sith had spent the majority of the day creeping around the village, though at one point he had climbed some ivy to look into one of the windows of the mansion. He'd almost been spotted by Barret Wallace, but had ducked just in time. He discovered a broken window, shortly afterward and being careful to avoid being seen, he spent the next hour or so investigating the mansion on his own. It was when he heard a crowd of people coming closer that he quickly retreated back out the window. The front doors swung open as he reached the side of the building . Peering around the side, he caught sight of the various members of the group walking towards the gate, some of them carrying books and papers. The renegade Turks were walking at the forefront, discussing something among themselves. "We'll need to get these back to Rayleigh as soon as we can. Hopefully she'll be able to make some sense out of it." Freya was saying.<p>

"I'll take them," the curly haired Turk answered. Cait's data banks said she went by the name "Cissnei" though her files asserted she didn't think of it as her real name. "Mao will tell you there aren't many who can fly faster."

"It's true," the swordsman Turk replied. "Why do you think she made it into the Turks so young?"

"I guess that's a good point. We'll be counting on you then," Freya agreed. Her voice faded out of range of the robot's microphones as five other figures passed through the gate. Cait quickly identified them as Zack Fair, Cloud Strife, Tifa Lockhart, and Aerith Gainsborough, and Kunsel. None of them seemed to be talking at all but they looked tired and concerned about something. They too passed by quickly.

The last of the group passed then. The specimen Red XIII, Barret Wallace, and Yuffie Kisaragi, the princess of Wutai. Trailing just behind them was a man in a red cloak.

"What's goin' on with Spiky?" Wallace asked.

"I'm not sure," Red XIII looked up as he spoke. "It would probably be best to let it be for now."

Kisaragi was hanging back with the new arrival who was obviously pretending to ignore her. "So, Mr. Vampire, you're coming with us? Was it true you were sleeping in a coffin? What were you doing down there?..." Cait heard Reeve chuckling on the other end of his connection back in his creator's office in Midgar. He must have just walked in right as Kisaragi had come within earshot. As "Mr. Vampire" and the ninja passed through the gate, Cait Sith sprinted behind buildings, hurrying to get back to the helicopter. It was paramount that he get back to their campsite and into his hiding place before he could be discovered.

* * *

><p>It was late afternoon when the party returned to the helicopter. They probably could have stayed at the inn that night, but after what they had seen in town, nobody had volunteered the idea, and Zack figured that if anyone had suggested it, there would be objections. Especially given that all the other seemingly normal people in town seemed to be actors brought on to give Nibelheim the façade of normalcy. It was far too creepy for anyone to want to be in close proximity to the area while in the potentially vulnerable state of being asleep, even if they'd posted a watch.<p>

After spending some time getting their acquisitions stowed away, and making dinner, Freya called everyone into the helicopter, saying she was setting up a joint call with Veld and Dr. Rayleigh. Yuffie sat on the floor of the chopper with Nanaki as everyone else found somewhere to sit, and Freya worked the controls up in the cockpit to get the call streamed through the speakers. Once she was finished, she walked back to join them. "Okay doctor, can you hear me?"

"_Loud and clear."_

"Sir? How's your end?"

Veld's voice sounded over the speakers _"It's fine. I'll try not to bother you more than necessary, but I wanted to hear your opinion as well as Mao and Cissnei's on what you found there. Do these strange beings seem to be threatening?"_

Mao spoke up. "I'm not sure. Though we've procured the samples the doctor requested. Unfortunately, none of the persons we detained seemed capable of communication beyond the ramblings I reported before."

"_Troubling."_ Veld was quiet for a moment. _"Do you have any thoughts on the subject, doctor?"_

"_I can't say for sure. Though it does bother me that they all speak of this 'Reunion.' It's come up in the notes Shalua sent me several times, though they haven't been decrypted sufficiently for me to make any more of them yet." _They heard the sound of the doctor shuffling through her notes. _"I would like to speak to Zack and Cloud before the call ends, in private if possible."_

"That's no problem," Zack agreed.

"_Good. In the meantime, what were you able to find?"_

"Not a lot," Kunsel said. "I found something in the library before everyone else finished talking with Vincent. There was a short note stuffed on the shelves talking about this group called the 'Lost Force,' but it didn't seem relevant. We also found quite a bit of stuff dealing with the theory that Jenova was an Ancient… but there was a thesis in there that might be of interest. It had to do with how Jenova cells work."

"_That could be useful. As much as I've worked with this subject, I can tell you with some certainty that the theory of Jenova being an Ancient is a complete load of chocobo dung. Anyone who's worked extensively with her cells could see that if they ever had the opportunity to compare them with an Ancient's. Professor Gast may have made the mistake early on, but clearly the person who stocked the libraries didn't see fit to contain his later papers. Either that or they couldn't. They are in a restricted portion of the library in Midgar. All of Gast's work was classified after the president became interested in the Promised Land..."_

"Why was he int'rested in that?" Barret interrupted. "Wasn' it some kind'a Ancient myth?"

"_Well Mr. Wallace," _Rayleigh said, not missing a beat. _"That's the question. I don't know what the president believed, but Veld might have some insight, given how closely he worked with Shinra's former CEO."_

Veld cleared his throat. _"I suppose it might be relevant. The President believed the Promised Land did indeed exist, as a location rich with Mako and therefore uniquely suited to place reactors, generate power, and potentially build a city that could replace Midgar in prominence, thus solidifying Shinra's economic clout. He made it his primary goal to locate it, but he never succeeded. It was for this reason that on his orders I directed Tseng and the Turks to attempt to retrieve Ms. Gainsborough. It was thought she might be able to give them the location. Of course, Tseng decided it would be better to get her cooperation willingly, which was why he didn't bring her in right away."_

Zack shivered involuntarily, and felt a pang of gratitude towards Tseng for choosing not to resort to 'the old fashioned way' as Freya had put it. The idea that Aerith had suffered the way he and Cloud did was not something he wanted to entertain. The flower girl sat next to him, clearly thinking about her heritage as it was being discussed, and he felt the need to protectively put an arm around her shoulders, holding her close. She accepted the gesture with a gentle smile as Barret scowled at the implications. "You Turks make me sick, all'ya. Jus' doin' yer jobs 'cause someone asked ya to. If the President had asked ya to jump off a bridge, would ya' have done that too?"

Veld seemed unimpressed. _"If it were part of the mission, I would have taken a bullet for him, and proudly."_

"Even after what his #$%^&* crazy doctor did to your own guy?" Barret growled.

Everyone jumped as Vincent looked up. He'd been leaning on the side of the helicopter right at the main hatch, and he'd been standing so still, those present had forgotten he was there.

"_Vincent told you something?"_

"Yeah," Zack supplied. "Not about that specifically, but considering what we found in the mansion, and the fact he's here now and seems to have a score to settle with Hojo, I think we were able to put two and two together."

"_He's there with you?" _Veld asked clearly surprised the man had even set one foot out of his coffin.

"I am," Vincent said. "But the purpose of this meeting is to discuss your findings related to Jenova and Sephiroth, correct?"

The reminder immediately brought everyone back to the task at hand and everyone could hear Rayleigh shuffling through papers again. _"True. Have you seen any sign of him?"_

"No, not yet," Freya admitted. "Though there is no way he should have passed through here already. Not if he's walking. Last I heard, Elena, Reno, and Rude were on his trail, but they were only following him. If there is a confrontation, it'll be with us."

"Those guys in black were talking about him a whole lot," Yuffie said. "What did they mean when they said 'become one with him?'"

"_One more thing I don't know." _Rayleigh sighed. _"But it sounds important._"

"What about the unnamed item they were talking about?" Nanaki said. "They said things like 'must get it,' and 'bring it to him?' What could that be?"

Freya shrugged. "At this point, your guess is as good as mine. It's hard to say."

"_I feel like we have all the pieces to this puzzle except the most crucial ones. All of this has to be connected in some way, I just wish I knew how."_ Rayleigh's tone was one of mild frustration.

"If we find anything else, we'll tell you," Cissnei said. "In the meantime, I should probably let you know, I'll be delivering the goods to you while they're looking for the former General. I'll be leaving soon. You can expect me at the landing site back home…" she checked the clock on her PHS, "…about mid-afternoon tomorrow."

"_Thank you for doing this."_

"It's no trouble. I want answers just as much as everyone else does." The younger Turk stood and made her way to the exit as though she was going to leave the helicopter.

It was Veld who spoke this time. _"Mao, what do you intend to do?"_

The swordsman held his katana at his side as he too stood. "I will stay near the village. We don't know enough about these strange people. Someone should keep an eye on them in case there's any change in their behavior."

"_Very well. If you need anything, you know how to contact me, and I will want updates on the situation."_

"Understood," Mao confirmed.

"_Is there anything else?" _Veld asked.

"Not at the moment," Freya replied, already walking back towards the front of the helicopter.

"_Then I'm done for the night. Keep me posted."_

"Yes sir," At Freya's response, Veld hung up and Zack allowed himself to relax a little. It seemed no matter what they did they still ended up coming back to Veld, and he was more than relieved to see him go.

"Why do you still call him 'sir' if he isn't your boss?" Yuffie frowned up at the lady Turk as she walked past her.

Freya grinned. "I don't know. Probably force of habit. Still, it's always good to have a network in place and if he wants to run it, I'm not going to complain." She looked around the inside of the helicopter. "In any case, the public part of the meeting's over. Let's give the guys some space."

Nanaki shook himself free of Yuffie and led the way as the others cleared out. Barret was almost out when he muttered "I can't believe that guy."

"It's a Turk's reality," Mao cut in. "You complete the mission, no matter what. No mission is impossible for the Turks."

"But ya ain't a Turk anymore. None o' ya are. And there ain't no mission. Why can't you get that through yer thick skulls?"

"You never leave the Turks," Mao said. "Shinra may have chased us out, but the Turks are more than just an intelligence organization; they are a state of being."

"Like SOLDIER?" Nanaki asked.

"Maybe not in the biological sense. It's not as though we're physically rebuilt like they are, but I could no more deny what I am than they could shed their enhancements. As to whether or not we have a mission, even though I'm no longer working for the company, there's no reason why I can't set my own."

Barret scowled and moved to follow the Turk outside, but glanced behind him to find that Tifa was still standing near the seat she had occupied during the course of the meeting. "C'mon Tifa, let's leave the SOLDIERs alone."

Tifa took a last look around, pausing on Cloud, who had been sitting at the far end of the helicopter for most of the meeting. The blond swordsman offered her a reassuring smile before she left. Kunsel and Aerith followed her. "Zack," Freya got his attention at that point, waving him to the opening leading to the cockpit so he could see what she was doing. "When you're ready to end the call, press this button here, all right?"

He looked where she was pointing. "Okay, got it."

"I'll be running pre-flight checks for Cissnei, so come let me know when you're done, all right?" After seeing his nod of confirmation, she walked to the main hatch and pulled it shut after her.

"So what is it Doc?" Zack asked as he and Cloud both approached the front of the chopper.

The doctor took a few seconds to phrase her question. _"I just wanted to know if the two of you were okay."_

"I guess so. I mean, it's not like we enjoyed going down there." He debated whether to mention the moment when he'd almost succumbed to the fear the place instilled in him, before deciding there was no sense not getting it out in the open. "I know we both had moments where things got a little… well… do you remember what happened back at the hospital when you first showed up?"

"_Yes. The panic attack. I remember."_

"I'd rather not think of it that way, but yeah, it kind of happened again. I got control of it, but it was kind of embarrassing, you know?"

"That happened before?" Cloud asked. He sounded as though he'd been so distracted with his own thoughts he'd completely forgotten about what had happened to Zack when they'd first neared the lab.

"It happened while you were still out of it. I didn't know what was going to happen to us, and I guess after everything we'd been through… well, even the best of us lose it once in a while."

"_It's not an unnatural response."_ Rayleigh explained. _"You've both been under a lot of stress and it's nothing to be ashamed of."_

Zack rubbed the back of his neck, before giving Cloud a meaningful look. '_Okay, I shared. What about you?'_

Realizing Zack wasn't going to let this go until he spilled, Cloud admitted "That wasn't the only thing…"

"_Something else?"_

"There was this paper I saw on the floor…" Cloud began. "When I read it, I think I started to remember a little. It wasn't very clear, but I heard voices, and then there was this light and…" He shivered visibly. "It was in the lab I'm sure, but whatever it was, it was awful…"

Rayleigh had remained silent until now. _"I see. I'm not going to force you to talk more about it now if you don't want to, but when you return, I will want to discuss this further, all right?"_

"I'm fine now," Cloud asserted, a frown beginning to form as he folded his arms defiantly. The gesture was wasted since the call was audio only, but it didn't matter, his tone sent a clear message anyway.

"_Even so, get plenty of rest before you leave tomorrow, and look out for each other. I know you're both grown men, but still, this whole situation worries me."_

Zack let out a sigh. "It worries all of us Doc."

* * *

><p>Cissnei awoke after a brief nap and crawled out of her tent, taking in the star-studded night sky that vaulted over the woods in which they were camped. The night she'd found Zack and Cloud out here had been just as clear. A cool breeze washed across her face as she looked around the campsite, seeing the coals of the fire burning down but still carrying a small flame. Zack was on watch, though she was surprised to find Mao a short distance away. He reminded her of the wandering samurai that populated some of the Wutaian legends she'd had the opportunity to read, as he stood alert in his traveling clothes, his katana in one hand and his glasses perched on the bridge of his nose. On hearing her walking towards him he offered her one of his kinder smiles. "I see you're awake. Freya's got the helicopter prepped for you, so you can leave whenever you're ready."<p>

"Good." The younger Turk drew in a breath as she thought of what she wanted to do before she left, her eyes on Zack as he sat by the fire listening for any intruders, clearly aware of them, but completely focused on his task.

Mao raised an eyebrow at her as though he sensed her thoughts. "You remember what I said before, right?"

"I know."

"Just don't hurt yourself, okay?"

"You used to say that when I first joined the Turks." Cissnei grinned ruefully.

"I still say it. No matter how far away you are, you're still my partner. And you're still that stubborn little girl they entrusted me with." Mao reached out and affectionately patted her shoulder.

"And you're still that serious old geezer they stuck me with," Cisnei quipped back.

"Be safe."

"I will. You as well." The younger Turk shouldered the small bag she was carrying and walked to the campfire.

Zack looked up as she approached. "You're ready to head out, huh?"

She nodded. "Though actually…" Her heart was pounding in her chest as she tried to find her words. "I wanted to talk to you before I left."

"What about?"

"Would you walk with me? Mao's here, it should be all right."

"Okay." The SOLDIER stood and followed her as she continued towards the helicopter.

"I know today must have been hard," she began.

"Well, we got through it, and that's what counts."

Cissnei smiled. Typical Zack, always trying to make the best of everything even when times were at their darkest. It was one of the things that had drawn her to him in the first place. "Right."

It was hard to see his expression in the dark, but judging from the silhouette of his arm as it neared the back of his neck, the moment had become a little awkward. "So what did you want to tell me?"

"Do you remember when we met in Gongaga?"

"Yeah?"

"And I told you Cissnei wasn't my real name?"

Zack nodded. "What about it?"

Cissnei looked up at his glowing violet eyes, once just like a puppy's but now, so much more grown up, just like her own, through the rigors of the last few years. She opened her mouth, enunciating her given name before continuing. "I wanted to tell you for a long time. I wanted to be there for you… though I knew…" She felt tears in her eyes as she spoke and raised a hand to wipe them away "…It wasn't my right, not after everything we did. But if you ever need my help, just ask… all right?"

She looked up to see him watching her, completely surprised at her admission, but then he offered her a sad smile, the kind that didn't fit on his face. "Thanks." He sounded tired as he looked up at the sky. "You're a good friend, and I'm glad to have you as a friend. I'm… honored… that you think I'm close enough to know your real name. It's… beautiful."

There was no surprise. Just the gentle reminder of what could never be, and even though it hurt a little, it was what she had expected. She smiled sheepishly, hoping the small injury was hidden by her attempt to regain her professionalism. "I guess I'd better go. I have a delivery to make."

"Be careful, okay?"

Were all Gongagans so protective? "Of course. And you make sure to let me know how it goes with Sephiroth."

"Yeah. Though there's no way he'll get through here without being seen, and if he hasn't reached Cosmo Canyon yet, that's our last chokepoint. Whether we find him or not, we'll let you know our progress once we get there."

"Roger. I'll see you when I get back." As she turned away and climbed into the helicopter, her cheerful smile faded. She pulled the hatch closed, two final tears falling from her eyes. Why was she doing this? Hadn't she made peace with her feelings about Zack a long time ago? She leaned against the inside wall of the darkened chopper, forcing herself to calm down. She would need her wits for the long flight back to Mideel. She'd sworn to herself multiple times that she wouldn't take this too hard. She took another moment to compose herself before going to the cockpit. She had a mission to complete. Calmly, she checked Freya's notes on the earlier checks she'd run, and then began the standard routine that could only be done right before takeoff. Zack had backed off a safe distance, and she could see Mao watching the chopper just a bit further away. As the rotors began to turn faster and the noise overtook her hearing, she gently lifted up on the flight stick and the helicopter started going up. Past the trees. Past the mountains. Even a few of the clouds. She adjusted her flight trajectory and soon she was going east, towards home. Little did she know at the time, but as she continued her flight, and warred with her own thoughts, she wasn't alone.

* * *

><p><em>Phew, what a heavy chapter, and yeah, Sephiroth is not in Nibelheim. I wonder where he is... <em>

_At this time, the party is probably either still at the Gold Saucer or camped out at the south edge of the Corel Desert right now._

_Until next time!_


	23. Burdens of Truth

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spinoffs. That honor goes to Square-Enix.

**Part II: Reunion**

* * *

><p>Chapter 23, Burdens of Truth<p>

**December 22****nd** **[ ν ] – εуλ 0007**

Dawn broke over Nibelheim as if Ifrit had lit the sky himself, and soon gave way to morning's clear blue as everyone at camp packed up their supplies and began the breakdown in anticipation of the day's journey. Cloud was helping Zack put away the tent they'd shared with Kunsel the previous night while Aerith and Tifa worked with Yuffie across the campsite.

He stole a glance at the martial artist, watching her run a hand through her hair to pull it behind her before helping Aerith put away their tent poles.

"Cloud?" He whirled around, suddenly remembering what he was doing as Zack got his attention and hurriedly went back to helping his friend. Zack sighed and shook his head with a grin. "Sorry, for a second there I was worried you'd spaced out again, but then I saw what you were looking at."

"No I wasn't." Even to him the rebuttal sounded pathetic.

Zack tackled him and playfully ruffled his hair. "Come on. There's no shame in it. She's a pretty girl. They both are, and look, they're flattered." He gestured that he look back across the campsite.

Aerith was watching them, a hand over her mouth, trying to conceal her infectious grin. Tifa was also smiling a warm smile, apparently having had their ogling pointed out to her by the flower girl. Zack burst out laughing and Cloud's attention was directed to Yuffie, standing behind them, grinning madly and yet somehow, striking a pose that was clearly meant to be alluring.

"Oh, is that how you wanna play it?" Zack called across the ashes of the campfire. "Check this out!" He brought up his right arm and flexed his bicep, showing off the tone of his enhanced muscles which had, on several occasions previously, caused girls to swoon, especially members of his old fan club.

Aerith turned to Tifa with a smile alight with conspiracy. "We can't let Yuffie have all the fun!" As Tifa watched, eyes wide with surprise, the flower girl pulled her jacket slightly down her arms, only just revealing her bare shoulders past the sleeves of her simple dress. She placed a hand on her hip, blowing her boyfriend a kiss and batting her eyelashes while doing her womanly best to be as seductive as possible.

Cloud proceeded to blush and pretended to be focusing on something off in the trees due to finding himself unable to keep a straight face. This flirting contest was getting out of hand. When it was clear he wasn't going to join in, Zack finally relented. "All right, I guess that's enough." He crossed the campsite to Aerith. "I apparently can't resist you." He gently pulled her close and she returned the hug, still laughing.

"Do you two need to get a room or something?" Yuffie asked.

"You started it," Zack said.

Cloud tried to busy himself by checking to make sure they'd gathered the rest of the tent stakes. It was only when he finished that he realized Tifa was standing next to him, holding his knapsack out to him, her own slung over her shoulder. He took it from her and offered a shy smile. "Thanks."

She returned it with one of her own, nervously. "No problem…" They stood there in an awkward silence for a bit before she spoke again… "Um… about yesterday…"

"Yeah?"

She pulled back shaking her head. "It's nothing. We should get going."

Cloud shrugged. "I guess so."

Everyone gathered at the edge of the campsite where Freya was saying goodbye to Mao. He held his sword at the ready in his right hand as he spoke. "I'll be sure to call you if I see any change. You can count on that."

"Thanks for all your help," Freya answered him.

"We're Turks. You'd do the same."

"You know it." Freya gave him a last wave as she turned to follow the others down the road south. He stood there until they could no longer see him when they looked back, a lone ronin on a deserted path. Cloud watched the lady Turk walk past him to get to the front of their group, and then noticed Zack and Kunsel discussing something over the map again. It occurred to him that this must be the very route by which Zack had escaped with him. He tried to think back through the confused jumble of those days to see if there was anything clearer to indicate that time in his mind, but sadly, he found nothing. Instead, he ended up wandering through the brief flash of clarity that had come to him in the lab, and the unmitigated terror it had inspired in his heart. He shivered. It wasn't something he ever wanted to experience again.

That was when he heard Aerith from somewhere close to him. "What is Jenova anyway?"

"What?" Tifa asked, curiously. As Cloud looked over, he saw the two of them were walking next to each other a short distance away.

"Well. We've come to the conclusion that she's not a Cetra, so what is she?" She adjusted her grip on her staff, pondering the question.

"I don't know," Cloud said. "She didn't look like anything I'd ever seen before."

"Maybe we should ask the planet. I've tried listening to it, but it's not nearly as clear as it was in Mideel," the flower girl mused.

"You can do that?" Tifa asked.

"If I try hard enough," Aerith confirmed, "Mostly, I can just listen, but sometimes if I try, I think it can hear me too."

"That's quite a gift." Cloud suddenly heard Nanaki and glanced down to see he was walking at Aerith's other side. "I had heard the Cetra had incredible powers, but I wasn't sure it was true before."

Aerith gave him one of her winning smiles. "Thank you for saying so."

Tifa was still thinking. "I wonder why all those books down in the library were about Jenova being an Ancient?"

"Who can say?" Aerith mused, maintaining her pace as she thought aloud, "But I'm sure we'll figure it out eventually, just like we'll figure out what's going on with the Zack and Cloud, and Sephiroth."

"I hope so," Tifa agreed, turning to look at Cloud. "You've both been working on that for a while, haven't you?"

He nodded, though he suddenly felt the urge to keep his gaze directly in front of him. "Yeah… um…" He tried to think about his words carefully. "Sorry… if I scared you yesterday…"

Aerith shook her head, the tone of her voice kind, but firm "Don't worry about it. You didn't know that would happen, and it wasn't your fault, right?"

"I guess."

He suddenly noticed that Tifa was walking a little bit closer to him. Aerith continued "Good, no more worrying. We're going to find Sephiroth, and sort this mess out. Then we'll all go home and celebrate. I know she'll love it at the lodge, and it'll be even nicer once I get my flower garden planted."

"Is it really as nice as she says?" Tifa asked.

"Yeah…"

They were suddenly distracted by Barret trying to make conversation with their newest party member. "That's a nifty handgun you got there. How good are ya with it?"

Vincent was silent for a moment before raising the weapon, pointing it at a tree and quickly pulling the trigger. The gun went off and everyone looked around stunned. At first, nobody moved and then suddenly, Cloud heard a light thump as a Needle Kiss that had been resting in the tree suddenly flopped onto the ground dead, shot through the heart. Vincent calmly blew the smoke off the barrel and holstered his weapon, the nonverbal response more than enough to vouch for his skill. Barret stared in disbelief. He hadn't even seen the bird.

"Whoa," Zack murmured when he realized what had happened.

Vincent continued onward, without a word, though the hint of a wry smile peeked out from over his collar. As though this were the signal to move on, Zack cleared his throat, continuing the march and the others followed after him, all previous conversation nearly forgotten.

* * *

><p>A couple of hours passed and it was around mid-morning when they arrived at a river. Upon finding it, Zack spent a moment trying to get his bearings. "If I remember correctly, there was a bridge somewhere up stream. I was able to get to it pretty quickly, since I had a motorcycle at the time, but they had a perimeter set up."<p>

"I don't expect they would now since aside from the actors most of Shinra's personnel pulled out after they failed to catch you." Freya commented.

"All that attention just for us? How sweet." Zack said as he led the way by the flowing water. Cloud couldn't help but notice that the humor of the statement wasn't shared by the tone of his voice. They followed the dark haired SOLDIER along the riverbed for another hour or so. Cloud pulled up ahead so that he was level with Kunsel and Freya, keeping an eye out for anything dangerous, but all they could hear was the flowing of the water and the occasional cries of small birds.

"There hasn't been any sign of anything passing through here has there?" Zack asked Freya at one point.

"None. If anything came through here it wasn't on the ground," The lady Turk confirmed.

Zack acknowledged her response with a nod and then continued onward, eyes alert for the bridge. At one point they passed a ford, but there would have been no way to cross it safely without a vehicle. When they found the bridge, it was deserted just as the lady Turk had reported, so they walked across without incident before Zack paused. "Okay, I think we should spread out just a little bit, that way, we have the best chance of finding him. Does anyone have any suggestions?"

Kunsel was already pulling out the map again. "It would probably be best to play smart on this one. If there's one thing I don't think we should do, it's approach him alone."

"You're right," Freya agreed. "It would probably be better to make a line from the mountains to the beach, maintaining PHS contact, and then have a message signal planned. Standard Turk protocol for a large search of this type would be to have it already typed into an email so it can be sent directly to all parties once the target's been sighted…"

While they were talking, Cloud noticed that Nanaki had wandered off to the edge of the group and was sniffing the air, his hackles raised. "Something wrong?" He asked.

Nanaki was quiet for a moment, and then he said "I think a search won't be necessary."

"You got him?" Zack asked.

Nanaki growled distastefully. "There's a wind blowing up from the southwest that's carrying Jenova's scent. If we follow it, we should find Sephiroth"

"You're sure?" Freya asked.

"Positive. I don't think I could ever forget that smell, especially after Junon."

Zack checked the Buster Sword to make sure it was secure on his back. "All right, lead the way."

Nanaki walked a few paces ahead of Zack, sniffing the air every now and then to check that they were still on the trail. It wasn't long before he paused. "I think we're close." He said at last. "The smell of Jenova seems like it would be strongest from just over that hill." Everyone prepared their weapons, and Zack took the front position. Cloud took a ready position at his right shoulder as Kunsel took the left. Once they were sure everyone was prepared, they walked over the hill. There he was. The same black leather coat. The same self-assured arrogance. His white hair glistened in the morning sunlight though it was fast getting close to noon. Sephiroth stood waiting for them, as though he were expecting them.

"I see you've been revisiting old memories," He said with a knowing smile. "Are you going to participate in the Reunion?"

"We don't even know what that is!" Zack called across the expanse that separated them, taking a step forward.

Sephiroth's eyes shifted from Zack to Cloud and back again, almost as though the others in the group were completely irrelevant. "Jenova will be at the Reunion. She will join the Reunion becoming a calamity of the skies."

"Calamity of the skies?" Cloud asked. "What's that all about?"

The former general raised his eyebrows. "…I see. Perhaps you don't have the right to participate." He glanced away from them, out over the plains towards the rising cliffs that beckoned towards Nanaki's homeland. "I will go east, past the canyons. If you wish to find out… then follow…" With that, Sephiroth reached into his coat and pulled something from it. Thinking it was a weapon of some kind, Zack raced forward to try and stop him but ended up getting hit in the face by a green materia the former General had thrown at him. Sephiroth appeared to float over the grass below him before suddenly flying off in an easterly direction, faster than anyone could possibly run, not even Nanaki.

When it was clear he had disappeared, everyone looked around warily but lowered their weapons. Zack shouldered the Buster Sword, his face hardened with determination. "Well guys, I guess we're headed east."

"What was that thing he threw at you?" Freya asked.

Zack picked up the small green orb and held it experimentally. "Feels like… Destruct?"

"Why did he go to the trouble of walking all this way, just to throw something at you and then lead us back the way he came?" Yuffie wondered.

"The hell if I know," Barret growled.

"Regardless, we need to keep going. Whatever this Reunion thing is, it can't be good," Cloud said.

"Calamity of the skies…" Zack mused. "What did he mean by that?..." He stuck the new materia into his pack and looked around at those assembled. "We won't solve this mystery by sticking around here, let's get moving."

Nanaki sniffed the air again. "I think we'll be getting a storm in an hour."

"Why do you think that?" Tifa asked.

The red lion flicked his tail as he explained. "Two reasons. The first was that the sky was red this morning. When the sky does that there is a lot of moisture in the air. The second is that the air pressure is changing. It will arrive soon." They continued further in an uneasy silence for about an hour as the canyon drew even closer.

True to Nanaki's prediction, they were starting to get close when the darkened thunderhead appeared to the west of them, floating out over the flat land, beckoning towards the sea. As it rumbled ominously, Cloud looked out across what remained of the plains, alert for any further sign of Sephiroth. It was about that point when he spotted what looked like a pair of headlights along a road off to their left. "Guys?" He indicated the oncoming vehicle and Kunsel reached into his bag, retrieving a pair of field binoculars.

After looking through them for a few moments he lowered them. "It's Rufus, and it looks like Reno, Rude, and Elena are with him." No one needed to be told what that meant and everyone ducked low in the tall grass as the car approached, passed them, and continued onward towards Nibelheim.

Once the engine noise died, everyone heaved a sigh of relief. "I guess they still think Sephiroth's headed towards the village," Freya observed.

"Won't they be disappointed," Zack replied. With the threat of an altercation gone, they continued hurriedly towards the canyon, where Nanaki assured them there was a cave he knew of in which they could shelter until the storm was past.

* * *

><p>Cissnei yawned as she spotted the deserted clearing off in the distance. It had been a long and grueling day of flight with only a short stop at a private airfield near the main town of Mideel to refuel. It was a relief to be back home and she was looking forward to a hot shower once she delivered the books, samples, and papers to the small desk Rayleigh had set up in her room, which also doubled as her home office. Since it was actually a few hours later in this time zone than it was back in Nibelheim, it was already starting to get dark, and chances were the doctor had already returned from work.<p>

She brought the helicopter into a hover over the clearing and slowly brought it in to land. Soon the landing gear touched down into the grass and as the rotors slowed to a halt, she pulled off her headset and stood, stretching the kinks out of her muscles from sitting still for an extended period of time. Finished with this exercise, she climbed into the passenger compartment and began to gather a small stack of the documents they'd taken from the mansion. She had a full load and was about to reach for the mechanism that would open the main hatch when she heard a thumping noise. She froze, listening hard. The helicopter was silent.

Turk training kicked in at that moment. That had definitely been a thump. It certainly wasn't the vehicle creaking as it settled into the ground and while it didn't sound loud or heavy enough to be someone human sized, she'd worked with robots and animals small enough to make that noise.

She put down what she was carrying and crept to the back of the helicopter, quietly as a predator stalking prey. She looked around carefully, pulling open one of the compartments, and finding it empty.

She turned and checked the opposite compartment and found that one empty too. She was about to go to one of the smaller ones near the tail, but that was when she heard an even softer sound behind her; the sound of something small and furry as it brushed against a stack of loose papers. With reflexes honed to perfection during her Turk days, she pulled out one of the smaller shuriken she carried with her, and whirled around, hurling it at the small figure which let out a tiny shriek, before falling to the floor and playing dead. The shuriken clattered to the ground, leaving a scratch on the wall of the helicopter and Cissnei held her larger rekka in the air, ready to strike if whatever it was moved.

When she reached the spot where the small animal lay, she found she recognized it. With a cold expression on her face that could leave even the toughest of suspects worried for their safety, she picked up the small caped cat by the scruff of his neck.

"I know you're there Reeve. Or did you leave your little toy all alone to deal with me?"

The cat hung limp in her hands.

"Playing dead won't save you Cait Sith. Either you start talking, or I'll take my most powerful materia and destroy you right here!" For emphasis, she raised her hand, aiming a spell at the robots visual sensors.

She was almost to the point where she would have to fire when the little cat finally twitched, throwing up his gloved hands to ward off the spell. "All right, all right! I surrender! Don't blow me up lass!"

The renegade lowered her hand, though she did not lower the cat to the ground. "There, that wasn't so bad was it? Now how long have you been spying on us?"

The robot curled in on itself, looking very much like a cat being disciplined for leaving a mouse on the living room rug. "N-not long. Just since Rocket Town. Tho' I have ta sey, what's been happenin' with those two SOLDIERs o' yours sounds rather bad. Is it true what you all said about what Hojo did to'em?"

Cissnei's face hardened into a death glare. "Every word of it kitty. Who put your creator up to this? Was it Rufus? Or maybe Tseng? He's used you before. Couldn't be Scarlet, I don't think Reeve would have anything to do with that woman."

"You're darn tootin'. She's a walkin' disaster, she is." Cait Sith flicked his tail, trying too hard to sound friendly as he agreed with the renegade.

The two shared a chuckle at their mutual agreement, before Cissnei's expression became serious again. "All right, cut the crap, where's Reeve?"

"_To tell the truth my dear, I was worried you'd find me a lot sooner than this."_ The cat had become oddly still as a speaker began to broadcast a voice that was much deeper than Cait Sith's lighter highland lilt.

"I take it Tseng sent you to keep an eye on us, and then when you heard that I was going back to our base, where you knew we had a lot of our less defensible personnel, you decided it was too good of an opportunity to pass up, didn't you. It's standard Turk protocol. Identify the weakest link and use it to lead your target around by the nose."

"_Except I'm no Turk. You know that very well. What was done to those men can't be excused. But can you ignore that they are working with terrorists"_

"Terrorists of Shinra's own making," Cissnei replied.

"_That may be true, and maybe it isn't. My main interest in following you here is the nature of those documents and samples."_

"That's a good story," Cissnei applauded the man sarcastically. "But knowing you, you're also planning to use this little guy to triangulate our location by pinging Shinra's PHS towers. Sorry Reeve, that's not happening."

"_And why, praytell?"_

"Check your signals."

There was silence on the other end for a moment. _"Only one PHS tower on the grid within range? In all of the Mideel region?!"_

"That's right. Just enough to get service. With just the one tower getting a signal, we could be virtually anywhere on this island. It would take months to find us, and it'd be obvious you were looking. We could be gone before you even knew you had the right place."

"_You really planned this out, didn't you_?"

"We're Turks. We're the best at what we do. And as for your little toy, I'm afraid I'm going to have to secure it here. I've got some work to do, and I don't have time to make sure his tracking functions have been properly dealt with right at the moment." Cissnei walked to the front of the passenger compartment, searching for the toolkit.

"_But wait! Yes, I was sent to spy on you, but after what I heard, I can't turn my back on this either. I'm a lot more concerned about those strange people in the village than I am about your group, not to mention this Sephiroth problem. If you won't let Cait stay here, at least let him travel with the others for a while. It could be a public safety issue! I've read Zack's profile. He wouldn't want innocents harmed in this, and I have resources that could be of use to you! And Freya knows I would never compromise Veld. We go too far back for that."_

Cissnei reached for a roll of duct tape and a pair of scissors. "If you do want to help, take it up with Zack when we get back to the western continent. I'm too busy right now to deal with you." Finding the sturdiest support pole in the helicopter, she proceeded to use the duct tape to bind the little robot to it, as tightly as possible.

"Unhand me ye vixen! I'll give ye what for if yeh don't let me go!" the robot complained, shifting back into his regular accented voice.

"Sorry Cait, but until further notice, you aren't going anywhere."

Satisfied with her handiwork, the renegade picked up the stack of books that lay at the door to the helicopter and pulled open the main hatch. To her surprise, she saw that the doctor and Jessie were standing in the dying light of evening, along with Marlene. The doctor looked behind her at the struggling stuffed toy with raised eyebrows. "Is everything okay in there?"

Cissnei's smile was very artificial. "Oh yeah, it's fine. We just have us a little stowaway. Don't worry about him. Help me with these will you? I have a long day tomorrow and I still need to figure out my flight plan."

* * *

><p>Lightning struck a nearby tree on a rise as the party followed Nanaki into the cave. All of them were soaking wet and glad to get out of the rain. Tifa squeezed some rain water out of her hair. She was glad they'd managed to escape the downpour before her white shirt became any more transparent. On seeing the effect the water had on said article of clothing, Aerith had been kind enough to lend her the jacket she wore, but even so, the guys in the group were having trouble not looking in her direction for a while.<p>

"Geez, you weren't kidding about the storm," Zack said as everyone gathered around, wiping the rainwater from their faces

"The weather around here can get rather unpredictable during the winter months. There's a current of wind that moves air in from the ocean and it tends to fluctuate a lot during this time of year," Nanaki explained.

"You some kinda weatherman or somethin'?" Barret asked.

Nanaki chuffed a laugh as he walked off a bit into the cave so he wouldn't spray the others. His flaming tail hissed when he shook the water out of his fur. "Just because I run on four legs doesn't mean I can't learn the knowledge of those who walk on two."

"I didn' mean anythin' by it, I was jes' wonderin'."

Nanaki lay down on the floor of the cave, resting his head on his paws. "There are many scholars in the Canyon; perhaps you too can learn some things from them."

Zack walked around the cave a little, following it a little deeper to a place where it widened out in an open space near the back before descending down a set of tunnels. "Since we've got a little time to kill; hey Cloud, Kunsel, how about we train a little bit?" While the others took seats at the mouth of the cave, the other two SOLDIERs joined him in the open area, and after a moment, he pulled out a couple of battery-operated lanterns to provide illumination. Once they were situated, the three of them walked to the center of the cave to discuss what drills they'd run before Cloud and Kunsel started off with one of the basic ones while Zack spotted for them.

Thunder roared outside the mouth of the cavern as the two warriors parried back and forth and Zack counted out the strokes for them. They went a few rounds, and then Zack took over from Cloud for a little, and then after a little more time, Cloud took over from Kunsel for a bit before they moved to a different set of drills.

One by one, the three men took off their shirts, having been working hard enough to need to cool off in spite of the time of year. Tifa began to take notice of the various scars on Cloud's back. The other men had their share of battle scars too, but unlike many of the others which had either been rendered small by the physical healing properties mako possessed, one scar in particular stood out prominently in the light from the lanterns, reflected under the sweat that poured down his back as he practiced his sword techniques. It had clearly been a deep wound. A puncture, and when he turned at one point, she realized it had to be the scar from where Sephiroth had impaled him. She shivered.

Zack called a halt to the drills and Cloud walked to the side of the cavern to pick up the second sword before returning. As she watched, Zack took hold of the two lighter swords Cloud was using and swung them slowly a couple of times while Cloud and Kunsel watched. It seemed he was talking about the difference in handling between a regular sword and a katana, while also discussing possible ways to use them in tandem. He demonstrated a block, and then a strike before taking up the Buster Sword again to prepare for the new drill, this time with Cloud holding the katana in his off hand.

"He's been training really hard, hasn't he," she commented to Aerith.

"Hmm?" Aerith looked up at her, having apparently been watching Zack.

"Cloud," she clarified.

Aerith nodded as the two of them watched Zack and Cloud go back and forth, Cloud carefully practicing the new techniques while Zack parried and defended before moving back in an offensive strike so his friend and protégé could practice the block too. "If Zack didn't make him come back in, he'd sometimes keep going for hours, when they weren't working a job."

"Why?" Tifa asked.

Aerith shrugged as the two SOLDIERs finished the drill, and then Zack and Kunsel walked back to grab their canteens, though Cloud remained in the center of the cave, working the drill as though his partner was still there. "I think it's because for him, good enough is never good enough."

"Why not? No one can expec' to be perfect," Barret said.

"I don't know if perfection is what he wants," Aerith replied.

"Then what is it?" Tifa asked.

As they watched, Zack walked back over to the center of the cave and said something to the blonde swordsman that sounded vaguely like "Come on, let's take a break. We'll probably be moving on as soon as the rain quits."

Aerith smiled sadly. "I'm not even sure he knows." After that, the conversation died and the three SOLDIERs rejoined the rest of the group, talking about the drills they'd run and discussing the differences between fighting two handed as opposed to with a single sword. But it didn't last long as the downpour began to let up. With a last rumble of thunder, the storm moved on, and as soon as the rain stopped falling, everyone continued on their way towards Cosmo Canyon.

* * *

><p>Mao was observing the main gate leading into Nibelheim when Rufus's car pulled through it, and two very familiar former coworkers stepped out of it, followed by, ironically, Elena. The newly anointed president of Shinra Inc. was the last to exit the vehicle while Palmer remained in the driver's seat. He took in the small village with interest, though even Mao could detect the look of concern bordering on disdain as he observed a cloaked figure hobbling along between two of the buildings along the main road. It was a convenient attribute of the swordsman's hiding place, perched in one of the larger trees near the main street, that he was close enough to hear what was being said, yet removed enough one would have to be better at seeking than he was at hiding. Tseng had been the only one ever capable of locating him, out of those who were still in Shinra's employ, and he didn't seem to have traveled with Rufus's entourage.<p>

"You there!" Rufus called to the figure in black. "What can you tell me about this village?"

"Not coming… Going east… must get it for him… become one with… Sephiroth…" The hooded figure ignored him, continuing to ramble both in word and stride towards what Mao now knew to be the former residence of Tifa Lockhart.

"Hey, I'd answer the President if I were you," Reno threatened. "Otherwise, we'll have ta make ya. And what do you know about Sephiroth?!"

"Must get it for him… "

At that point, Rude grabbed the figure by the front of his cloak. "Answer," He said coldy.

"Become one… Reunion…"

Rufus observed the spectacle before finally saying "It's no use, he's obviously out of his head." He looked up at the mansion. "According to the files, that's the only original building left. Reno, Rude, you check out the mansion. Elena, come with me, I'm going to speak to the innkeeper." Elena nodded and followed after him as the senior Turks headed towards the mansion, and the renegade pondered what he'd just heard. The active Turks would soon discover their handiwork in the mansion. He would keep watching, but it would probably be best to lie low for now.

* * *

><p>Tseng was in his office in Junon when he received a mail from the computer technicians he'd assigned to decrypt the files on Hojo's computer. While they hadn't completely managed to decrypt all of the data, they had managed to make some headway on the files related to the Jenova project's pool of test subjects. The fact that he already had personnel files on Zack and Cloud had helped them immensely in working on the others. Now, on his personal computer, the information formed a parade of chilling details. The identity of each subject, the procedures performed on them, the amount of time they'd been incarcerated by Shinra, where, how, Hojo's designations for them. The records of their maintenance. How many of them there were…<p>

The worst part of all was the fact that once Elena had been charged with taking a tally of the people in black cloaks in Nibelheim, each of them had corresponded to a file that now lay in front of him. Some of the specimens had been women and children.

Including Zack and Cloud, there were twenty-two in all, with thirteen confirmed still alive. There were four confirmed deceased. They'd died on the operating table. As Tseng looked over the details he found himself swearing (a rarity for him) as he realized that the logs for each specimen were all very similar to what Doctor Rayleigh had reported, with a few procedural differences. The SOLDIER and the infantryman must have been among the first, even if Hojo had labeled them failures. Rayleigh had not been able to be quite this specific about their mako injection records, or their exposure to the bonding chemicals used in the SOLDIER procedure, but she'd been able to make educated guesses, and now he could see, they were relatively accurate.

He had the details on what had been done, but not the motive. Even this was not sufficient evidence that Hojo had acted against the goals of the company. There were scientists still on the payroll who'd gotten away with worse. Before he could act, he needed all the evidence, and as he looked over the documents, he realized the answers had to lie in the final pair of files left to be decrypted. The Jenova Project file itself, and a short paper simply titled "The Reunion Theory."

"Reunion," he mouthed aloud, echoing the word mentioned in Elena's report on the figures in black. What could it mean? His thoughts were interrupted by a call on his PHS and he winced when he realized it was Scarlet. Apparently she wanted him to accompany her on her search for Huge Materia. Why she would, considering that she'd been perfectly happy to kill him before, was beyond him, but it was part of his job.

* * *

><p>The sun was beginning to set over the canyon walls when Nanaki led everyone towards a towering flight of steps. They climbed for several minutes when Yuffie started complaining.<p>

"I swear, it's like climbing to some of the more remote shrines back home."

"You know, I think I once saw a mountain shrine there with over seven hundred steps up to the top," Zack said as they neared what appeared to be the gate. "Compared to that, this is nothing."

"Seven hundred steps…" Barret breathed. "At that point, I might wanna jes' turn around."

"Well, I wasn't exactly there as a tourist," Zack hedged as he walked leisurely up the stairs. He had merely wanted to bring up the comparison to get Yuffie to quit grousing. He didn't want her to start hurling insults about SOLDIERs again.

It didn't work. "You were there to kill our ninjas!"

Zack sighed, reminding himself she had every right to be angry about it, and resigned himself to defusing the situation for the umpteenth time. "It's not like I wanted to kill anybody if I could help it."

"Then why did you?" Yuffie pressed. "You could have turned around and gone back home."

"Because we had orders. But even then, I spared lives where I could. I let you live after all."

"No, I let you go after I defeated you!" Zack rolled his eyes, and was relieved to see that they were coming up to the top of the stairs, and he could now see they were climbing to a small settlement on a plateau that overlooked the canyon. The plateau also housed a second rising cliff at its middle, honeycombed with dwellings and scaffolds. At the top of the highest rise, he could see what looked like an observatory attached to a little house. As the sunset gave way to twilight and the stars were beginning to twinkle into existence up in the sky, he could see the moon off in the distance. It was getting near full now, casting a gentle glow on the small village even as the light from the sun was fading in a rainbow of steadily darker hues. He didn't have much patience for science, (not to mention much tolerance left for scientists) but he found himself appreciating that whoever lived up at the top of the mesa probably had an incredible view through that telescope tonight.

Freya had gravitated to the rear of the group, he noticed, but Nanaki hurried to the guard standing at the gate. The man looked up in surprise as the red lion reached him, giving off his equivalent of a smile. "I'm home! It is I! Nanaki!"

The man returned it with a relieved smile of his own. "Nanaki? It is you! You're safe! Come on in, go say hello to Bugenhagen!" With a light growl that might have been his equivalent of an acknowledging grunt, the red lion rushed past the man and into the settlement, his gait showing a familiarity with his surroundings that could only indicate he had lived here for a very long time.

Zack was the second to reach the guard and as he approached, the man held up a hand to stop him. "Do you know of this place?"

"Only what my friends have told me about it," he replied.

"People from all over the world gather here to seek the Study of Planet Life. Umm… It's at full capacity at present, so I'm afraid I can't let you enter."

It was at that point when Nanaki reappeared at the foot of a second set of stairs that seemed to be leading up into the next tier of cliffs. "I have been traveling with them for some time, please let them in."

"Oh?" The man looked the party over. "Is that so? Well if you helped out our Nanaki, please, come in."

As everyone continued through the gate to rejoin the red lion, he spoke again. "This is where I was… I mean, this is my hometown. My tribe were protectors of those who appreciate this beautiful Canyon. My brave mother fought and died here, but my cowardly father left her… I may as well be the last of my race."

"That's not entirely true, what about Deneh?" Freya asked, her voice unusually soft.

"She won't return from the altar for several more years at least. It's a stipulation of the rite we performed," Nanaki replied.

"Oh."

"What about your dad?" Yuffie asked.

Nanaki growled. "My father was a wastrel. The mission I inherited from my ancestors, is to protect this place. My journey ends here."

At that point, everyone's attention was drawn by the voice of an older man. "Nanaki? You're home!"

Nanaki's head raised as he took in the sight of the older man who had called for him, looking down at them from the upper mesa. "Coming Grandpa!" With a final swish of his flaming tail, he ran up the stairs again and out of sight.

"Well, as for me," Yuffie spoke up. "I'm going to find somewhere to relax. Call me when you know where we're sleeping, okay?"

As though sensing she was headed toward the shop, Tifa gestured that Barret come with her to follow the ninja and Vincent wandered off to find somewhere quiet to do whatever it was not-vampires did when they weren't sleeping in coffins.

This left Zack, Cloud, Aerith, Kunsel, and Freya to follow Nanaki up the stairs. The steps wound their way around the cliffside before coming to an entrance into a cavern, and from there, it was a short climb up a couple of ladders before they reached the mesa on which the home of Nanaki's grandfather resided. Upon walking inside, they found their four-legged companion sitting near an old man, who floated on what seemed to be a strange hovercraft. "This is my Grandfather Bugen," the red lion said, "He's incredible. He knows everything."

Bugenhagen nodded at the introduction, laughing as he did so. "Ho Ho Hoo." He surveyed the new arrivals and his eyes landed on Freya. "I remember you. You were here with that other red-headed Turk. I didn't know what you were here for then, but you look like you've seen a few things since."

"I have. And I've had a lot of things to think about since I saw you last," Freya answered.

"With what I'm hearing of the cries of the Planet, it doesn't surprise me." The older man smiled. "Don't look so concerned. I'm not a vengeful man. What you did was very serious, but if Nanaki is still willing to travel with you, then I have no intention of holding a grudge. In fact, I thank you all for looking after him. He's still young you see."

Nanaki chuffed a laugh. "Please stop Grandfather, I'm forty-eight."

"Forty-eight is young?" Zack asked.

Bugenhagen's mustache crinkled as a smile formed under his beard. "Nanaki's tribe has incredible longevity. So you see, his forty-eight years would be equivalent to that of a fifteen or sixteen-year-old by our reckoning."

"I never would have guessed," Aerith said.

Those assembled look at the red lion in surprise as he continued. "He's quiet and very deep. You thought he was an adult?"

Nanaki's tail twitched in slight annoyance. "…Grandfather, I want to be an adult. I want to grow up to be able to protect you and the village."

The old man shook his head as he laughed again. "No Nanaki, you can't stand on your own just yet. To do that now would destroy you in the long run." He raised a hand as he continued. "Reaching up into the heavens, threatening to snatch the very stars from the great city of Midgar. You've seen it, haven't you?" He paused, his brow furrowed as he thought about his own words, and Zack half wondered if the man was a little senile.

Finally the man gave up on what he was trying to say and simply ended with "Well, that's a bad example. Looking up too much makes you lose perspective."

"I don't know about that," Zack said. "I find it to be kind of liberating, myself. There's a big beautiful sky up there, with so many possibilities." He couldn't miss the way the others were watching him. After going down into the Shinra Mansion's basement, they knew exactly why he'd hold that opinion.

The old man regarded him, floating a little closer. "When it's time for this planet to die, you'll understand that you know absolutely nothing."

"When the planet… dies?" Cloud asked.

"Ho ho hooo. It may be tomorrow, or a hundred years from now… But it's not long off."

"And how would you know that?" The skepticism was clear in Kunsel's expression.

"I hear the cries of the planet," Bugenhagen answered, gesturing upward. As he finished, they all suddenly noticed a collection of very odd sounds coming from some nearby machinery.

"What's that?" Zack asked.

"The sounds of the stars in the heavens. While this goes on, planets are born, and die."

While the older man explained, Zack looked down at Aerith who had suddenly put an arm around him as a particularly loud noise emanated from the machine. He returned the gesture, protectively encircling her as he considered the old man's statement. "What was that sound?"

"That was a scream from this planet. Didn't you hear it? It was as if it was saying 'I hurt.' 'I suffer.'"

"From what?" Freya walked over to the machine curiously, but not without some suspicion.

"I guess no one has ever told you exactly what Mako is, have they?" the older man asked.

Freya thought about the question. "I was always under the impression it was simply refined fuel drawn from the planet and returned once it cycled through the reactors. At least, that's how Shinra described it."

Bugenhagen shook his head. "Perhaps I should show you all something. Though I'll only be able to show it to you three at a time, since the room we're going to is very cramped." He floated over to a door and held it open.

"You and Aerith can go first," Cloud said after a moment. "We'll wait out here."

"You sure?" Zack asked.

The younger swordsman nodded.

"All right. We'll be back." Zack, Aerith, and Freya followed the older man through the door and they found themselves in what appeared to be a large room with a small platform in the center.

Bugenhagen was floating near a set of levers on the platform and he directed them to stand on it. "Ho ho hoo, now that everyone's here, let's begin." He flipped one of the levers and the lights in the room temporarily went out before another set of lights illuminated the room in a dim glow.

Aerith looked up and her eyes widened. "Ooh!"

Zack followed her gaze until he was looking up at the ceiling, and saw that up above them hovered a small planetarium, with the solar system hanging suspended as a 3-D model over their heads. He felt the platform lifting underneath them and soon, they stood just below the rotating planets and stars as the old man floated slightly above them, level with the model as the others looked around.

"Wow," Zack looked around at the tiny models. "This is incredible."

Bugenhagen smiled under his beard. "Hmm, yes, it's pretty good. This is my laboratory. All of the workings of space are entered into this 3-D hologram."

"There's even shooting stars in here!" Aerith pointed one out as it flew through the orbits of the various planets before being swallowed by a black hole some distance away. Aerith's emerald eyes were alight with wonder. "This is amazing!"

The old man laughed. "Ho ho hoo. It is something, isn't it? But let's get to the point." He settled himself on his hovercraft and continued. "Eventually… all humans die. What happens to them after they die?"

He paused to let the question sink in before pressing on. "The body decomposes, and returns to the Planet. That much everyone knows. What about their consciousness, their hearts and their souls? The soul too returns to the planet. And not only those of humans, but everything on the Planet. In fact, all living things in the universe, are the same." He lifted his hands, demonstrating the all-encompassing magnitude of his topic. "The spirits that return to the Planet merge with one another, roaming, converging, and dividing, becoming a swell, called the 'Lifestream.' In other words, a path of spirit energy that encircles the Planet. 'Spirit Energy' is a phrase that you should never forget. A new life… Children are blessed with Spirit energy and are brought into the world. Then, the time comes when they die and once again return to the Planet… Of course there are exceptions, but this is the way of the world."

He chuckled as he realized he was beginning to ramble. "I've digressed, but you'll understand better if you watch this." He pointed out a small blue orb that rotated in an orbit third out from the sun, and as they watched, representations of various humans, plants, and animals appeared before dissolving into a flow of sparks that began to encircle the planet, sometimes breaking off into new life, before dispersing again, but remaining constant in its flow.

Bugenhagen continued. "Spirit energy makes all things possible, trees, birds, and humans. And not just living things. It makes it possible for Planets to be Planets. So what would happen if that Spirit Energy were to disappear?" He reached out and Aerith gasped as the image suddenly reacted to his touch, causing the simulated Lifestream to gather away from the Planet and into his hand. Almost immediately, the Planet's surface blackened and then dissolved into the nothingness of space and Bugenhagen backed away, allowing the Planet to be restored in the simulation. "…These are the basics of the Study of Planet Life."

"So you're saying that if the Energy is lost, then the Planet's destroyed," Freya asked.

The old man nodded. "Spirit energy is efficient, BECAUSE it exists within nature. When Spirit energy is forcefully extracted and processed, it can't accomplish its true purpose."

"I guess you're talking about Mako, aren't you," Zack said.

Bugenhagen nodded. "Spirit energy gets compressed in the reactors and processed into Mako energy. All living things are being used up and thrown away. Mako energy will only destroy the Planet… Energy cannot be destroyed, but refined Mako speeds the process of falling to Spirit Energy's least active state. Did it ever occur to you why so many larger materia tend to form in reactors? It's because, if allowed to stagnate, the Mako crystalizes turning it into a form that can't be reabsorbed into the Lifestream without a cataclysmic unlocking of the energy. Materia can be used to cast spells because within them they are feeding off the active Spirit Energy within our own bodies. Using them as a conduit. Though their own store of energy remains largely in a state of permanent rest."

Zack pulled out the Odin materia he had in his pocket. "So when I hold this materia in my hand, I can tell what it is because I'm feeling it tap into me?"

"Precisely. Everything that has Spirit Energy within it maintains that connection to the Lifestream, never forget that. You, me, and everything on this Planet."

"So that means… Shiva…" He saw that Freya was looking up at the small blue Planet, a look of shock on her face as she voiced her thought aloud. "We've been powering our cities and homes with souls…"

Bugenhagen nodded. "Now, you are beginning to understand."

* * *

><p><em>Don't mind me, just lining up dominoes... ^^<em>

_As indicated by what Tseng's up to, the party should have arrived in Gongaga today. Of course, they aren't there, and it looks like Rufus has decided to join the hunt a little earlier than expected. Go figure._

_See ya next time!_


	24. The Candle and the Cave

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spinoffs. That honor goes to Square-Enix.

**Part II: Reunion**

* * *

><p>Chapter 24, The Candle and the Cave<p>

**December 22****nd** **[ ν ] – εуλ 0007**

When everyone gathered at the Cosmo Candle, the bonfire that marked the center of the settlement, it seemed as though the majority of the party had a lot on their minds. It wasn't just what Bugenhagen had said, or even the rigors of a long day, but a combination of things, not the least of which was the fact that Nanaki was probably not going to continue with them when they left in the morning, wherever they decided to go. No one had thought this far ahead.

Zack was sitting next to Cloud when Aerith reappeared from one of the houses. It seemed she had been talking with one of the elders after leaving them at Bugenhagen's house. As she reached them, she sat down next Zack, with a troubled expression on her face. "You okay?" he asked.

She watched the fire for a while before answering. "I don't know. I've learned a lot from the elders. About the Cetra, and the Promised Land… But… I guess I'm all alone now…"

Zack put an arm around her. "You've still got us though, right?"

"I know that, but… I'm the only Cetra."

"Maybe, but that doesn't mean I can't be here, right?"

She didn't answer but allowed herself to nestle deeper into his embrace, drawing comfort from his presence.

Tifa was sitting next to Cloud a short distance away and Zack suddenly heard her speak to him. "Bonfires are funny, aren't they. They make you remember all sorts of things."

"I guess," Cloud answered.

"Do you remember when we sat out at the water tower that night?"

"When I said I was going to join SOLDIER?" He asked.

She nodded. "The stars were really bright that night too."

Cloud looked up at the twinkling lights, reflectively, but didn't say anything. The gentle smile on his friend's face melted into concern. "When we were in Junon…"

Cloud lowered his gaze back down to her. "What?"

"No… it's nothing… Though I guess, when that happened in the mansion… that look in your eyes… it was like you had gone somewhere far away…" She shook her head. "Don't worry about it. It's nothing…" Zack didn't believe that for a second, and he didn't think Cloud did either, but since she didn't seem to want to elaborate further, Cloud seemed to have decided it was best not to bother her about it.

Across the Candle, Barret was talking to anyone who would listen. "This is where AVALANCHE was born, ya know. I promised my guys someday… after we saved the Planet from Shinra, that we'd all come to Cosmo Canyon to celebrate. Biggs… Wedge… they died trying to save us so we could keep on goin'. So we could keep on trying to save the Planet. Jessie and Tifa're the only ones left now… Save the planet? We all hate Shinra. Do I even gotta go on? I don't know what's left, but I only know one thing. If there's anything I can do to save the Planet… or the people livin' on it… Then I'm gonna do it! I don't care if it's for justice or revenge, or whatever. I don't care… let'em decide for 'emselves."

He stood, raising his gun arm to the heavens. Urrghh! I'm gonna do it! Again… Again… AVALANCHE's born again!"

"Did it ever occur to you that those people you claim you're trying to save might be the ones you're hurting the most?" Freya asked.

Barret shot her an angry look. "What gives you the right to tell me about hurtin' others Turk?"

"Because I've been there," her faintly glowing copper colored eyes seemed brighter in the firelight.

"Really?" Barret demanded. "You, the cold heartless Turk who completes the mission no matter what?" He savored hurling the motto back at her. "The snake who tricked me into…"

"Hey, whoa…" Kunsel interrupted, warningly. "We aren't trying to start a fight here."

Barret shot the brown haired SOLDIER a glare. "I've tolerated havin' her an' the other Turks around because they've been handy, and because she helped save us in Midgar, but if she's gonna start lecturin' me on hurtin' others, she'd better be willin' to take some #$% in return."

"Do you want to know why my eyes glow Barret?" Freya growled, her tone dangerously low. "I can tell you if you'd like, and then maybe I could start telling you about the last true leader of AVALANCHE and how he nearly destroyed the Planet because he didn't care about the people who got in his way. Shinra's done terrible things. I've done terrible things for them, but AVALANCHE is no better. If you intend to keep fighting under that name, you should know what it stands for."

Zack stood up at that moment. "What's with you guys? Come on, let's calm down, take a deep breath and chill out. Okay? It's been a long day, and we're probably all tired, right?"

Barret gave the Turk one last glare and then he stalked off towards the inn.

Kunsel let out a breath of relief. "I was worried for a second there." He gave the lady Turk a serious look. "Still, that's not like you Freya. You sure it was a good idea, trying to bring up Fuhito to him?" Zack privately agreed. Barret was touchy at the best of times. Everyone resumed their seats now that the current leader of AVALANCHE had left.

"If not now, when?" Freya said sadly. "What he says about Shinra may as well be true, but AVALANCHE is no more innocent. SOLDIER. The Ravens. Mako. Zirconiaide. Fuhito. Hojo. AVALANCHE. Shinra. What is it all? What difference does it make?"

"I don't know," Kunsel said. "But right now, that's neither here nor there. We're not blowing up any reactors, and we're not fighting any wars. We're just trying to stop one man before he does any more damage, right?"

The Turk thought about his words for a minute and let out a dejected sigh. "You're right. I'm sorry. I guess Bugenhagen was right too, looking at the big picture too much can make you lose perspective a little."

"Maybe." Kunsel offered her a comforting smile.

Yuffie yawned and stretched dramatically. "This place is boring, just like I thought. I wanna go somewhere and find some materia!"

"I'm actually fine with it being a little boring right now." Zack said.

"Party pooper," Yuffie grumbled.

Nanaki flicked his tail, sending off a small cloud of sparks. "…Long ago… When I was still very small. We were all around this flame…" He shook his head. "No, never mind…"

"What happened?" Cloud asked.

The red lion chuffed his species' version of a sigh. "It's about my parents. When I talk about my mother, I am full of pride and joy… And that's fine… …But when I remember my father, my heart is full of anger…"

The voice of an older man carried over the sound of the crackling bonfire. "…You really can't forgive your father…?"

Everyone looked up to see Bugenhagen floating over towards the flame, stopping just outside the brightest circle of light. Nanaki's eyes narrowed at the thought. "Of course not. He…left mother for dead. When the Gi tribe attacked, he ran off by himself, leaving mother and the people of the Canyon!"

Bugenhagen remained calm as he regarded his adopted grandson, until the red lion finished, and then spoke, his voice grave and solemn. "…Come, Nanaki. There's something you should see."

Nanaki looked back at his grandfather in surprise as the old man continued. "The place may be dangerous." He turned to Zack. "Would you and one other person come with us?"

Zack stood. This seemed like it was important. "All right. Cloud, you wanna come?"

"Okay. Where are we going?" Obviously glad for an excuse to get away from the tense mood that had developed around the Candle, Cloud followed him and Nanaki as they stepped off the small platform around the fire and after the departing old man.

The two of them followed Nanaki and Bugenhagen up the stairs and into the entrance of one of the upper caves. Blinking to allow their eyes to adjust in the different light, they saw the old man standing by a sealed blast door, constructed of steel plates. He spoke again as they approached. "Ho ho hoo. Shall we go?"

He reached behind him, opening a panel that contained a switch. Upon hitting it, the steel plates slid open, revealing a tunnel descending deeper into the cave. The older man gestured that they walk ahead of him. "All right. Come in, come in!"

Nanaki gave his adopted grandfather a curious look. "Hey, aren't you going with us, Grandpa?"

Bugenhagen shook his head. "What are you crazy? It's dangerous in there, I told you that! You want an old man like me to go first? I'll be right behind you."

Nanaki sniffed at the entrance and Zack and Cloud exchanged looks before they carefully followed the red lion down the tunnel. They soon came to a pit that seemed to drop through a series of platforms. Nanaki, or a SOLDIER wouldn't have any trouble negotiating them, though a normal person would have had to make do with the series of ropes and ladders that connected them. It still took the three of them some time to work their way down to the bottom, while Bugenhagen floated after them, but eventually, they found themselves on the floor of the pit surrounded by walls that had become strangely luminescent, rendering lanterns and flashlights unnecessary.

As they walked deeper into the cave, Zack listened intently for any sounds of movement before asking "What's so special about this place?"

"You'll see when we get there." The old man's voice echoed off the cave walls. They proceeded further past the veins of glowing silt and their boots crunched along the floor of the tunnel, competing with the sound of dripping water some distance away. He looked over at Cloud when he heard something creaking near where he stood and saw his blonde-haired friend looking down at what appeared to be a skeleton at his feet. Cloud edged around the thing, just as alert, before going for his regular sword. Zack decided he had the same opinion and unhitched the Buster from his harness. He'd done enough spelunking as a SOLDIER to be able to tell there was a reason this place had been sealed with steel plates. There was something hostile in this cave. Neither of them were about to be taken unawares.

Up ahead, Nanaki dodged to the side when something lunged from the shadows and Cloud leapt into action, quickly impaling it before it could strike again. As it fell to the ground, the blonde swordsman drew a breath and forced himself to relax before the three in the front got closer to the animal to take a good look. Like Nanaki it appeared to walk on four legs, but seemed to be covered in bony spikes. "Whoa, what is this thing?" Zack asked.

Bugenhagen approached it to take a look. "Ho ho hooo, everyone here's a ghost of the Gi Tribe, killed in a certain battle."

"A certain battle…?" Nanaki asked.

Bugenhagen nodded in confirmation, floating over to what looked like a small rock and pressing on it. They heard a click and another tunnel opened before them which Bugenhagen floated towards. "The vengeful spirits of the Gi didn't disappear, and couldn't return to the Lifestream…" He paused, trying to decide whether to explain further, but decided against it. "We still have far to go. Ho ho hooo." He ushered them down the tunnel in which he was standing.

As they walked further into the cave, Zack found that the glowing lines of silt in the walls were becoming less, and they were walking over deep pools of water. Steam wafted over them as they crossed over a series of natural bridges, eroded into their current shape by the ebb and flow of the heated waters below. Now he understood why he'd heard the sound of water dripping. Though he couldn't imagine it would be a good idea to fall into one.

When they neared the threshold of a new room near the back of the chamber with the pools, Bugenhagen spoke again. "As you can see, this cave leads to the back of Cosmo Canyon. It was unfortunate that the Gi were larger than us. If they attacked through here, we wouldn't have stood a chance."

Nanaki listened with curiosity but said nothing as the old man gestured that they continue into the next room. "Let's move on."

It was when they passed into the next room that Zack decided to ask a question. "Are you sure that thing back there was a ghost? When Cloud skewered it, it looked pretty solid to me."

"Not all ghosts are harmless," Bugenhagen said patiently. "Some can take control of inanimate objects. Possess them. Cause things to move when they otherwise wouldn't."

"Huh… I guess that explains it…" Zack looked ahead on the path. "But I'm pretty sure _that_'s no ghost."

When they looked up to see where he was pointing, the party stopped. Their path was blocked by what appeared to be a giant web. Perched upon it was a huge green spider-like creature with long spindly legs, looking like it had been waiting for something to stumble into its trap.

"I'm afraid we'll need to get past it in order to proceed," Bugenhagen said. "You think you boys'll be up to the challenge?"

Zack calmly brought the Buster Sword up into a ready position as Cloud did the same with his broadsword. "We should be able to handle a couple of Stingers, right Cloud?"

His friend nodded going for his Fire materia. Nanaki prepared to pounce as Cloud cast the spell on the giant creature's web, setting it alight in a fiery conflagration and its occupant fell to the ground. The cave darkened when the flames were extinguished almost as quickly as they'd been lit, but Nanaki had already dived in, biting hard into one of the monster's legs as Zack and Cloud raced in, swords at the ready. The Stinger clattered its jaws painfully; the two swords slicing it to ribbons. It collapsed to the ground and didn't move again.

Almost as soon as they finished with the first creature, they caught sight of another web glistening in the dim light. On reflex, Zack cast Thundara right before Nanaki raced forward, diving into the fray when the Stinger fell from its web. Cloud raced after him, hacking at one of the monster's legs before Zack too dived in. Dodging to avoid the spider's sharp forelimbs, he thrust the Buster sword down the center of the Stinger's thorax, killing it before it had the chance to strike again.

Pulling out his sword he checked the area for other enemies, but the cave had gone still, and the path they were following lay ahead. The two swordsmen and the red lion walked in front of the old man, eyes alert for more attackers, until they reached the entrance to the next cave.

At that point, Bugenhagen cleared his throat to speak again. "A warrior came through this cave all alone. Fighting attackers one after another…"

Nanaki seemed to be having trouble with his words. "Grandpa… That warrior…"

Bugenhagen shook his head, conveying that talk would resume later. "Ho ho hooo… We're almost there." They entered a large cavern. The path crossed the largest natural bridge Zack had seen so far in this cave. It spanned across a large pool of water, ripples flowing across its surface as droplets fell from the sea of stalactites that carpeted the vaulted ceiling. However, the thing that drew Zack's attention the most was a large pillar that stood at the opposite side of the bridge. As though it had been carved there by some malevolent artist, a face leered out at them, and if he looked at the eyes out of the corners of his own, he could almost swear they were… glowing.

"That has got to be the ugliest carving I've ever seen," he said.

Cloud nodded in agreement.

Bugenhagen looked over his shoulder at the pillar, and he seemed to be in shock. "What is this…?"

Nanaki flicked his tail nervously. "Grandpa, is he…!?"

Bugenhagen was looking equally concerned. "After death… The ghosts of the Gi… Like stagnant air… This… can't be!" Zack could barely believe his own eyes when the face moved into a slasher smile and the eyes lit up like those of a hungry animal before it disappeared, melding and shaping itself into the skeletal body of a floating warrior adorned with feathers, wielding a long spear and flanked by a pair of glowing lights.

As one, Zack and Cloud brought up their swords while Bugenhagen floated back away a little to get out of the combat zone. Nanaki crouched low with a deep growl before racing between the glowing flames, and under the hulking body to leap off the rear wall and take a deep bite into its shoulder.

The floating attacker let out a hacking screech and thrust his shoulders wildly until he managed to throw the red lion off of him, but by then, the two swordsmen were readying their attacks. Zack cast Firaga and their opponent screeched as flames licked its feathers. Once they died, Cloud raced forward, and plunged his sword into the ghost's chest, only just pulling it out in time to avoid being knocked around by the hand not holding the spear. He retreated when the floating corpse attempted to stab him with its weapon, only getting out of reach just in time. Nanaki had recovered by this point and howled angrily. Zack felt a limit break channel behind him before the red lion rushed at the monster again, slamming into him like a red comet.

Just as he'd gotten clear again, Zack noticed that the ghost started casting something and he raced forward, forcing it to instead parry with the spear. He felt a wave of heat behind him before he saw Cloud rolling across the ground, his clothes smoldering a little before he pulled himself up and leapt at the skeletal monstrosity slicing at its arm with his sword. Zack dislodged the Buster Sword from the spear and brought it around from the left once Cloud got out of the way. The Buster cleaved through bone and rotted flesh and Nanaki leapt from the back wall again, this time sinking his jaws into the skeletal figure's neck.

Cloud jumped back in, hacking at the ghost's shoulder and Zack was about to try and assist when the spear clipped him, catching him unawares. He didn't realize he was so close to the edge of the bridge and he felt his boots slip underneath him. Nanaki yelped in the distance when the ghostly warrior knocked him against the far wall just as Zack caught himself on the edge of the bridge with a free hand. He hung there for a moment before swinging his arm up to rest the Buster Sword on the ground and looking down at the water below. The steam rose up from the underground lake, moistening his skin and heating it to a very uncomfortable temperature and he found himself thinking again that it would be best not to fall down there.

His attention was drawn back to the fight just when the warrior brought his spear out in a stabbing motion at Cloud, but the lighter swordsman hopped up at the last second, landing on top of the shaft before leaping at the ghoul's head, attempting to decapitate the thing. Zack's breath caught in his throat when the warrior deflected his friend's attack right before it connected, sending him flying towards the wall.

Cloud managed to catch himself on one of the stalactites with one hand, repositioning himself to push off for another charge, while Zack pulled himself up the rest of the way.

Once he was securely back on the bridge, Zack decided he'd had enough of this ghost and began to channel a limit break. Thoughts of Cloud racing through his mind, he leaped into the air, energy forming around him. Meteors fell from a sky that didn't exist, pummeling their opponent into the ground until it gave a final shudder and lay still.

Bugenhagen approached the corpse cautiously before speaking. "…Thank you, both of you. Because of you, we survived." He looked down at his adopted grandson as he padded over to rejoin them. "Nanaki, you have grown strong too."

"…Oh yeah?" Zack tried to conceal a grin. It was the first time he'd heard the red lion/wolf actually speak like a teenager.

Bugenhagen nodded. "Now I know that it wasn't a mistake bringing you here…" He floated to where the pillar with the face had been, and now, Zack could see it had hidden a tunnel leading to a place that was lit up by moonlight. "Come, I have something I want to show you. Right over here." When they walked to the exit of the cave, Zack saw a couple of glinting objects reflected in the moonlight, one was a staff and the other appeared to be a green materia. He picked it up, rolling it around in his palm.

"Hey Nanaki, do you want this?"

The red lion approached him, observing the green orb with curiosity. "What is it?"

"I think it's a Gravity."

"All right." He took the crystal in his mouth before easing it into a slot on the bangle that fit snugly on his right foreleg, before leaving the cave. He saw that Cloud was looking over the other object and the two of them seemed to have the same idea. It was a staff with an ornament at the top composed of a gold ring encircling a clear blue jewel.

Cloud spoke before Zack could even make the suggestion. "Do you think Aerith would like this?"

"Yeah, it seems like something she would." Zack agreed.

"Take it with you then," Bugenhagen said. "It certainly isn't very useful gathering dust down here."

Cloud passed Zack the staff and he secured it under his sword harness before the two of them followed Bugenhagen and Nanaki out into a small gully that stood in front of a pair of rising cliffs. That was when they saw the huge shape that marked the highest rise, clearly visible in the moonlight.

Nanaki seemed to be in a state of shock. "This is…"

Bugenhagen had paused at the exit from the cave, but now he floated up to pull level with Zack and Cloud as he spoke, his voice filled with the sadness of one who has lost a good friend. "…The warrior who fought against the Gi. He kept them from taking even one step into Cosmo Canyon. But he was never able to return to town…" He pointed to the giant stone figure. "Look, Nanaki, Look at your father, at the warrior, Seto." That was when Zack realized what it was. Crouched, ready for another attack even as his body was pierced multiple times with spears, was the body of another of Nanaki's kind, hardened to stone, literally frozen as a statue in the midst of battle. If there was ever a time when he knew it would be best to emulate Cloud and be quiet, this was it, so that was what he did.

"…That… That's …Seto…" Nanaki's tone was one of awe and amazement.

The old man nodded. "Seto continued to fight the Gi tribe here...To protect this Canyon. Even after the Gi's poisonous arrows turned his body to stone… Even after they all ran away… Seto continued to protect us, and he continues to protect us even now."

"Even now…" Nanaki echoed, still in a state of shock.

"You thought that he was a coward and ran away. But he alone, risked his life to protect Cosmo Canyon. That is your father, Seto," Bugenhagen said.

Nanaki finally turned to look at his adopted grandfather from the rock on which he stood. "That…that is Seto?...!? Did mother know?"

"Ho ho hoooo… She knew. The two of them made me promise to keep this cave shut. They asked me to seal it myself and not tell a soul. They said we should forget about this cave."

Nanaki sat in thought for a moment and as he did so, Bugenhagen turned to Zack and Cloud. "Zack… would the two of you mind leaving us alone for a moment."

The dark-haired SOLDIER shook his head. "No, its fine, we'll be waiting inside." With that, he and Cloud turned around and went back in. As their eyes once again adjusted to the inside of the cave, Zack heaved a sigh and leaned against the wall. Cloud didn't seem to have anything to add, so they waited in the calm quiet of the empty cave, now devoid of creepy spirits. "Hey, nice job back there," Zack said at last.

"With the ghost?" Cloud asked.

Zack nodded. "Next time we spar, I'd like to see how you managed to control your fall when he knocked you back, that was really great."

"I didn't hurt him that much," Cloud said. "If I'd been quicker to draw that attack, you wouldn't have been knocked off…"

"Hey, don't sweat it. You're gonna have unexpected things happen all the time in a fight. If combat were always predictable what we do would be a lot less dangerous."

Cloud considered for a moment and then offered a soft grin. "Still, that was some limit break."

"Thanks. I learned it around the time I met you, actually."

"Really?"

"Yeah. The first time I used it was at Modeoheim. Not quite sure why I got the inspiration for it then, but it was pretty impressive, right?" Their conversation was broken by the sound of someone howling outside the cave. Nanaki was mourning the father whom he had denied for so long.

* * *

><p>Back at the Cosmo Candle, most of the party was still awake. Aerith, Kunsel, and Tifa were still waiting up for Zack and Cloud, but Yuffie had called it a night, and Barret had not reappeared. Freya sat quietly a little away from the others, poking the flames with a stick when Vincent appeared, seemingly out of nowhere.<p>

"Where did you get off to?" she asked curiously.

"I was familiarizing myself with the area."

"Oh…" Freya looked up at the stars, a wry smile on her face. "Is it true you were Veld's partner?" she asked after a moment.

Vincent's brows furrowed and he looked away. She almost thought he wasn't going to answer her when he finally spoke. "You probably weren't even born yet." His tone was clipped as though he didn't want to discuss the matter further.

Freya tried to give an understanding smile. "Ifrit. You could give Cloud a run for his money with pauses like that. But I get it. It's okay if you don't want to talk about it." Her smile faded as she looked away from the older Turk… the former Turk? He'd referred to himself as such, but was there such a thing?

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard the familiar sound of two sets of combat boots and Zack and Cloud appeared out of the dark. Nanaki had not returned with them. Aerith stood when her boyfriend walked up behind her. "How was it?" she asked.

"Nothing we couldn't handle." Zack offered her his usual grin. "You should have seen us though…" He reached behind him and everyone was surprised to see him lift out a staff. "We found something in there we thought you might like." He held the staff in front of her so she could look it over.

"Oh, I do!" Aerith took it in her hands, giving it an experimental swish. "It's really nice! Thank you!"

The two swordsmen retook their seats between Aerith and Tifa and Zack leaned back to lie on the ground, resting his head on his arms and looking up at the starlit sky. "What a day, huh?" he said at last.

"Yeah," Cloud agreed watching the flames.

"What Bugenhagen told us up in his planetarium was definitely interesting," Aerith said. "But I guess that leaves us to figure out what's going to happen after we're done with Sephiroth, doesn't it."

"I don't know what you guys are going to do, but I think I'd like to find out more about this slowing of Spirit Energy he was talking about. He could have been talking from bias, but I'm sure with a little research we could get a more complete idea of what's going on," Kunsel suggested.

"If it's all right," Freya said, "I'd like to help with that. I want to know for sure if he's right."

"That's fine," Kunsel agreed. "It's probably going to be some pretty hefty reading. If Rayleigh's not too busy I might see if she's interested too."

"Still, if what he says is true, it kind of explains a few things about Mako and materia in general, doesn't it?" Zack said. "If Mako is processed spirit energy, then it definitely explains the whispers and some of the weirder effects from being exposed to it."

Freya thought about his words for a moment. "It also kind of explains what happened to Elfe, doesn't it?"

"You mean with that materia Hojo put in her arm?" Zack asked.

Freya nodded. "After it broke, it was tapping into her life force and so it started draining her dry."

"What are you talking about?" Tifa asked.

"It had to do with what happened after the Turks caught us," Cloud explained.

"Oh." Tifa looked around at the others. "Was that… what you meant when you were talking about that Fuhito person?"

The lady Turk wrapped her arms around her knees, in an uncharacteristically defensive position. "Fuhito was the last real leader of the original AVALANCHE. He used Elfe and the summon materia Hojo implanted into her to try and destroy everything. We defeated it before we fled Midgar… Fuhito didn't care who it hurt. He was a fanatic, mindlessly bent on killing all of humanity for what? Restoring the Planet? Don't make me laugh. In many ways, he was just as bad as Sephiroth." Her expression was hardened in anger as she spoke. "I never want anyone else to become like him…" Her voice trailed off as everyone considered her words.

For a while, the only sound remaining was the whisper of the wind and the crackling of the bonfire. At last, Vincent broke the silence. "Sephiroth said he was headed east."

"Yeah. We're leaving first thing tomorrow. Gongaga is southeast of here, and while he did sort of fly more due east when he left us, I'd feel a lot better if we stopped there to check."

"I don't think it's Gongaga that he's after," Freya said again. "What's there that he could possibly want?"

Zack gave her a reproachful look. "I don't know. Just for peace of mind, okay? We'll have to go that way anyhow, since the supply truck for the canyon doesn't get here 'till tomorrow, and we'll have to hitch a ride to cross the river at the ford. Come to think of it, what is due east of where we found him?"

Kunsel pulled out the map, spreading it over his lap again. "Well, there's a ridge on this side of the mountains, and then a river and some more mountains… and then there's the Corel desert."

"The desert?" Zack ran a hand through his hair, thinking. "What could he possibly want there? Is there anything there?"

"There's the Gold Saucer," Kunsel suggested, "But I don't know how he'd find the Promised Land in that place."

Unbidden, the mental image of Sephiroth searching for the land of supreme happiness in an arcade flitted across Freya's thoughts and she tried to suppress a derisive chuckle. "Sounds ridiculous."

"Still, we don't know unless we go, right?" Cloud said.

Zack nodded decisively. "Right. That's what we have to go on, so that's where we'll look. We can have Cissnei meet us at Gongaga, that ought to help us get there quicker."

"Okay." Freya reached for her PHS. "I'll let her know and then…" She put a hand to her mouth to stifle a yawn. "…I think I'll call it a night after that." She stood and stretched before leaving the Candle with a short wave. "I'll see all of you in the morning."

* * *

><p>It was later that night in Nibelheim and Mao was observing from the rise overlooking the town, when something got his attention. The cloaked figures who had up until this point been shuffling around aimlessly without any indication of purpose were suddenly moving towards the roads leading out of the village. Several of them stumbled as they walked, making noises and while none of the actors in the place seemed to be reacting, he saw a light come on at the inn and a window opening, revealing a silhouette that indicated Rufus had definitely heard them.<p>

In barely less than ten minutes, both men watched the departing figures disappear, leaving Nibelheim almost completely a ghost town, and as soon as they were gone, Mao put in two calls, first to Veld, and then to Freya before returning to watch the village. Someone needed to be aware of Rufus's movements as well, and he was confident that before the night was over, each and every renegade Turk in Veld's network would know to keep an eye out for those strange people in cloaks, whatever they were.

* * *

><p><strong>December 23<strong>**rd** **[ ν ] – εуλ 0007**

The next morning found Zack and the others at the shop, gathering supplies for the next leg of the journey. They were about finished with this, when Cloud's eye caught on a smaller blade sitting out on display. It was a butterfly edge, and while it lacked the reach of the Yoshiyuki or even his own broadsword, something about the lighter blade attracted his attention. He lingered as the others departed, examining the blade with interest, and after some slight hesitation, he reached into his wallet and handed the shopkeeper the requested amount of gil before sliding the new weapon into his sword harness along with his other swords and followed the others down the steps to the main exit. Everyone was gathered near the Candle when he arrived with the exception of Nanaki. When Zack saw that everyone was there, he raised his voice. "All right, the truck should be down at the foot of the stairs any minute now. Are we ready to head down there?"

Aerith looked up to the path leading towards Bugenhagen's house. "I suppose this is it, Nanaki."

Barret shrugged. "That's how it goes. He came in handy at times…" With that, everyone left the area around the candle and started towards the gate leading out of town.

They were almost there when Cloud heard a familiar voice. "Wait for me! I'm coming too!"

Everyone paused as the red lion rushed to join the group and Cloud saw Bugenhagen floating up behind him. Zack turned around to meet them as they approached and Bugenhagen addressed him. "Zack, please look after Nanaki."

"What happened?" Zack asked.

"I think I grew up a little. That's what happened! I don't know if coming with you will save the planet or not, but I have to try!"

Zack knelt down so he was face to face with the red lion. "I guess that's all you can do. Welcome back."

"Thank you." Nanaki walked past him as he stood to join the rest of the group.

At that moment, Yuffie groaned impatiently. "Hurry up you guys! I wanna get out of here and find some materia!"

* * *

><p><em>And now we're leaving the canyons. Not that Bugenhagen isn't awesome in his own way. It's just due to where I am right now in the drafting stages, it's safe to say I'm really excited about what's to come. Not gonna say why just yet... ^^<em>


	25. But His Fortunes Are Never Right! Right?

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spinoffs. That honor goes to Square-Enix.

**Part II: Reunion**

* * *

><p>Chapter 25, But His Fortunes Are Never Right! Right?<p>

**December 23****rd** **[ ν ] – εуλ 0007**

The group parted ways with the driver of the supply truck as soon as they crossed the river, and after that, Zack led the way southeast. Unlike the previous day, it didn't appear any storms would be in the forecast, so they made good time through the woods in which they'd been dropped off. It was still morning when they walked out of the woods and found themselves near a beach facing south.

"It shouldn't be much more than a few hours and then we'll be there!" Zack called out after getting his bearings. "I took a couple of detours the first time around so I wouldn't get caught, but I'm pretty sure if we follow this coastline we'll get to it pretty quick."

Kunsel hummed thoughtfully as he looked at the map again before speaking. "So Zack…"

"Yeah?"

"How exactly did you get from here to Mideel the first time? There aren't any major ports around here."

"Oh that," Zack stretched as he breathed in the familiar sea air. "I did some island hopping. There's a few fishing villages around here and so I talked to some fishermen and agreed to work for them for a day if they'd take me to the next village, which as luck would have it was a few islands away. It was a good thing it was still the season for fishing, otherwise I might have had problems finding a way to pay them back."

Kunsel grinned and shook his head. "You make it sound so easy."

"Oh it was hard work, but it was nothing I couldn't handle, not to mention it got us plenty of food." Zack's expression became more reflective. "We ate pretty good for a while. Lots of fish stew… I got really good at making it too…" He trailed off and Kunsel decided not to press any further.

Cloud was listening intently. He couldn't remember any of what Zack was talking about but part of him wished he could. He heard Nanaki speak up from where he was walking next to Tifa. "How does he manage to stay so… calm… about everything?"

"I don't know," Tifa answered.

Nanaki seemed deep in thought. "Before I learned the truth, I felt so angry about my father, even the happiest memories of when I was young seemed clouded… tarnished. For a long time, I couldn't even think of my time as a young cub without thinking of him and how he had betrayed the village, and my mother… The anger was all I could see. Before my mother went back to the Planet, not even the sadness in her eyes could change my mind… It's a little frightening…"

Tifa was quiet for a moment before answering, a troubled look on her face. "Anger can be frightening. It can make us forget what we still have… And what it can do to other people."

"It can be a good motivator too though," Kunsel said. He had apparently overheard them talking after Zack had pulled ahead of the rest of the group, clearly intent on getting to his hometown in a hurry.

"As long as you don't let it control you," Freya added.

"Well, yeah, of course." Kunsel agreed. "What else would I mean?"

"I don't know, I guess I'm just having trouble picturing how you'd react if you ever got really mad. Even at the church, you weren't too happy but you definitely seemed to have a very good measure of self-control when I confronted you."

"Obviously you didn't see all the work I did to try and find Zack after I found out what Shinra did to him," Kunsel retorted. "I was pretty motivated."

Freya paused at that. "You know, when you put it that way, that quiet sort of anger might be the scariest there is."

Kunsel raised an eyebrow at her with a smirk. "Says the crazy Turk who isn't afraid of raiding the Shinra building, twice."

Freya snorted derisively. "Compared to Fuhito, that was child's play."

* * *

><p>It was late afternoon and the shadows were starting to get long when Zack led everyone to a sandy trail leading into a thick jungle, before opening out again into a village that looked like it had seen much better days. Some of the houses looked abandoned with the rooftops full of holes and the doors boarded up. There weren't many people wandering about, but Zack turned around to address the party. "Nothing against you guys, but I haven't seen my folks in a few years, and I don't think it'd be a good idea to bring everyone. So I'm going to leave Freya in charge while I go talk to them."<p>

"Don't worry about it. We understand," Nanaki said.

"Yeah, we'll set up camp and scout the area just in case," Freya agreed.

"Aww…" Yuffie groaned. "I was hoping we'd be going somewhere interesting!"

"Well, there's the old Mako reactor," Freya observed. "You might find some materia there." The ninja's eyes lit up dangerously, and she was gone before anyone could say anything more.

"Nice job Freya, now someone's gonna to have to go find her," Barret grumbled.

Cloud checked his weapon and wordlessly started in the direction Yuffie had gone, but Zack shook his head and cleared his throat. "Not you, Cloud, you're coming with me."

"I probably shouldn't…"

"Bull. You're coming." He looked around at the others now that the discussion was closed. "Aerith, you and Kunsel are coming too of course. I wouldn't have it any other way." He looked around the group. "You can hold down the fort for an hour or so, right?"

Freya nodded. "You can count on us. We should be able to keep the guys in line, right Tifa?"

The martial artist punched her open hand with her fist playfully. "Sure we can!"

"Okay, see ya later." With that, he gestured that Kunsel, and Aerith follow him and Cloud before they walked to the village entrance. One of the last things he heard before departing was Tifa saying "Somebody still needs to find Yuffie again, do we have any volunteers?..."

Zack wandered down the path past the graveyard and into the village, looking around for any sign of a trap before going cautiously over to a familiar small house and a door on which he realized even after being gone for so long, he could still remember every line and every knot on the boards that composed it. He looked behind him to see that the others had caught up and after taking a deep breath, he reached up and lightly knocked three times in quick succession.

They waited for a few fleeting seconds that to him seemed like hours, before the door opened revealing the face of a woman he hadn't seen since he'd run off ten years ago. "May I... help…?" His mother's voice trailed off as she got a good look at his face. "…Zack?"

"Hey Mom… I… uh…" He rubbed the back of his neck nervously as he gave her a sheepish grin. "I'm home…?" He was cut off as she spoke.

"All this time you've been gone and that's all you have to say?" She demanded. She turned around and called into the house. "Liam! Get out here! It's Zack! Our boy's come home!" Before he could argue, she nearly tackled him in a hug, which was quite a feat for someone who was not SOLDIER enhanced.

Almost immediately, his father appeared behind her. When had he grown taller than him? His hair had greyed too, but there was no mistaking him. "What took you so long? The least you coulda done was write more than one letter. Come in!"

The two of them were ushering him inside when Zack stopped. "Actually, before that, I'd like you to meet some very good friends of mine." His parents looked around him at the three people standing a few feet away. Aerith had clasped her hands behind her, and seemed almost shy as she smiled, while Cloud seemed to be doing his best to make himself as invisible as possible behind her and Kunsel. Zack pointed them out in turn. "This is Cloud and Kunsel. And this is Aerith. Guys, this is my mom and dad."

His father regarded the three of them and as his eyes landed on Aerith, a smile crossed his face. "You must be the one he wrote to us about. I can see why he'd be a little distracted." He moved out of the way, beckoning for them to enter. "A pretty girl like that? Why would you ever leave the city?"

"Well, thank you." Aerith laughed before turning indignantly to her boyfriend. "But still, Zack, only one letter? You may have had an excuse for some of the time, but I know you could have done better than that!"

"Like Dad said, I was distracted…" He trailed off as they walked inside and Zack found the common room with a small kitchen still looked about like it had when he'd left. It was like a dream almost.

"Will you be able to stay long?" his mother asked.

"We'll stick around for a little while, but the people we're with are camped out at the edge of the village and we'll probably leave tomorrow… "On seeing his mother's disappointment he added. "We could stay for dinner."

"Well I would hope you could do at least that much," his father said.

"You can sit over here dears, there's plenty of seats," his mother interrupted, gesturing to the kitchen table.

Zack sat next to Aerith as his father shut the door and his mother went to make tea. He could already smell the citrus. She liked to use orange peels and it gave the brew a distinct smell that he could remember waking up to like it was yesterday. Liam Fair looked over his son and his assembled guests appraisingly, and then took a seat at the table. "So, what else besides this lovely young lady has been keeping you so distracted all these years?"

"A lot happened."

"I don't doubt it."

* * *

><p>In the end, much to his annoyance, Barret was charged with tracking down Yuffie while the others scouted the area and set up camp. Tifa walked with him, taking in the jungle growth while the two of them made their way to the ruined reactor where the ninja was believed to have disappeared to. Ever since Nibelheim, Barret had noticed a change in her demeanor, like there was something bothering her.<p>

"If there's somthin' wrong Tif, spit it out. I ain't blind, and I ain't deaf neither."

The martial artist was quiet for a few moments before she shook her head. "…It's nothing."

"The hell it is." They continued down the path in silence for a while until they began to see signs of debris marking the sides.

At last, Tifa spoke. "I guess I'm a little worried."

"About what?"

"I'm not sure… It's just… when we were in Junon…"

They had reached the edge of the ruins by that point and just up ahead, hanging onto an old bent pipe to keep from falling in, was their wayward ninja, reaching into a hole in the wreckage. "Aha!" She gave one final tug and pulled out her hand which now contained what was clearly a summon materia. "I knew there'd be something good in here!" she crowed.

"What did you find?" Tifa asked, apparently relieved at the change of subject.

"It feels like…" Yuffie palmed the materia as she hopped to the ground. "Titan, I think." She shot them a wary look. "I found it! It's mine!"

"All righ', all righ'! Keep yer shirt on!" Barret growled. "Now how about you go back?"

Yuffie scowled before Tifa spoke up. "Come on, let's go back and help the others. You found your materia, so there's no reason why you can't."

Grudgingly, the ninja allowed herself to be led back to camp. "You coming Barret?" Tifa called over her shoulder.

"I'm gonna take a look around this place first," he answered.

"Well, just be sure to get back soon, okay?" With that, Tifa and Yuffie disappeared into the woods.

Barret took in the ruined reactor with unease. The town they were camped near had obviously been ravaged when this place had blown. He picked through the wreckage, alone with his own thoughts for a while. He was about ready to turn around and head back, when he noticed someone watching him. Freya was looking at the remains too, though clearly she had been out here scouting when she'd spotted him. Upon noticing him, she walked over. "Did you find Yuffie?" she asked.

"'Course I did. She an' Tifa went back to camp," he said gruffly.

Freya nodded and they stood in an awkward silence for a while. "I'm sorry…" She said at last. "About what happened back at Cosmo Canyon."

Barret grunted. What was the Turk playing at? "What was yer real job? Back in Corel?" he asked after a moment. "Were you there so that #$%^ could have a reason ta take out the town?"

"I was trying to get to the reactor, but my job was only to investigate the area…" she trailed off.

"And why should I believe that? Next thing I knew, the reactor blew… an' that was where you were goin'."

Freya looked around the ruins, and absentmindedly kicked a piece of siding out of the path that wound its way through the wreckage. "Do you know what happened here?" she asked.

"No. Don' really care either."

"This was one of AVALANCHE's bombing runs. One of the last ones their smaller cells did before Fuhito took over completely and started converting all his followers into Ravens. One of the other Turks investigated it I think, but by the time I was sent here looking for something else, it was already in ruins, and the town was devastated."

"So?" Barret growled. "It was for the good o' the planet."

"Do you want to be the one to tell that to Zack? When his parents could have been killed?"

"What does that have ta #$%^&* do with anythin'!" Barret was in her face, almost yelling now.

Freya glared right back at him. "It has everything to do with it. Do you want to know who blew up the Corel reactor?"

"What's it matter!" Barret snarled. "Either way, Shinra wanted an excuse to get rid of Corel!"

"You're wrong, and if you want the proof, then open those eyes of yours and take a look at mine!" Freya didn't even flinch as she spoke. "You may not believe me, but you deserve to know the truth. Shinra may have attacked your village to cover it up. Believe me, I know it's not the first time they've done things like that, but it wasn't us who blew the reactor."

"Then who did it?" Barret thundered.

"It was AVALANCHE."

Barret looked at her in complete disbelief and then shook his head angrily, barely holding back the urge to strike her across the face. "How d'ya expec' me to believe that coming from you?"

"If you don't, you can ask Shears." Freya's voice had become eerily calm in the face of threatened violence. "He was there, and so was Elfe."

Barret's eyes widened in shock. "You gotta be lyin'!"

The lady Turk shook her head. "Rufus was funding the original AVALANCHE under the table, but Fuhito… he was a leader along with Elfe and Shears… he decided that Rufus wasn't needed anymore, so he set up a trap at the reactor. I was sent to investigate, but it nearly killed a whole bunch of us. The reason my eyes glow is because I fell in as it blew. Fuhito threw Shears in after me because he was too close to Elfe. If Shears and I hadn't fought our way out together, we wouldn't have made it… The next thing I knew, I was in the hospital and it was three years later. I didn't find out until afterward that the president ordered Scarlet to demolish the town. He did it to cover up the evidence of what Rufus had done."

That was enough. Barret stormed away from her, too angry to even speak. "It probably doesn't change anything," the lady Turk said at last. "I would have to be an idiot to think an apology could ever cut it, for everything Shinra's done to you, but… for my part, I never intended…"

"Freya…" Barret couldn't look at her anymore. "Jes… Go…"

He heard her light footsteps as she walked back down the path. When he could no longer hear her, he let out an angry yell and unloaded his gunarm at the wreckage surrounding him, his thoughts on the village burning in his memories as Shinra troopers destroyed everything in sight.

* * *

><p>The last hour or so had mostly been taken up with getting acquainted as Zack's parents asked questions and Zack did his best to answer what he could. He'd felt it best to keep it short and to the point before moving on to what they were currently doing, and so he kept strictly to the most important details.<p>

"…The thing is, after what happened in Nibelheim, Sephiroth shouldn't be running around, especially not if he's still crazy. Me and Cloud just couldn't let it sit, so we've been following him for the last week or so."

Liam Fair leaned back in his seat. "That's quite a story, son." Alice Fair had long since handed out her tea and had taken a seat next to her husband as he spoke. "It's a shame you couldn't have stopped the last time you were here, but now that I know that nice young lady was a Turk, I can understand."

"It's only because I didn't want to put you in any danger, but that's beyond the point right now."

"Don't take it personally," Kunsel said with a wry smile as Zack finished. "He tried to keep me out of it too. Emphasis on tried."

"I would have succeeded too if you hadn't run into Aerith," Zack said. "But I'm actually pretty glad now."

Kunsel laughed. "And don't you forget it."

"Me? I would never!" Zack said in mock offense before the seriousness returned to his voice. "But nowhere is really safe until we've taken care of Sephiroth, and even after that, Shinra's probably going to look for any way to get at us that they can. I understand if you don't want to leave here. It's home. But I'd feel a lot better if they didn't know where you were."

"I suppose if it worries you that much we could go somewhere else for a while, but where should we go?" Alice asked.

"We've been hiding out in Mideel for a while and no one's found us yet," Aerith suggested.

Zack grinned. "That would be great. It'd probably be a little crowded for a while, but I'm sure we can find some way around that."

His mother stood at that moment. "I suppose we can talk some more about this later. How many others are at camp right now?"

Zack looked at her in surprise. "Umm… about six and there's probably going to be one more coming… Why?"

His mother rubbed her hands together in anticipation of getting down to work. "Go and tell them we'll have supper in a couple of hours and then get back here. We've got to find some way to celebrate you coming home after all."

Zack opened his mouth to protest but Alice shook her head. "No arguing. We may not have enough room to house everyone, but they are certainly welcome to pitch their tents in our yard or make use of the inn if we run out of space."

"Are you sure that's all right?" Cloud asked.

"Of course it's all right!" Liam answered. "Make yourselves at home, and don't worry about imposing. You haven't said much, but if what Zack's told us is true, you've been through a lot together. I'm not gonna ask about the details past what we know already, but you get that close and it's as good as being family."

Zack leaned over to Aerith and whispered "Told ya," and she giggled behind her hand as Cloud looked embarrassed again.

"Uh… thanks."

"Anytime." Liam stood and stretched.

Zack also stood. "Well, I guess we'd better go let everyone know what's up."

"Please do," Alice said.

"Actually…" Aerith paused. "Could I stay and help?"

"Of course you can dear, we'll probably put Zack to work on some things too when he gets back."

Aerith turned to Zack, the mischief back in her eyes. "I guess you'd better hurry back then, huh?"

Zack nodded. "We shouldn't be long." With that the three SOLDIERs walked out of the house. "So what did you guys think?"

"You should be ashamed of yourself, not coming back to at least visit them." Kunsel said with a grin.

"You're right, I should. But I had a good reason… most of the time."

"If you say so."

On approaching the location where they'd decided to make camp, they saw that Tifa was there watching their belongings with Yuffie. "Where is everyone?" Zack asked.

"Out scouting," Tifa answered. "Barret's the only one who hasn't checked in yet. I'm getting a little worried about him."

"Well we're calling everyone in to relocate."

"Did something happen?"

Tifa looked a little worried so Zack offered her a reassuring grin. "Nothing bad. My folks just insisted we make camp over near their place tonight."

"Are you sure that's okay?" She asked.

Zack laughed. "Cloud asked the same thing. Yes, it's more than okay. So let's make some calls." He pulled out his PHS. "Since Yuffie's back, I'll start with Barret. Kunsel you call Freya, and… oh wait." He groaned as he remembered. "Damn it, we have got to get Vincent a PHS."

"That won't be an issue." Zack whirled around to see the man in red standing calmly behind him.

"Hey Vincent, don't startle me like that!"

The gunman wordlessly glided past as Zack dialed Barret. The call went directly to voicemail. "That's kinda worrisome." He muttered.

"…You're on your way back? Okay, good." Kunsel hung up. "Freya should be here in a few minutes and Nanaki's with her."

Zack nodded. "All right. We'll go look for Barret when everyone else gets here…" He paused as he heard a new and yet familiar noise. "Is it just me, or do I hear a helicopter?" Everyone looked up and after a few moments, Zack could see a Shinra transport helicopter flying overhead. He squinted at the tail section, to check for the number and sighed in relief. On confirming it wasn't the enemy, he walked out into the center of the clearing and waved his arms. Almost immediately the chopper came into a hover overhead before coming in for a touchdown. Zack could see the curly-haired Turk standing up in the cockpit once the rotors slowed to a halt and before long, the hatch pulled open. To his surprise, along with the sight of the female Turk he was also graced with what looked like an animate cat plushie that had been duct taped to one of the supports, and judging by the nearly irate highland accent, the prisoner was not pleased.

"All right lass! We've landed! Cut me loose so I can talk to the SOLDIER."

"I never took you for the type to collect stuffed toys, Ciss," Zack said, stepping into the helicopter to get a closer look.

"I'll show ye a stuffed toy!" the cat retorted as he looked up. It was at that point when he realized to whom he was speaking, just as Cloud and Kunsel had walked in to see who was making all the racket. Almost immediately, the cat stopped struggling, quickly changing to a friendlier tone. "You're Zack Fair. And that's Cloud Strife and Kunsel. So she was tellin' the truth when she said we were headed back to ye!"

"Yes, I'm Zack. And you are?" The dark haired SOLDIER decided to ignore the fact that he was talking to a stuffed animal for the moment. He'd already accepted a talking red lion, this wasn't too much more of a stretch.

"He's a spy for Shinra. Tseng had him sneak aboard in Rocket Town and I caught him when I landed near home." Cissnei said. "Don't worry, I've put a jammer into his hardware where he can't get it. He can still communicate with his controller, but that's it. Isn't that right, Reeve?" Her tone was slightly mocking.

"You're name is Reeve?" Zack asked.

"No lad, I'm Cait Sith… but as you've heard, Reeve's the name of me controller back at Shinra."

"As many missions as you did for Shinra, you've probably done some for him," Cissnei commented. "Does Reeve Tuesti, head of Urban Development, ring any bells?"

Zack regarded the little cat with curiosity. "Now that I think about it, maybe I have seen him before… Not sure where though…"

"_Well then, I suppose we can cut to the chase and speak to each other directly,"_ a deeper voice flowed out from a speaker somewhere on the cat where he couldn't see.

"You know, it's hard to take a guy seriously when he's speaking through a talking cat," Zack commented.

"Don't let that fool you," Cissnei cut in. "Believe me, he's used that to his advantage plenty of times."

Zack raised an eyebrow in surprise, and then turned back to the incapacitated feline, "So what do you want with us?"

"_For now, I simply wish that Cait Sith travel with you. I wouldn't be addressing you directly at all, except that I saw you communicating with Veld. If he thinks your mission is important enough to assist you, then you will have my cooperation. I will of course be required to report to Tseng, otherwise he will become suspicious, but I will only feed him enough information to keep him satisfied. My concern is the safety of the public. Whether it is provided by Shinra, or provided by you doesn't matter to me. I've heard a lot about you Zack, and I've learned a lot from you. I understand your aims and I can help you."_

"And how do we know you aren't lying?" Kunsel demanded.

"Ask him to tell a fortune." Everyone whirled around to see Freya at the hatch.

"Freya! Where ya been lass! Yeh've got to help me out of this one!" Cait Sith resumed struggling and gave a mewling sound at the sight of the lady Turk.

"Sorry Cait," She walked over to him, tapping his nose with her finger. "But I'm afraid this one's all you. Predict Reeve's intentions for us."

"You sure that's a good idea?" Cissnei asked.

Freya grinned. "There's room for error, but you'd be surprised. It was him that told me where Zirconiaide's support materia was here at the reactor. It may sound odd, but this little guy's the real deal."

"Reeve's intentions, eh? Is it all right boss?"

"_Fire away Cait, do your worst."_

The cat blinked and flicked his tail a couple of times before speaking, "Your aim is for the good of the many, though you would prefer it not be at the expense of the few."

It was Zack's turn to blink. "What does that mean?"

"I think it sounds like he's saying Reeve's telling the truth, but we can't seriously just go on that, can we? That's a conflict of interest!" Cissnei said.

"You are right of course," Freya agreed. "Which is why I think we should take turns keeping an eye on him while he's with us. Reeve has access to a lot of useful information, a contact with him, even one of this nature, could be valuable."

"_I will accept that if you will,"_ Reeve agreed.

"Good."

"Okay, if he's so accurate, what's coming for us?" Kunsel demanded, clearly still not buying it.

Cait Sith's tail twitched again before he spoke, first looking at Kunsel "Ye don't know the value of what ye have until it's gone. Yer lucky color is blue." As he spoke even he seemed to realize it was odd. "Hmm, let me try that again."

He then looked to Cloud "Be careful of doubt and forgetfulness."

"That one's even weirder," Zack commented.

Cait then turned his attention to the dark-haired SOLDIER. "What yeh seek will be yours, but the price'll be too high for keepin' it."

"Does anyone have any idea what this crazy cat's trying to say?" Zack looked around at the others to see if they had any insight.

Cait Sith frowned just as deeply as the others. "Hmm… these are all really strange. I think I might like to come along just to see what they mean."

"It sounds like total gibberish," Cloud said.

"That's what I think too," Kunsel gave Freya a hard look. "You really want to take him seriously?"

The lady Turk nodded. "His predictions have never been wrong before. Now I have a question." Freya walked over to the little cat. "What is Sephiroth after?"

The cat once again blinked and twitched his tail for a few more seconds. "He seeks a key of stone in a dish of pleasure."

Zack groaned. "I never thought I'd want a translator for someone who spoke the same langauge."

"Actually, I'd say it's pretty direct. The only dish around here is the Gold Saucer," Freya said. "Since we know that's where he was headed, it seems a safe bet that we need to look there."

"You actually think we can trust him?" Kunsel asked.

"No. But that doesn't put me above being willing to use him."

"That's great an' all lass, but could ya at least tell yer friend to cut me down?" Cait Sith interrupted. "I'm already gonna lose some fur as it is!"

"All right Cissnei, let him down." She turned her attention back to the little cat. "But know this Cait, if you even think of trying to double cross us, I will personally borrow Zack's Thundara materia and use it on you, are we clear?"

The cat nodded. "We're clear! Just let me down!"

Once he'd been cut loose, the cat walked around the helicopter a moment, and then followed everyone outside. As they exited Kunsel spoke up again. "I still don't think we should be going on the predictions of a stuffed toy."

"Well, if you want to know for sure he's for real, why don't you ask him something that can be verified?" Freya suggested.

"Okay." Kunsel considered the question before looking around and remembering there was still one person who was unaccounted for. "Cait, where's Barret?"

The cat didn't even bother blinking or twitching this time. "He's… right in front o' ye lad."

There was no sign of him. "Really?" The derisive edge in the brown-haired SOLDIER's voice was hard to miss.

It was then that Cissnei's eyes fell to the ground. "Um… try looking a little… lower."

Freya gasped at that point. "Oh no!"

Kunsel looked down at his feet and found himself graced with the sight of a surly-looking frog with a tiny gunarm. "It can't be…"

"Don't worry. We can fix this," Zack said. "He probably ran into a Touch Me on the way back. We just need to pick up a Maiden's Kiss at the shop and it'll be all right."

Freya looked down at the frog with a miserable expression. "You're having a really rough day today aren't you?"

If Barret the frog had been able to speak instead of croak, the next thing he would have said would probably have contained several expletives. Yuffie looked up from where she sat in sheer horror at the sight of the transformed gunman. "What kind of crazy place is this town?"

Zack let out a tired laugh. "It's my home."

* * *

><p>"Now be sure to get plenty of rest and I don't want to hear you put weight on that leg before your next appointment. Understood?"<p>

"Of course not. Thank for your time doctor!" The man Rayleigh was seeing limped out the door of the exam room on his crutches just as her PHS buzzed.

Walking back towards her office, she pulled it out of the pocket of her coat and she shut the door immediately upon seeing who it was. Right on time, it was Shalua. Fortunately, that had been the last appointment of the day so she would be able to leave soon. In the meantime, she checked the message. _I've got some more results on those files. I've finally got a complete version of Sephiroth's medical records and I've made a start on the Reunion Theory, though it's not yet finished. What's left are the subject procedure logs and the file on The Jenova Project, but this stuff is already hot, and I don't think we've even opened the real can of worms yet. Be careful._

She shut her PHS and walked over to the small stand of laboratory equipment she'd set up on one side of the room. It was very rudimentary, composed of a microscope, and various tubes and beakers along with a small refrigerator for the samples. Fortunately the clinic had a centrifuge since there was no other real lab close enough for running blood tests but she'd done her best to have her own pursuits impact the clinic as little as possible. The rest she'd been able to confirm with the microscope and fresh slides.

The results had been what she'd feared. While there were differences in mako levels and the presence of certain bonding agents, as well as the level of saturation for Jenova cells, the end was result was otherwise virtually identical to what she'd seen in the results from when she'd examined Zack and Cloud. Still… she was beginning to have doubts about her hypothesis already. According to the report supplied by Cissnei, the subject the Turks had detained had been a female, very much insane and aged from the process, certainly not SOLDIER material, like Zack, or even close, like Cloud who while horribly injured in the mako reactor had been at least in excellent physical condition otherwise due to being in the military at the time. If Hojo was trying to recreate Sephiroth, as she'd at first guessed, why would he use an average human female? It was well known that there was a higher risk of complications developing without proper physical training and conditioning, therefore, you couldn't just go through with becoming a SOLDIER and be done with it. Yet that was what Hojo seemed to have done. If not to recreate Sephiroth, then for what end had this experiment been carried out?

She looked through the microscope at a tissue sample she'd put on a slide just to reconfirm what she had found out. The concentration of S-Cells was nearly one and a half times the concentration that Cloud possessed, and that felt frighteningly important.

She sighed, and walked back over to the computer, finally plugging in the PHS to look at the new files, perusing the file on the Reunion Theory first. Oddly enough, that file itself was surprisingly short. It was almost disappointing. There was a lot of discussion of the chemical properties of the Jenova cells and how they behaved under certain conditions. It had been very similar to the essay Cissnei had returned with, which now graced a small shelf in her room back at the lodge. However, for whatever reason, there were portions of the data that clearly had higher encryption matrices, and therefore, she was left with the information, but not the conclusion. She sighed, frustratedly massaging her right temple and adjusting her glasses before checking the now completed medical chart. Now that the notes were completed, she could see there were definitely similarities, but it seemed that for every new piece of the puzzle, there was a new string of questions tacked onto the ones that already existed. It could be the only way to get answers might be to find one of these beings and take a look at them herself.

She didn't like the idea. It made her stomach churn. But as she reached for her PHS she told herself it was for Zack and Cloud's sake, and for the sake of those people in cloaks too. Zack and Cloud needed to know why this was done to them, and if there was a way to make it easier to bear, maybe it would even help the other subjects too. She typed in a message to Shalua thanking her for the information, and then she picked a new number and dialed it. Finally someone picked up. _"Yes?"_

"Veld, I have a request for you in addition to what Freya has asked."

"_What can I do for you doctor?"_

"The other Turks who are keeping an eye out for the people in Black Cloaks… How hard would it be for them to catch one?"

* * *

><p><em>Another day, a few more dominoes... I felt kind of bad about what I did to Barret here, giving him all that angst and then frogging him, but that's kind of how things went. I hope I did okay with Zack's parents, I know some in the audience had high expectations.<em>

_Earlier this morning, our party finally crossed paths with the original group, and they would have reached Cosmo Canyon probably sometime in the early afternoon FYI._

_And Cait Sith has at last officially joined the party. It sure took him long enough! I wonder what those fortunes mean... ^^_

_Have a happy Labor Day, and I'll see ya next week!_


	26. Well, We Got There Eventually

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spinoffs. That honor goes to Square-Enix.

**Part II: Reunion**

* * *

><p>Chapter 26, Well, We Got There Eventually…<p>

**December 23****rd** **[ ν ] – εуλ 0007**

Dinner that night was quite the event. With Aerith and Tifa's help, Alice had managed to truly outdo herself. A ham Liam had cured, and a healthy selection of vegetables preserved from the year's harvest was arranged on the table which had been relocated to the back yard and set up with plenty of extra chairs. The conversation mainly took place at Zack's end of the table as he told his folks stories of some of the places he'd seen. The girls added their two cents on occasion along with Kunsel. To no one's surprise, Cloud and Vincent had little to say, but what really surprised Zack was that Barret had been quiet through most of the meal too. Even after getting defrogged, he'd spent a large portion of the time thinking, which really didn't suit him all that well.

It was even more surprising considering that Zack had been almost sure having a current Shinra operative in the party might raise a fuss from him. But as soon as the meal ended, the man simply walked off toward the cliff overlooking the Gongaga reactor ruins, and sat down, watching its ghostly remains in the moonlight. Freya had been a little subdued too, but she wouldn't say why.

One by one the others in the party slowly began to get up and disperse to prepare their tents or otherwise occupy themselves when his mom walked up to him. "Zack, I was wondering if you could help me with the dishes."

"Sure." He followed her into the house and approached the sink, he saw that Tifa was sitting next to Cloud in the living area. It seemed they were seeking refuge after a slight altercation with Yuffie in which they had to convince her not to test out her new summon in the back yard, or even within the limits of the village. Vincent eventually agreed that he would accompany her out to someplace that was clear of hazards, just in case more Touch Mes showed up, but Cloud now leaned against the back of the couch looking exhausted. Zack grinned. "She'll run you ragged if you aren't careful," He offered.

"Thanks for the warning," Tifa said from her seat next to the younger swordsman. "Next time we think it's a good idea to let her have a summon, stop us, okay?"

"Anytime." Zack reached for the dish detergent, careful not to break the plates as he worked. It sort of reminded him of when Angeal had first taken him on. When he'd made 3rd Class, he really had not known his own strength for a while, and his mentor had started him out working on holding things like eggs before giving him other assignments, such as doing the dishes, to test his level of control. In some ways it had been a blessing in disguise that Cloud had regained consciousness while still physically weakened from their ordeals. It had allowed him to acquaint himself with that strength over a slow period of time rather than waking up from sedation and discovering that suddenly he was strong enough to lift the back end of a heavy duty truck on a regular basis.

"Are you okay honey?" he heard his mother behind him.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" He offered her one of his winning smiles.

"Oh, you just looked like you had something on your mind."

"It's nothing. Just thinking about a friend." He realized he'd stopped working at that point and his arms were covered in soap suds.

Cloud stood up and joined him, picking up a towel that lay on the counter, and wordlessly started drying a dish Zack had finished with.

"Oh, you don't have to do that Cloud," Alice said.

"It's all right," Cloud answered. "It'll be faster this way."

Tifa stood up and volunteered to clean the counters soon after and, between the four of them, the kitchen was spotless in short order. They were about to walk out to join everyone when Liam entered. "Is everything taken care of outside dear?" Alice asked him.

"All that's left is the table and we're bringing it in now." He gestured behind him as he held open the door and Zack saw that Kunsel was carrying it back inside by himself.

"Goodness!" Alice exclaimed. "You SOLDIERs sure are strong!"

"This is nothing." Kunsel said, carefully negotiating the table legs through the door. "Zack fought with monsters in Wutai three times this size."

"The Nibel Dragons weren't exactly small either," Cloud offered.

"You fought a dragon?" Liam was clearly quite impressed while Alice seemed at a loss for words.

"Well, Sephiroth did most of the work, but yeah, I fought one. He was a mean one too, with claws and fangs, and these giant scaly wings! You had to be careful of those, otherwise they might knock you silly if you weren't careful."

"I saw one from a distance once. When I was young, my father had business that took him north for some reason so we took the mountain route. We didn't get close, but those are something to see," Liam commented.

As Kunsel finished positioning the table back in the dining area, Zack stretched and rolled his shoulders. "Hey guys? You up for a short spar before bed?"

Cloud and Kunsel both looked up. It had been a sufficient time by now for the food to settle, Zack guessed and he was feeling antsy. He just knew if he tried turning in for the night now he probably wouldn't be able to.

Kunsel answered first, dusting off his hands. "Sure we could do that. Who goes first?"

"How about we start with just me and Cloud and then you can cut in to help him after a few minutes."

"That's fine. We are doing this in the back yard, right?" The brown-haired SOLDIER walked to the door.

"Where else would we do it?" Zack asked. With that, everyone filed out to either gather their equipment, or watch the show. Zack walked to a place near the center of the yard, holding the Buster Sword at the ready. Cloud joined him soon after, having decided to leave the Yoshiyuki in favor of his regular sword, however, Zack noticed a smaller blade sitting in his sword harness behind the larger one. It was the butterfly edge he'd found at Cosmo Canyon. He was curious, but he decided that Cloud could be the one to judge what was best for his own fighting style. After a moment, his friend and protégé pulled out the longer sword and held it at the ready.

"I'll give you guys about two minutes before I jump in," Kunsel said.

"Sounds good."

"Okay, start when I say go." Kunsel stood at the edge of the impromptu fighting ring.

Zack adjusted his grip around his sword as he eyed his friend. He trusted him, but that didn't mean he intended to let him get inside his defenses.

"One…"

Cloud met his gaze with one as steady as his own, his blue eyes alert with anticipation.

"Two…"

Zack adjusted his stance slightly and whispered "You ready?"

"Three…"

Cloud grinned. "You bet."

"Go!"

The two swordsmen circled each other for a bit, each trying to guess what the other was thinking before almost at the same moment, they lunged. Zack had more power behind his strike, and ended up getting there first but at the last second, Cloud managed to parry, sliding out of range of the large blade. Sparks flew between the two pieces of steel under the light over the back door and from the torches that had been set up in the yard.

Zack could see Cloud's eyes glowing as he backed further away from the light before coming at him with a slash from the right, and he brought the Buster Sword down in a guarding position.

For a split second there was nothing but silence before Cloud pulled away, this time attempting a downward strike which Zack also blocked before deciding to press the offensive again. He backed away before lifting the Buster Sword for a diagonal strike from the left. Cloud dodged to the side, whirling around with his sword to deliver a blow to the opening his friend had left, but Zack was too quick, managing to duck and roll as the sword flew easily overhead, not even touching his hair.

* * *

><p>Kunsel watched as the two men fought, noticing that Aerith and Tifa had joined Zack's parents at the door, watching at a safe distance. From a trainer's perspective, both of them appeared to be in top form, knowing each other's movements and knowing exactly when to press and when to back off. Cloud lunged forward, and Zack retreated before coming back with a heavy downward swing that Cloud stepped out of the way of before coming at him again. This wasn't strictly a spar, Kunsel could see. The other two SOLDIERs were <em>playing<em>, enjoying the rhythm of the combat, and the trust they shared, knowing that neither of them would harm the other. Zack parried again and launched a second attack from his right before bringing his sword around in a heavy swing which in turn forced Cloud to duck out of the way. Probably payback for that one swing he'd pulled a short while ago. Cloud too looked in his element. Though he was too busy concentrating to smile, Kunsel could almost feel his excitement.

He checked his PHS. Had it already been two minutes? He stuck it back in his pocket and waited for an opening. Soon, he saw that Zack was occupied with Cloud again and took that opportunity to come forward, raising his sword with a warning yell to alert them of his intentions. Zack wasted no time before stepping behind his sword, turning it in such a way that Cloud had to back off to attempt another swing and the blade caught the side of Kunsel's. They locked eyes for a moment, Zack's violet and his own hazel ones, before Zack moved out of the way to once again parry when Cloud moved in for another attack.

Back and forth the three SOLDIERs went, swords cutting the air and sparks flying for some minutes before Zack called a halt, clearly much more relaxed than he had been earlier. At that moment, Aerith and Tifa both applauded and he could see that Vincent had returned along with the others. Zack of course took the applause as encouragement and bowed dramatically. "I know, I know. We were all pretty awesome weren't we?"

"Of course," Aerith said.

At that moment, Barret reappeared with a stretch and a bonecracking yawn. "I don' know what ya'll've been up to, but we should prob'ly get an early start tomorrow." Kunsel was a little surprised, but given how he'd been in such a sour mood earlier this was definitely an improvement. While the gunman was still obviously not dancing with glee, it seemed that whatever the problem was had at least been put aside for the moment in favor of fatigue.

Zack nodded. "You're probably right."

* * *

><p><em>It was the Lifestream again. The tendrils of green mist passed by him, lighting the darkness with their glow as gentle whispers flickered in and out of range of his senses. It was hard to comprehend how vast this place was. It felt empty and yet far too full of energy and movement. Then he found himself back in Nibelheim… terror clenched in his throat as he recognized the bright light overhead. The table in the Shinra basement. Hojo had to be around here somewhere, he could hear someone talking. He tried to move but for some reason he couldn't. His body felt heavy, and in his mind he couldn't seem to process why that was…<em>

"_Failure." The word blared off of a sheet of paper in front of him before it before vanished into the dark, and in its place was another bright light, but the sensations were different… pleasant… warm water… and a gentle voice…_

"_You were so worried. But it's all right… She made it out safely… and I know she's out there somewhere… Wake up…" _

For a moment, Cloud wasn't quite sure he was awake and he lay on the couch in the Fairs' living room, blinking and allowing the previous evening to come back to him before sitting up. He was sure he felt the fading twinge of a headache on the verge of dissipating, but maybe it was his imagination. He looked around the room, taking in Zack and Kunsel sleeping on the floor. The girls had been given his bedroom and somehow, they managed to get everyone into the house (in spite of the protests from some of the guests about not wanting to intrude). After a moment, he stood and stretched, before pulling on his sweater and creeping out to the back door, thinking some fresh air would do him good. He silently pushed it open, and stepped out, paying mind to Nanaki, who had insisted he preferred being outside, when he stepped out and looked up at the stars.

Perhaps it was because he hadn't quite returned to wakefulness that he couldn't place to whom that last voice had belonged. It sounded awfully familiar. He watched the sky for a while until he heard Nanaki stir behind him. It would be time to leave soon.

* * *

><p><strong>December 24<strong>**th** **[ ν ] – εуλ 0007**

The next morning, Zack awoke to the familiar smells he had long ago associated with his mother cooking breakfast. The girls were also helping her, having apparently heard her get up to get things started. After everyone had convened to get their fill of the morning meal, it was soon time to pack up and make plans for the next leg of the journey.

They had finished the last trip to load the helicopter, when Liam approached his son. "Your mother and I have decided we'll make ourselves scarce for a while. Though we don't know exactly where we're going."

"It's pretty easy," Zack said. "I can give you the name of the village to go to and have someone meet you there, or I could have Cissnei take you back, if you want."

"That might be best if it's not too much trouble for her."

"Not at all. It's better this way, considering Shinra knows you live here, and they probably already know we've spoken. I was able to divert attention from you before, but now that Cait's in the equation…"

"Even though you've accepted this Reeve person, you still don't trust him," Liam observed.

"Not as far as I can throw that stuffed toy, and until I see otherwise, I'm not taking any chances," Zack confirmed.

Liam nodded. "Very wise. I wouldn't either. We'll have our things ready when she returns, though I suppose we'll make our arrangements between ourselves."

"Be careful."

Liam nodded. "You as well. We're both proud of you, son."

Zack rubbed the back of his neck. "Thanks… Though I guess I need to get going."

Liam clapped him on the back and then pulled him into a hug before calling his wife. "Alice, our son's getting ready to leave!"

His mother had been talking to Aerith about something near the helicopter's main hatch but she finished and walked over and also pulled him into a hug. "Take care of yourselves, and don't forget, we love you."

Zack grinned. "I love you guys too, and we'll see you when we're done, okay?"

His mother and father backed away from the area under the rotors and Zack pulled himself inside. Soon they were away, and headed north towards the shifting sands and blistering heat of the Corel Desert.

* * *

><p>It was still not quite noon when Cissnei brought the helicopter to a stop outside the North Corel town limits, and predictably, once again, Yuffie was the first out, soon followed by Cloud, but he wasn't in nearly as much of a hurry now. He didn't even feel all that ill, much to the relief of everyone else. Really, only one person in the helicopter who was on the verge of throwing up was more than enough. All thought on that curiosity was wiped from his mind when he looked out at…<p>

"This is North Corel?" Zack's question was exactly the same as his own thoughts. Even from here, the place looked barren and desolate, populated by tents and smashed buildings. There were a few booths where shopkeepers had set themselves up, but really, the place looked worse than Gongaga.

"Didn' always look like this," Barret growled.

Kunsel sighed. "That's right, you didn't go to Costa Del Sol, you took the long way around through the islands. But yeah, I've seen it. The one time I got duty over here it was to keep people from rioting while they fixed the ropeway…" He trailed off as he saw Barret was giving him a warning look. "I didn't hurt anyone here, I swear. You should know by now, that's not how I do things, if I can help it."

Barret took a moment to answer. "It doesn' matter now…"

When everyone had disembarked, Cissnei said "Do you need anything before I leave?"

Zack shook his head. "We'll let you know what the plan is tonight depending on what we find. Since it's a bit shorter to get to the Saucer, we may even ask you to just land there when you get back. I know you'll probably be tired."

"It's no trouble. Thanks to Freya, I'm still fresh."

"I owe you big time. You know that right?"

"Don't even think about it. Without you, we would have had a lot more trouble saving the world." Cissnei grinned and after she departed, the remaining members of the party started towards the ruined town.

When they approached, walking along a set of train tracks, Cloud could see three men coming from the opposite direction. Barret pulled ahead, almost defensively, walking face first into one of the men's fists as he threw a hard right hook. The gunman didn't budge as the man jeered "Well, lookey here! Never thought I'd ever see your face again. They kick you out of another town or somethin'? You destroy everything you touch."

One of the other men joined in. "You got a lot of balls comin' back here! Look at this place! It's all your fault North Corel turned into a garbage heap!"

"Well? Why doncha say something!? Or did ya forget what you done here already?" The third man looked like he might be ready to throw a rock if they weren't careful.

Freya reached the men at that point. "What's all this about?" She demanded.

"It's none o' your #$%^&* business." Barret growled warningly before looking back to the three men. "…I'm sorry…"

The man who had punched him spat at the ground even as he eyed the assembled group behind Barret. "^%$#! You ain't even worth the effort. We probably shouldn' even waste our time talkin to you, Techno-freak! You might cause an even bigger mess then that other guy did at the saucer." With that, the men dispersed, going off into the town of tents.

As the last guy was leaving Barret called out "Wait! What other guy? Do you mean…"

The man didn't answer before he rounded a corner. Right as he disappeared, another movement caught Cloud's eye and he looked up. Several yards away from them, clad in a black robe, stood a figure with a tattoo on his hand, clearly reading "I." His eyes met another pair glowing green underneath the hood, even in the late morning sunlight, and as Zack caught up with him, it turned around and shuffled in the direction of the ropeway, making a motion almost as though it were beckoning before it disappeared. Zack and Cloud raced after him like Nibel Wolves on the scent of a Chocobo. It wasn't Sephiroth, but if he was in the area, the figure might know.

* * *

><p>Far, far to the north near the isolated town of Icicle Inn, a woman with cold eyes and long dust brown hair, almost like it had been faded by the snowfall, was tracking a set of shuffling footprints across the ice towards the Great Glacier. Liz had been out here for several hours, though she didn't mind the cold. She'd lived in the area for most of her life, and she knew the fastest way back to town if she needed to return. Right now, the martial artist renegade was occupied. She'd been following this person for some time, since she'd caught sight of the black cloak and shuffling countenance near her small house on the outskirts of town, completely by chance earlier this morning. Veld had put the word out, and so she made her choice. Still, this had been quite a request on the doctor's part. The situation would have to be dire indeed if the former SOLDIER doctor and researcher was willing to go to these lengths.<p>

She continued to trail her quarry through the falling snow, ever mindful of her surroundings. There was a sound off in the distance and her hands pulled into fists. Even at noon, it was rather dark around here with the snow falling, but years of practice had made it easy to spot her quarry up ahead of her.

She raced forward and tackled the shuffling figure even as she vaguely heard it muttering "Become one… Sephiroth…" In spite of being slightly surprised at the figure when he nearly pulled her off, she managed to incapacitate him, mostly due to the fact this person had apparently never been taught how to fight. Once she had him tackled, she noted the number VI tattooed on his exposed arm where the cloak had ridden up slightly. Upon securing the person, whom she was now quite sure was a man, with a pair of handcuffs, she promptly hoisted her quarry (he was actually rather heavy considering he was so small and thin) over her shoulder and heaved him back towards Icicle Inn. Once there, she would see about making arrangements to get him to Mideel. She knew a guy with a plane who ought to be able to get her there by tomorrow if he wasn't busy…

"Must get to him… become one…" And quickly, she decided. This person was obviously crazy due to whatever had happened to him, and if she didn't hurry, it might rub off.

* * *

><p>It was not long before the kid with the tattoo led them towards the ropeway and got aboard, so the rest of the group soon followed. There were two compartments, so Freya suggested they ride in the other one. They didn't want to scare the kid away, and if he led them to Sephiroth, all the better. They were about halfway to the Saucer, and Vincent had been put in charge of watching their quarry in case he did anything, when Aerith's attention was brought back to Barret. "What happened back there?" she asked.<p>

Barret shook his head. "Sorry, my hometown used to be around here."

"You mean Corel." Kunsel asked.

Barret nodded.

"How could they say those terrible things?" Aerith demanded.

The gunman sighed. "Ya probly know what happened at the reactor, I guess. But it's still my fault. It's ALL my fault. If I'd sided with Dyne against building the thing in the first place, the town wouldn' be such a wreck now."

"Dyne?" Nanaki said.

"He was my friend back then. He didn' want us given' up our coal mines for the reactor, and we shoulda listened. But we didn', and then the day came, me an Dyne went off to check the reactor and were away for a few days. When I came back, the town had been burned to the ground by Shinra troops. They blamed it on the town; said a rebel faction did it; and now, I know it was half true, but if I'd never gone along with it…"

"That's so terrible!" Tifa exclaimed. "But don't blame yourself. We were all fooled by the promises Shinra made back then."

Barret looked out the window, the familiar scowl on his face. "That's why… that's why I get so pissed off. Not only did they take advantage of me… But I lost my wife, Myrna, too…"

An uncomfortable silence fell across the cable car compartment for a moment before Kunsel spoke up again. "When they said 'that other guy' what did you think they meant?"

Barret shook his head. "When me an' Dyne were on our way home, we ran into a bunch of troopers and during the fight, he fell off a cliff. I tried to hold him… but they shot my hand off and his too. I thought he fell to his death, but after I threw away my artificial arm and got this gun grafted in, the doctor told me somethin'. He said that another man had gotten the same operation done, 'cept it was the other hand. I don't know if this might be him. But I'm sure as hell gonna find out, at least so I can apologize to him."

Aerith nodded. "We'll help. The least we can do is ask if it's him, right?"

Before Barret could answer, they heard a chiming noise and the cablecar pulled to halt. "Our target's moving." Vincent said softly.

They hurried out of the cablecar just in time to see their quarry vanish into a throng of people headed towards the main entrance to the park. They were almost there when the person at the ticket booth called out "Hey, you can't just walk in! Get over here!"

Aerith looked back in the direction they had been going and she heard Zack heave a sigh next to her. It seemed thanks to that momentary distraction, their target had disappeared. Nothing for it now. Zack walked over to the guy selling tickets. "Sorry, this is the first time we've been here. How much for the tickets?"

The guy looked around at the group, mentally counting off how many people there were here. "For a single group pass that'll cover everyone for one visit it'll be about 5000 gil. Or you can purchase a lifetime pass for 50000."

Zack whistled. "I think we'll stick with the single pass." He finished the transaction and he and Aerith were about to return to the others when he remembered their conversation from earlier. "Hey, I was wondering, was there some kind of disturbance a few days ago?"

"Come to think of it, there was. You might want to ask Dio about it if you want to learn more. You can usually find him in the Battle Square."

"Thanks." Conversation finished, the two of them rejoined the others, handing out their tickets and Vincent looked like he was about ready to leave.

"Hang on!" Zack called after him.

Vincent quirked an eyebrow at him. "I assume we still intend to follow this person."

"Well yeah. But we shouldn't just go it alone."

"Right," Kunsel agreed. "How about this. Zack, you go talk to this Dio guy. Freya and I can pull one team to search and Vincent can go with…" He cast around, trying to think of the right partner for the taciturn marksman.

"I'll go with him!" Yuffie volunteered. "It'll be much more interesting than talking to some crusty old guy anyway."

Aerith watched as Kunsel looked to Vincent, obviously signaling he could ask for a way out if he wanted, but the red cloaked man simply nodded and said "Do as you wish," before walking off into the crowded amusement park.

Yuffie hurried after him, and Aerith stifled a giggle when she saw that the ninja was already pestering her companion with chatter even though Vincent was clearly ignoring every word.

Kunsel watched until they were no longer in sight and then turned back to the others. "Well, I guess we'd better get going too."

"Right, give us a ring if you see or hear anything!" The lady Turk followed after the SOLDIER and they too soon disappeared into the sea of people coming in and out of the main hub. The rest of the group looked around at the sights and sounds inside the hub, contemplating what direction they ought to go.

Finally Zack gave voice to their thoughts. "So, if we were looking for Battle Square, where would it be?" He glanced at the map, his arms crossed as he considered the question.

"I think it would be over in tha' direction lad. I'm usually here when I'm not doing anythin' for Reeve, so I know the territory pretty well." Cait Sith had been put under Tifa's watchful eye since Cissnei was gone at the moment, and he sat on her shoulder, pointing to one of the tunnels.

"Okay, in that case, let's go."

They were walking towards the exit that they could now see was marked "Battle Square" when they heard someone yelling over the sound of the crowd "Excuse me! Coming through! Hey mister, would you mind moving? I'm trying to get to the elevator leading to the chocobo stalls at the race track here. Whoa Teioh! Calm down boy it's all right! We're fine!"

Aerith found her attention drawn to a man in a red jacket and a black hat with a feather in it leading a black chocobo across the hub, and clearly having a little trouble. "He looks like he could use some help," she pointed out.

Zack spotted the man leading the chocobo, and nodded. "I guess we could take a moment." He led the party towards the bird and Aerith saw Cloud was already next to him when they got within speaking distance.

"Hey, could you use a hand there bud?" Zack called out.

"That would be great," the man answered. "If you could just help a guy out and clear a path to the elevator? Teioh here is gentle as a kitten, but he's a racing bird you see. With the crowds being so bad, it's kind of difficult to just lead him around the regular areas. I would have taken the back way, but it's under maintenance right now thanks to some guy who went on a rampage here a few days back."

"Yeah, that's a problem," Zack agreed.

Aerith watched as Cloud walked up to the bird. The black chocobo lowered his head, nudging the swordsman almost immediately and Cloud offered him a soft scratch on his neck. "So, which way is the elevator?" Zack asked.

"It's over that way." The man pointed out a set of sealed doors near the entrance to what was clearly Chocobo Square.

"All right. Hang on a sec." Zack walked a short distance away and put two fingers to his mouth before whistling very loudly. It reverberated through the main hub, and when he clearly had everyone's attention, he shouted loud enough for everyone to hear "Hey! There's a guy with a chocobo coming through! So make a path for him okay?"

Aerith found herself blushing and trying not to laugh again. Oh Zack. Never let it be said that he and subtlety were close companions. Still, it got the intended effect, and the crowds parted, leaving a clear way to the elevator. With Cloud and Zack leading the way to ensure no one strayed too far into the lane of travel, they soon made it to the lift.

The man with the chocobo was clearly impressed. "Thanks guys. I owe you one. Now I'll be able to get Teioh ready for the races in no time!"

"It was no trouble," Zack offered. "Besides, we couldn't just leave you like that. Cloud's been raising a couple of little chocobos of his own, so I guess we've got a soft spot for the birds."

Tifa looked curiously at her friend, the unspoken question about this new information clear on her face and Aerith smiled. They had been keeping the little chocobos at a smaller ranch just north of the lodge, since they didn't have space, but Cloud had been going back every other day when there wasn't work to check on them.

As Zack spoke, Cloud nodded sheepishly to confirm it before he rubbed the back of his neck, a little embarrassed.

The man simply grinned. "That must be why Teioh took to him so quickly when he walked up. I've never seen him press a stranger for attention like that. The name's Joe by the way. People around here call me Chocobo Joe."

"Wow, I didn't know we were helping a celebrity." Zack returned the grin.

Teioh nudged at Cloud again and the younger swordsman gave him another pat as he commented "He's got some nice feathers. I've never seen a black one before though."

Joe nodded appreciatively warming up to the man's interest. "He's a beauty isn't he? I raised him myself, and he's the sturdiest one I've ever bred. Strong enough to climb mountains and swim through rivers with ease, and he isn't even slowed in the course hurdles. He comes from good stock too. His parents were a couple of my best, a green and a blue if you'd believe it."

"Well he seems like a sweet bird," Aerith commented.

"He is that," Joe agreed, offering Teioh a gentle pat on his wing. "But anyway, I've got to get him down to the stalls to get him ready for tonight. How about you come by to visit later this afternoon, as a way of thanking you for your help?"

"Sounds nice, I don't know how many of us can come, but we'll try," Zack said.

"Great, I'll see you there." With that, Joe led Teioh into the elevator and out of sight.

Barret grunted. "So ya think we can get back ta what we were really tryin' ta do before ya decided ta start playin' with birds?"

"Yeah, let's." Zack looked around before locating the porthole through which they needed to go to enter Battle Square and they made their way through the crowd to get to it. They travelled down a tunnel for a while before coming out again into a room that appeared to have been built to look like the keep of a castle, with long purple carpets and checkered marble floors.

Aerith was definitely impressed as she took in the décor. They didn't have places like this in the slums, not even at the church. She saw Zack and the others were already walking towards an alcove clearly designated as Dio's show room up another set of stairs and followed them, still looking up at the vaulted ceilings. She caught up to them just as they had encountered a man by the display cases and Zack approached him.

"Hello there," he offered. "Are you Dio?"

The man could hardly be anybody else, based on the picture on the wall, and he flexed his well-built muscles, his mustache curling in unison with his bicep. "Why yes I am boy. I hope you're having a good time."

Zack grinned patiently. "Well sure we are, but actually I wanted to ask you a couple of things."

"If you're askin' about the Black Materia, I don't have it and I don't even know what that is." Dio answered. "Some kid with a tattoo on his hand asked me about it just a couple of days ago. I didn't know what the heck he was talking about."

"Black materia?" Zack asked curiously. "Did he say anything else?" This was certainly news to Aerith. It was the first time they'd heard of one of these Black Cloaked people being coherent enough to meaningfully communicate with anyone.

"Well, there was something about a Reunion, but I didn't catch too much of it," Dio admitted. "He was a pretty strange fella, now that I think about it."

"Sounds like it," Zack agreed. "You haven't happened to see anyone who looks like the former general Sephiroth around here have you? By any chance?"

"Actually yes, he was here. Why? Did you want his autograph or something?"

"It's complicated. But I've actually got a few more questions."

"All right, ask away boy." Dio was obviously enjoying the attention even if it was rather odd.

Zack ignored the pet name for a moment before saying "One of my friends here heard about the disturbance that happened a couple of days ago. That didn't have anything to do with Sephiroth or that kid you talked about did it?"

Dio shook his head though his brow was now furrowed in a serious expression. "No son, that was a troublemaker from down in Corel prison. It was really horrible."

"What happened?" Barret asked.

Dio raised an eyebrow when he saw the gunarm but answered "I don't generally like to make a big deal out of things like this, since it's bad for business. I run a tight ship here at the Saucer, but since this seems rather important I'll tell you. A man with a gun grafted to his left arm climbed up here and shot up a lot of the guards. It was a real terrible affair. The only thing that kept me from sealing off the prison completely was the fact that I got word from Mr. Coates that he went back down and killed himself afterwards…"

Barret approached him, an angry scowl on his face and Zack and Cloud both jumped forward along with Tifa to hold him back. "Calm down Barret. We don't even know if it was him!" Tifa pleaded.

"I know." Barret gave Dio another warning look. "What was this man's name?"

"Dyne, I think…"

"Where is he?" Barret's voice was eerily calm.

"Coates said he died down by the trench."

"Then let me down there…" Barret growled.

"You want to go down to the prison?" Dio asked surprised.

Barret nodded. "The least I can do is pay my respects… and apologize…"

Tifa had not taken her hand off of Barret's gun arm the entire time and finally, Dio relented. "All right, I'll have Mr. Coates show you the way down and tell him to let you back up when you're done."

Barret nodded. "I'll be waitin' outside."

As they watched him go, Nanaki followed after him. Everyone heaved a big sigh of relief and Dio gave Zack a worried look, eyeing the cross scar on his face with new concern. "S-so… anything else I can help you with boy?"

"Actually yes, and my name is Zack, so if you could knock it off with calling me boy, please?" Zack was grinning again, except this was more one of relief and trying to ease the tension out of the mood then being genuinely amused or happy.

"Sure…" Dio seemed like he was contemplating calling the guards, so Zack was doing his very best to look as nonthreatening as possible. A difficult task considering the huge slab of metal on his back, but Aerith had to give him credit for trying.

"Have you ever seen anything around here that might be a key of stone?" Zack asked. It was their last lead to follow up on. It may have been silly, but Freya seemed to think it was a genuine prediction, and as little as they trusted Cait Sith, the lady Turk usually seemed to know what she was talking about.

"Key of stone?" Dio looked over at a display at the far end of the room. "Would that be what you're looking for?"

Everyone glanced at the podium.

"Well I'll be damned…" Zack said softly, running a hand through his hair. "The plush toy was right."

In big bold letters on a plaque under a speckled grey stone carved into a sphere, was written the word "Keystone."

"Plush toy?" Dio's eyebrows were now raised up even further on his forehead.

"That would be me lad!" Cait Sith spoke up from where he'd been perched on Tifa's shoulder. "I know you've seen me before."

"Oh! Cait Sith! Where have you been? How's Reeve?" Dio asked.

"He's well." The cat answered.

"Glad to hear it."

Zack cleared his throat. "So uh, this keystone, what does it do exactly?"

"Well I don't know if it's true or not, but apparently it's supposed to open this ruin called the Temple of the Ancients. There's a legend that something really important's hidden there, but no one's ever made it inside, at least that's the story." Dio explained.

"Temple of the Ancients huh..?" Zack thought for a moment. "You don't think we could borrow it for a bit do you?"

Now that Barret was gone and Cait Sith's presence had been noted, Dio seemed a little more relaxed and his laugh was genuine again. "Sorry boy, it's not for rent, but I tell you what, since you're traveling with Cait Sith, I'll make you a deal. One of you has to entertain me for a bit in the Battle Square. If you put on a good show, I'll give it to you. How's that?"

Zack grinned. "Now that's a challenge I can get behind." He reached behind him and clapped Cloud on the back. "How about Cloud? He's a pretty good fighter."

"Me?" Cloud looked up at his friend in surprise. "But…"

"Don't give me that." Aerith grinned as Zack gave his friend a stern but encouraging look. "After that spar last night, I think you can handle something like this. Go knock'em dead, all right? It'll be fun!"

At last Cloud relented. "Okay, fine, you win."

* * *

><p><em>I am so excited about the next few chapters! I can hardly wait to post them! ^^<em>

_The party would have left Cosmo Canyon today and reached Nibelheim. That's all I'm saying on that front._

_See ya next time!_


	27. A Night to Remember

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spinoffs. That honor goes to Square-Enix.

**Part II: Reunion**

* * *

><p>Chapter 27, A Night to Remember<p>

**December 24****th** **[ ν ] – εуλ 0007**

The man named Mr. Coates didn't say a word as the elevator doors closed in front of them and the small box carried him and his two companions back down into the depths of his domain. The warden of Corel Prison looked worriedly at the one-armed gunman who stood next to him and Barret simply stared right back. The smaller man had definitely been amazed that Barret actually wanted to come down here, but he had seemed even more amazed that Dio was willing to allow him back out. Still, as the passenger compartment of the elevator flew down the shaft, hundreds and hundreds of feet deep, he had said nothing. Who was he to second guess the owner of the second most powerful company on the Western Continent?

When the doors to the elevator opened Nanaki could feel the heat already drying his nose. Barret walked out, looking around warily, and the red lion followed him, though they paused when Mr. Coates cleared his throat. "I'll be waiting in the warden's office when you're ready to go back up."

"Where's the trench?" Barret asked.

"Go north and then east. You'll see it."

The gunman grunted and turned towards the gate leading out of the area in which they had disembarked. Nanaki trailed after him, taking in the waves of heat baking the desert sands. The prison was about the way he had imagined it. They didn't need the fences here. Anyone who tried escaping the more conventional confines of the place was soon claimed by the desert. It was a fate few cared to tempt. The two of them walked for some time until finally, they found themselves at the edge of a cliff. Barret squinted in the desert sun, glancing around warily before they turned east. Finally, they came to a path leading north by a pile of junk and they walked along it.

Nanaki paused, his ears perked up as he heard a sound behind them, but when it didn't seem that it was coming in their direction, he turned his attention back to what lay ahead of him. No corpse lay there. It would have been absorbed by the lifestream a long time ago. Instead there stood three grave markers, constructed of crossed stakes. The two older ones had names carved on them but they were too old to tell. The third however, was freshly carved. The name and date were impossible to miss. "Dyne. 12.21.0007." Someone with a very morbid sense of humor had carved a crude effigy of a man with a gun for a left hand on the supporting stake.

"Guess I shoulda known," Barret said at last, kneeling to look at the grave marker. "He lost so much he didn' have the strength to hold on any more. Not exac'ly what happened at the mine, was it Dyne?"

Nanaki sat a respectful distance away. "You mean when you lost your hand."

Barret nodded. "I was sure he was dead, so when I got back ta Corel, I took Marlene and got the hell outta town. I wish I'd known he was still alive… that Marlene still had her real father."

"Her real father?" Nanaki repeated.

"Barret nodded. "He and Eleanor couldn'a been better parents. They loved 'er more'n anythin'. Though after everythin' that's happened, I doubt either of us would deserve to hold her. His hands ain't any cleaner than mine now, if I heard that #$%^& up top correct."

"I'm sure he's glad you've taken care of her," Nanaki said softly.

"Prob'ly." Barret stood and walked to the edge of the cliff, and look down, whispering something the winds drowned out. He remained there for at least a minute, lost in thought before looking down and realizing there was something there. Anchoring himself by wrapping his right arm around a steel bar poking out of the junk pile, he reached over the edge and when Nanaki saw him pull back up, a small pendant on a chain was clutched in his hands.

"What's that?" Nanaki asked.

"It was his," Barret answered, placing it in his pocket. "Let's go back."

* * *

><p>Cloud waited as the handicap reel spun across the battle arena. He'd managed to get pretty far. The last couple of fights had been a problem since he'd gotten the armor broken handicap. He'd definitely been relieved that he'd managed to avoid being frogged, but his materia had all been rendered unusable with the exception of ChocoMog, and somewhere along the way, something had poisoned him.<p>

He began to grow worried as the reels slowed. What method of torture was this place going to unleash upon him now? Finally, it came to a stop, and he realized his Power Wrist was no longer usable. That wasn't so bad, he guessed… as long as the next opponents weren't anything horrible…

A Sonic Speed and two Kyuvilduns appeared in the arena. Okay. Two bugs and a bird. He could deal with this. His sword felt heavy in his hands as he contemplated what he was going to do and then one of the bugs let loose with a crushing attack. He barely managed to get out of the way. Now was not the time to stand still so he rushed at the first of the giant insects and brought his sword down in a hard swing, chopping off two of its legs. The insect clicked menacingly and Cloud grunted in pain as he felt something collide with his back. The bird had dive-bombed him. Rolling away from his attackers, he picked himself up, only just in time to avoid another one of the bugs. He channeled a limit break, coming down hard with a single slice of his sword and the first bug went down.

He could feel his muscles ache as he looked at the other bug, but he wasn't going to give up now. He raced at the Kyuvildun, and ran it through with his sword, killing it instantly and then looked up at the Sonic Speed that was still flying around the arena. After diving out of the way to avoid a second harrier attack, he considered his options. There was no way he'd be able to catch it fast enough at his conventional speed, so he checked what he had on him. It was at that moment when he remembered what Zack had told him.

"_It may be weird, but summons can come in handy."_

What was ChocoMog anyway? He concentrated hard and started to summon. "Come on Cloud! You can do it!" Zack called out from the stands over the echoes of the rest of the audience. His friend should have known better than to try testing him with something like this. No time to feel sorry about it though. The air shimmered in front of him and soon after, the strange visage of a mog riding a chocobo appeared. It looked like it was gearing up to ride out and try and catch his opponent, but that was when Cloud got an idea.

"Hang on a second!" he called out to it. The mog looked back at him, cocking its head to the side curiously. Without waiting, he leapt forward, onto the chocobo, brandishing his sword. "Now go!" The chocobo charged across the arena and Cloud pulled himself up to a standing position. He heard the crowd go wild around him when he jumped into the air, running the Sonic Speed through with his sword. He curled up as he neared the ground, landing in a crouch, the bird and his sword strewn across the other side of the arena.

Taking a moment to breathe, he saw the slot reel on the wall begin to spin. While it rolled, he collected his sword and waited. This was the final fight. If he could make it past this, he would be home free!

That was when the reel slowed to a stop, and suddenly, the arena looked… a lot bigger. He heard a noise from the door leading out of the arena, and his blood ran cold when a huge lizard with iridescent green scales crawled into the room. It was a Dragon…

* * *

><p>"Well, a promise is a promise. Go ahead and take it." Dio seemed a little disappointed but that was more than Cloud really cared about at this point. The thing he cared about was that now clasped in Zack's hands, was the keystone. As the man left, Zack turned his attention to his friend. "Nice going, Cloud. You were terrific out there!"<p>

"Nice to know nearly getting crushed by a dragon is considered a good job," he retorted.

"No seriously!" Zack exclaimed. "That was really rotten, giving you Mini at the end there, but even so, all the way up to that point you were kicking ass! And that thing you did with ChocoMog too!" He laughed. "That was awesome! You'll be better than a 1st Class before you know it if you keep that up!"

Cloud smiled sheepishly at Zack's praise. "If you say so."

The two of them rejoined Tifa and Aerith where they were waiting with Cait Sith. "Come on, let's go get you cleaned up before the others get back, I think we'll need to check out a room somewhere anyway until Cissnei gets here."

It was at that point when Tifa brought up an important question. "So now that we have this keystone, what are we going to do with it?"

Zack paused, thinking. "I dunno. But I guess we can figure that part out when the others get back."

"I guess," Tifa said. They reached the tunnels leading to the other parts of the Gold Saucer when they realized they didn't know where they were going.

"I saw on the map that they had a hotel around here somewhere." Zack frowned, looking between the various pathways branching off from Battle Square. "But which one was it?"

"It's that one lad." Cait Sith indicated the path leading to Ghost Square with a gloved hand. "Though ye'll need some of these to pay for it." He held out a few coins and Cloud saw they looked like gil, but had different markings on them.

"Oh, you mean that GP stuff?"

"Aye. Five GP isn' all that much tho, so don' worry aboot usin' this. Jus' think of it as my contribution to the cause." He tossed Zack a few of the coins.

"Well, thanks. I can pay you for it in gil if need be."

"Don't worry abou' it. I heard somethin' happened to the cable car anyway, so we're stuck here as it is," The cat said.

"I guess there's nothing we can do then. Come on guys, let's go." Zack led the way down the tunnel to Ghost Square and soon they found themselves in what appeared to be a graveyard, walking towards what appeared to be a haunted mansion and once they were inside they took care of reservations for the night. One long shower later, Cloud walked out of the bathroom to find the room empty of people, so he went downstairs to the lobby. It seemed like a rather depressing place, with ghosts projected into some of the chairs and a corpse manning the front desk, but it seemed that the others had decided to convene here due to the admittedly crowded situation that would have resulted from meeting in one of the hotel rooms.

Kunsel and Freya were the last to show up, but when they did, Zack addressed them first. "So, any luck?"

The Turk and the SOLDIER both shook their heads. "He's gone without a trace," Freya said disappointedly.

Zack looked over at Vincent and Yuffie. "What about you guys?" he asked.

Vincent shook his head. "Nothing to report."

"I made a boatload of GP though!" Yuffie brandished her winnings proudly and Vincent made a sound that was definitely a close cousin to a long-suffering sigh.

"What about your end of things?" Kunsel asked.

Zack held the keystone up so everyone could see. "We've found what Sephiroth's after, I think. Apparently it's supposed to open this place called the Temple of the Ancients."

"That's great an' all," Barret said. "But now that we have it, what're we gonna do with it? Does anyone know where this Temple is? Or what's important about it?"

"I don't know," Zack said. "But Dio mentioned something about that guy we followed asking him about a Black Materia. That couldn't have anything to do with it, could it?"

Kunsel rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "It might. But that still begs the question of where the temple is."

"You think that's what we ought to look for?" Zack said.

"We don't have any other leads at this point," Kunsel pointed out.

"True." They sat in silence for a while before Zack said "Well, no matter what we do, we're stuck here anyway because the cable car's out. So for the time being, we may as well chill tonight and then figure out what we're doing in the morning."

"That would be nice," Aerith agreed. "We'll have some fun for a change. It'll be good for everyone."

"And going to Gongaga wasn't fun?" Zack asked, playful mischief glinting in his eyes.

"Them frogs sure weren't," Barret grumbled. Out of sympathy for the guy who'd just gotten back from a gravesite, the majority of the party decided it was best not to laugh. He wouldn't accept their pity, but there was no sense being cruel. He'd already had a very rough couple of days.

* * *

><p>A day had passed since Mao had trailed Rufus and his entourage out of Nibelheim and through the mountains beyond the old reactor. They had managed to evade the dragons, thankfully, but now that Rufus was sure Sephiroth wasn't coming this way, the new president had come to Rocket Town. Most likely to requisition some form of air transport. It was getting dark and Rufus had pulled his vehicle up by the inn and was probably going to stay there for the night.<p>

As he approached the edge of town, he could already see Reno and Rude questioning an old man near the Rocket. Eventually, the two Turks finished with the old man and walked over to a house with a plane sitting behind it. Mao watched from behind one of the other houses as Reno conversed with a woman who looked to be in her thirties before turning around and walking back to the inn with Rude in tow.

When they'd gone inside, Mao took up a position out of sight of the door but where he could watch. Whatever Rufus was planning, Freya would want to know.

* * *

><p>Zack adjusted the suit he'd rented uncomfortably. He wasn't used to this kind of thing. There was a dance being held at the Event Square tonight and when Aerith heard about it she told him she wanted to go. He'd crossed continents to get to his girlfriend; compared to that, this should be easy, right? He struggled with the tie in the mirror as he tried to remember vaguely the one time his parents had tried to take him somewhere nice and swallowed hard. How did you wear a tie again?"<p>

"Having trouble?" He looked past his reflection in the mirror to see Freya leaning against the doorway, wearing her usual jeans and a sky blue button-down shirt, with Kunsel behind her.

Perfect timing, if anyone knew how to wear a suit, it was a Turk. "Yes, actually."

The lady Turk laughed and walked over to fix the tie, which was currently in a terrible knot. "We can't have your girlfriend seeing you like this now can we?" She teased.

"That would be really embarrassing…" Zack chuckled.

"What would?" The door to the bathroom opened and Aerith walked out in a red evening gown. Her bare shoulders were fallen snow surrounding the simple black knot she wore at her neck. Zack felt a silly grin spread across his face as she placed her usual dress on the bed. Odin, she was pretty.

Freya gave the tie a final tug and playfully waved a hand in front of his face. "Gaia to Zack, anyone in there?"

Zack blinked and backed away from her to check the mirror. "Of course I am." He walked over to Aerith and offered her his arm. "You ready?"

The flower girl encircled it with her own and nodded. Once they had walked out of the hotel room and out of earshot, Zack whispered "Between you and me, I've never actually been to a dance before. Any idea what to do?"

Aerith grinned. "Nope, not a clue. But it'll be fun, right?"

"You've gotten a lot braver since you told me you were afraid of the sky," Zack said.

Aerith simply giggled, and held him tighter as they walked the path towards Event Square.

* * *

><p>Cloud had at first been uncertain about going down to the Chocobo Square to see Joe, but Zack had suggested he and Tifa go together since he hadn't seemed that excited about the idea of the dance. The two of them had spent most of the time walking the tunnel in a somewhat awkward silence, however as they approached the end of it Tifa finally decided to break the silence. "You never told me you kept baby chocobos."<p>

"It never came up," he replied.

Tifa laughed. "Of course I'll want to see them when we're done."

"They aren't exactly tiny anymore. They were already up to here last time I saw them." He held his hand level with his hip to demonstrate.

"I'm sure they're nice birds though."

"Yeah…" Cloud nodded.

Tifa became quiet again as they neared the desk and Cloud approached nervously. "Um… hi, Joe said we could come back and visit him and Teioh before the race."

The man at the desk nodded. "Sure, come on back, I'll unlock the staff entrance and have Ester show you where he is."

After they waited for a while, a woman with copious amounts of makeup on her face appeared and showed them through the door. "Just be sure not to bother the other racers now," she said. She showed them to the stalls where several jockeys were already prepping chocobos.

"Well look who's here! So you did come after all!" Their attention was caught by Joe when he waved them over to the stall where he was working on some of the livery with the help of a stable hand.

"So do ya need anything before I leave Joe?" Ester asked.

"No, we're all fine down here." On hearing the jockey's answer, the woman offered him a short wave and left.

"So here's where we prep the birds before they go out on the track. Nice isn't it? Not as glitzy as the rest of the saucer, but the birds are well taken care of down here."

"It does seem nice," Tifa said.

Cloud stayed a respectful distance away until Joe led Teioh out of his stall and secured his lead to a post so the stable hand had plenty of room to put on the saddle. The bird shifted his weight nervously and the jockey patted his beak. "Easy there, boy. I know you're excited." He turned his attention back to his guests. "So that other SOLDIER said you also keep some chocobos. Little ones, right?"

Cloud nodded, leaning against the wall of the stable. Teioh immediately walked over and started to nudge him.

Joe grinned. "How old?"

"At least two months," Cloud said.

"That's when they lose their down and start getting in some feathers," Joe observed. "Any unusual colors, or just regulars?"

"They seem to just be normal yellow ones." Cloud rubbed the back of his neck, not quite used to being interrogated about such a trivial matter.

It was at that point when Joe seemed to realize what he was dealing with and offered his guest an understanding shrug. "You're not much of a talker, are you?"

"Not really," Tifa answered for him.

"That's fine. Some of the best breeders I've worked with don't say much. But those are the ones you take seriously. If they do say something, you'll know it's important." He paused and then decided to change the subject. "Well Miss, would you like to come over here and give Teioh a pat? He likes it when you stroke his crest like this." He reached up and demonstrated and the black chocobo butted into his hand, eager for the attention.

Tifa nodded and joined him in running a hand through the soft feathers and Cloud heard a soft crooning noise from the bird's throat. It was at that point when Joe checked his watch. "Oh, it's that time already? Darn, we need to go warm up. It was nice to see you again, but I've got to finish getting ready. If you want to watch the race, there should still be some seats up near the Event Square."

Tifa nodded. "That might be fun." She turned to Cloud. "You want to go?"

"Sure."

"Great, I'll keep an eye out for you two in the stands." Joe hopped up on Teioh's back and as soon as the stable hand untied the lead and gave it to him, he walked the chocobo towards the exit to the stable.

"Let's go find those seats," Tifa said.

Cloud stood up straight and the two of them walked back towards the exit into the regular part of Chocobo Square.

"It was really nice of him to let us come back here." Tifa commented.

"Yes it was." Cloud agreed. He suddenly found himself thinking about the two little birds back home. He hoped the guy who ran the farm was taking good care of them in his absence.

"We'll need to cheer extra loud for him when we see him," the martial artist decided.

"Mmm," Cloud grunted.

They were almost to the door when Tifa spoke up again. "Um… Cloud… I've been meaning to ask, but…"

"What is it?" Cloud asked.

Suddenly they heard a startled "Wark!" coming from the path Joe had just taken, and then a loud "Thunk!" Cloud's ears perked up as he heard the sound and the two only spared a glance before turning around and hurrying back towards the origin of the noise. As they reached the doorway leading towards the exit to the paddock and the starting line, Tifa gasped and rushed to the side of the man in red who lay gripping his arm on the floor, his hat fallen to the floor a few feet away.

"Are you all right?" she asked.

"That jerk!" Joe growled through his teeth. "He must have been one of the riders who came up from the prison! He startled my bird and he panicked." One of the stable hands had already grabbed Teioh and was trying to calm him down so Cloud walked over to help, offering a few soothing words to the anxious chocobo. The bird soon stopped struggling between his and the stable hand's efforts.

At that point a medic had arrived and was checking Joe's arm. "It looks like it's broken. We can fix it, but we'll have to set the bone and that's going to take some time."

Joe groaned. "But what about the race?"

"Aren't there more important things to worry about right now?" Tifa asked.

Joe sat there, clearly irate as the medic attempted to tend to him. Ester was already hurrying over, apparently having received word of the situation. "Who was it?" She demanded. "Those boys ought to know better than to spook a chocobo! I'll make sure he never rides here again!"

Joe offered a description and then Ester turned her attention to him. "So what's the damage? Are you all right?" she asked.

The medic sighed, "Fortunately, he only broke an arm, I've seen injuries that are much worse, but he won't be ready in time, even with a Cure materia." An uncomfortable silence had settled over the stable as Ester dispatched a couple of the security guards to go search for the man who'd spooked Teioh.

Cloud held Teioh steady and out of the line of traffic while Tifa walked over to retrieve Joe's hat and dusted it off before giving it to him. "Is there anything we can do?" she asked.

"Not unless you know a jockey who can run the race for me. At this rate, all those folks who bet on Teioh are basically sunk. It starts in half an hour." Joe took his hat with his good hand.

"A jockey…" Tifa mused. Cloud noticed her looking in his direction. "Cloud, do you remember that thing you did with ChocoMog at the Battle Square today? That was some pretty good riding wasn't it?"

Cloud shrugged and Joe was suddenly paying attention, looking him over, appraising him. "You were the guy who decided to use ChocoMog as a mount in the Battle Square? I heard about that. One of the hands said it was some pretty decent riding. And come to think of it, you look to be about the right height." Cloud suddenly felt Teioh nibbling at his hair, preening him almost as though quietly backing up his owner.

He took refuge behind the bird when it dawned on him what Joe might be about to ask. "You're not serious, are you?"

The jockey was without a choice by this point. He deliberately put his hat back on his head and walked over to the blonde swordsman, meeting his blue eyes with a piercing gaze, even as the medic hovered behind him. "Can you do it?"

* * *

><p>Kunsel and Freya were watching the fireworks from one of the tables at a restaurant in Round Square, though it overlooked the racetrack. He wasn't exactly sure how he'd ended up with the lady Turk again, but he didn't mind the company. Zack was obviously preoccupied with catching up on five years' worth of missed dates with Aerith so he couldn't begrudge him for it, and chocobos weren't really his thing. He watched the colored bursts as they lit the sky, painting them with sparkling hues. An entire artist's pallet of colors exploded above them, blotting out the stars. Freya sipped at her drink next to him, deep in thought.<p>

"So, do you have any ideas where this temple is?" He asked after a bit.

"Couldn't say. I'm sure someone at Shinra has some ideas, but they certainly never told me."

Kunsel shrugged. "Me either, though I guess they probably had their reasons in my case."

"That would be right," Freya commented. "I wouldn't have been doing my job if I didn't check your file after I found you in Aerith's church. They were keeping an eye on you after you got promoted, but after you got flagged they were watching you like a Death Gaze."

"Flagged?" Kunsel asked.

The Turk nodded. "According to the file there was nothing specific until you asked somebody about a project that was supposed to be classified, but apparently you were sequestered to recruit training because you asked about Zack."

"I figured that. I'm amazed I didn't disappear long before then, though I kind of wondered on occasion if the promotion to 1st hadn't been some kind of bribe."

"Still, if you were able to keep what you knew specifically about Zack quiet for that long even while being watched, that is something to be proud of. You really should have been a Turk. How the recruiters missed you in cadet training, I'll never figure out."

Kunsel shook his head, his expression becoming grim as he looked away. "I wouldn't be a good Turk."

"Why?" Freya asked.

"Some of those missions you took… what happened to Nanaki… what happened to Zack and Cloud… It was hard enough looking the other way occasionally as a SOLDIER and eventually, I couldn't even take that anymore."

The lady Turk scooted her chair around the table so she was a little closer to him shaking her head with a gentle smile. "It's not simply a matter of being willing to do whatever someone tells you to." She looked back up at the fireworks reflectively and he followed suit as she continued to speak. "It's a matter of conviction. I told Zack once that you could break down our motto into Angeal's if you wanted. Pride in being the best, honor in serving the president and the company, and a dream of creating a better future through our work. But I realize now I was wrong. It wasn't honor in serving the president, or even Shinra. It was honor in serving the values of our organization. A Turk moves with conviction that they are right, they are loyal to their comrades without exception, and once they have a goal in their sights, it will be accomplished, no matter what. I have yet to see you move if you aren't sure of your ideals. You did everything you could to help Zack when you realized he was in trouble, and once you had a lead on where he was, not even we could stop you from finding him… If anything... you're a much better Turk than I am..."

Something warm connected with his cheek. He looked over at his companion in surprise as she backed away from the short kiss. She was smiling but there was a shyness in her expression that hadn't been there before. Her face went a little red as she turned her attention back to the fireworks and Kunsel watched her fidget with her glass. Her usual confident demeanor was gone and another moment passed before she spoke again. "I-I hope… that wasn't too forward…"

The brown haired SOLDIER felt his own face grow warm and he cleared his throat, turning his attention back to the fireworks. "It's okay… I guess… You're really not that bad of a Turk… I mean, everyone has their beliefs tested once in a while. Otherwise, how would you know if you had them, right?"

"I guess so."

It was then that something on the racetrack caught Kunsel's attention. A blonde man in a SOLDIER uniform was racing down the track on a black chocobo, neck and neck with one of the other birds. The bird and his rider thundered past and Kunsel sat up straight to get a better look, not quite sure what to make of what he'd just seen. "Hey, was that Cloud?"

* * *

><p>The dance floor had been set up on the edge of Event Square. The benches from the amphitheater stood mostly vacant a short distance away, though a few couples had gone over to sit and rest. A drink bar stood at the edge of the floor, which jutted out on a raised balcony that overlooked the racetrack and a few of the roller coasters. Zack had been nervous at first, as he and Aerith walked in and watched the other dancers. But as soon as he had her in his arms, any angst about having two left feet evaporated. They just had to avoid running into anyone. Since neither of them had a clue about what to do specifically, they took turns guiding each other in time with the beat. Even though he did accidentally step on her foot once, they were able to avoid any further mishaps.<p>

The band had just finished a faster number and they were taking moment for Aerith to catch her breath out on the balcony. Zack had just returned with a couple of drinks from the bar and he handed one to her.

"So, was this a good idea?" he asked.

"It was a great idea," Aerith said, and Zack felt himself melting again when she offered him one of her winning smiles.

"Glad you think so. We'll definitely have to try this again if we come back."

"Not if," Aerith corrected. "When."

Zack chuckled, setting his glass down on the rail. "You're right. When. We'll make it happen."

He looked into Aerith's beautiful green eyes and saw his own violet ones reflected back at him. She set her glass down next to his, and he watched her look out over the park, deep in thought. "Hey, is something wrong?" He asked.

She shook her head. "It just feels too good to be true. Almost like this is some kind of dream, and I'll wake up tomorrow morning to find I'm still in Midgar, and you're still gone."

He shook his head and put his arms around her. He could hear the fireworks nearby but the cacophonous bursts were a silent murmur compared to the beating of his own heart. "It's no dream. And I can prove it… You want me to?"

"How?" she asked.

"Close your eyes," he said. She did as he asked, apparently not quite sure what he was going to do.

Slowly, in the glow of the sparkling blooms, he leaned forward, closing his own eyes, their lips meeting as he held her. She remained still as a statue at first, but soon gave in to the passionate caress of his mouth against hers, returning it with equal fervor. With explosions ringing in their ears, they remained at the edge of the balcony, bathed in the waves of fiery light and tides of shadow. For what seemed like an eternity, they reveled in sensations neither of them had ever felt before, and yet were so wonderfully, incredibly right.

When Zack pulled back, grinning ear to ear, he asked breathlessly "Believe me now?"

Aerith nodded before pulling him close again, holding him tight. "Mm-hm."

"Glad to hear it." They stayed in each other's arms, still reeling in the afterglow of their first true kiss, when he looked down at the racetrack. The noise from the crowd below had just risen in a loud crescendo to an overpowering roar, and now, he could see why. Hurtling down the track was a familiar man in a SOLDIER uniform, riding on a black chocobo, almost level with the jockey who had been leading. Zack had no idea how it had happened, but there was no way he could mistake that spiky blonde hair. As the birds rushed past, he raised his voice in a crowing cheer. "All right, Cloud! Whooo!"

Aerith was at first surprised, but on seeing it really was their friend nearing the finish line, she too started cheering. They watched with baited breath until finally, inch by inch, Cloud urged his mount further ahead of the other bird, first to the point where he was a head length beyond his competitor, then a neck length, past his shoulder, and then the other jockey was falling behind the bird's tail plumes. The birds crossed the finish line in a flurry of feathers and the stands were filled with cheering crowds. Even from this high up, Zack could see the look of pure elation and excitement on his friend's face before the adrenaline could wear off. It was the first time he'd ever seen him so unguardedly happy. Between that and the kiss, he couldn't see how anything could make this night any better. Cloud had won.

* * *

><p>When Cloud reentered the stables with Teioh behind him, he saw Tifa fighting her way towards him with Joe behind her, his arm in a sling. Apparently he'd joined her to watch the race after the medics had done what they could, and judging by the pleased expression on his face, he had been quite happy with their performance on the track.<p>

"This lady was holding out on you, friend!" Joe exclaimed. "That was some of the best racing I've seen in a long time. You get yourself a good bird and I might have some competition!" Tifa paused a short distance away, while Joe petted his chocobo and offered him some greens. The bird accepted it while the jockey approached Cloud. "But we can talk some more in a moment, I hope you don't mind if I give my bird a rub down first."

Cloud shook his head and Joe took Teioh's lead from his hands leading the bird back toward his stall, already offering him some more greens.

Tifa smiled as he approached her. "That was really great Cloud. You were riding so fast, I could hardly see you when you crossed the finish line!"

Cloud rubbed the back of his neck, bashful in the face of Tifa's praise. He couldn't remember a time when he'd felt this good. The two of them waited in a comfortable silence, occasionally interrupted by the stable hands offering congratulations on the win.

Eventually, Ester showed up and she marched right over to him, her shoulders squared as though prepared for battle. "Son, that was some of the best riding I think I've ever seen, and if you ever have the gumption to get your own chocobo and do some of your own racing, just come and talk to me, all right?"

"Um… okay." Cloud was completely at a loss for words, as the woman flounced off.

A few minutes later, Joe left the stable and approached them. "Really, I just can't thank you two enough for helping me out today. We wouldn't have been able to win without you."

"It wasn't any trouble…" Cloud mumbled.

Joe shook his head. "The least I can do is give you a share of the winnings." He reached into his pocket and produced a small sack of coins. "I'd go with you, but I think I'm still kind of woozy from the medics. Go get yourselves a nice dinner to celebrate, okay?" His expression softened as he offered them the gil, shaking his head at Cloud's apparent surprise. "Its fine. You helped me out a lot, even though you didn't have too. You earned it, and I'm not going to take no for an answer, all right?" He thought of something else at that point and reached into his pocket. "Actually… Hang on a second here…" He finally found what he was looking for and pulled it out, revealing a red materia in the palm of his good hand. "I found this in the jockey's waiting room. I'm not so much of a fighter, but you look like you could use this more than I could. It's Ramuh, I think, but please, take it!"

He thrust the materia into the swordsman's hands, and Cloud barely had time to register the unusual electrical sensation from it before Tifa said "That's really generous. Thank you."

"Don't mention it." Joe simply smiled, tipping his hat. "It's my way of thanking you." He yawned. "I'd stick around, but …" He gestured to his injury. "The medics said I ought to get some rest and now that Teioh's tucked in for the night."

"Of course," Tifa said. "We understand." With a final wave, Joe walked down the corridor and was soon out of sight.

When it was clear that Cloud wasn't quite sure what to do with the items he now held in his hands, Tifa cleared her throat. "Come on, let's go."

Cloud finally allowed himself to focus on the martial artist and he nodded. "Yeah, okay." He paused for a moment before offering her Ramuh. "Would you like this? I already have a summon."

She nodded. "Sure, I'll take it." He dropped it into her hand and she slipped it into her bangle. With that, the two of them walked out of the stable. "So, where should we go to find dinner?" she asked when they were almost to the exit.

"I have no idea."

* * *

><p>Zack and Aerith were passing through the hub on their way back towards the hotel, still chatting about their evening, when Zack's attention was caught by a familiar looking robot cat on a mog. "Hey, isn't that Cait Sith?" he said.<p>

"It looks like it," Aerith said.

It was at that point when the cat spotted them and came over, looking serious. "What is it Cait?" Zack asked.

"Someone wants to talk to ye about tha' keystone," the cat said.

"And who would that be?" Aerith asked suspiciously.

The little robot was quiet for a moment before speaking. "A contact who knows what ta do with it."

Zack almost unconsciously reached for his PHS as he considered dialing Kunsel's number to make sure his friend still had the stone. Cait may have proven himself in terms of his fortunes, but no one had thought it was a good idea to leave the keystone unattended with him, knowing his origins. The little cat seemed to realize what he was thinking. "No, I don't have it. I'll teke yeh to this contact if yeh want."

After a moment's consideration, Zack nodded. "All right, lead the way."

The cat steered his mog around, and led the way towards Wonder Square. When they entered, he steered them up the stairs and to the left, into a small restaurant that was sequestered off the main path. Zack looked around warily. There weren't many people here since it was starting to get later in the evening and the main crowds at the Saucer were starting to wind down, but there didn't seem to be any sign of a trap. The cat spoke to the hostess at the entrance before wordlessly leading the two of them to a private booth off to the side of the restaurant. Clad in his usual dark suit and sipping casually on a glass of wine, Tseng was waiting for them almost as though they had planned this rendezvous in advance. When they approached, he nodded in acknowledgement and gestured that they join him at the booth.

"Zack, Aerith, the two of you look well," he observed.

Zack stood protectively in front of Aerith, looking hard at the man he had once considered a friend. "That's a new look for you, isn't it? When did you start wearing your hair down?" Even as he spoke, his tone remained tense.

Tseng ignored the comment, but simply repeated the gesture. "Please, join me. There's no need to block traffic."

"What are you planning?" Zack asked, not that he expected an answer.

"For now, I simply wish to share a drink or two, and perhaps have a talk," Tseng replied. "Is that too much to ask?"

"What about?" Aerith said.

"About an item you recently acquired." The Turk took another sip from his glass. "I am here to make you a deal."

"Sure you are," Zack said. "Knowing you, you've got a steal materia on you and you'll try to snatch it before we even know what's going on."

Tseng was clearly impressed that Zack had considered that possibility. "I can see that working with Freya and Cissnei has opened your eyes a little, though I suppose even an idiot can learn if he tries hard enough. Tempting as that is, right now I know that it isn't in your possession, and between the two you charged with guarding it, it would be far more trouble than it's worth." The wry smile the Turk wore on his face unnerved Zack even more than his honesty, and he really found himself wondering where Kunsel and Freya were right now. "In actuality, I have a proposal for you, regarding the location of the Temple of the Ancients."

Zack and Aerith looked at each other, wordlessly gauging each other's reactions. This could be a trap, but at this point, they had no idea where they needed to go. At last, Zack turned his attention back to the Turk and deliberately sat down across from him, his expression deadly serious. It was an expression he'd been wearing far more than he would have liked. "All right, we'll talk. But we both already know where we stand, and even if we've helped each other before, I'm not going to just trust you. I'm not stupid, Tseng. If you do anything that would hurt any one of us in any way whatsoever, I _will_ find a way to make you regret it."

Aerith sat down next to him, still watching the Turk with suspicion, even as one of the waiters walked over to offer them something to drink. Tseng nodded to Zack. "I understand."

* * *

><p>"So, you mean to tell us that Shinra's head Turk wants to come with us?" Barret demanded, obviously disapproving of the idea. The group was once again gathered in the lobby of the hotel at Ghost Square, with the new addition of the current head of the Department of Administrative Research.<p>

Zack nodded. "He says he knows where we need to go, and Rufus has put him in charge of finding Sephiroth. Since we obviously aren't turning over the keystone, he says there is no other alternative."

"This could very easily be a trap, you know." Kunsel observed.

"It could be…" Freya seemed to be thinking, "But I doubt it."

"Why?" Tifa asked.

"While individually we might have trouble, my former boss is way smarter than to come in here thinking he could take on all of us at once. Further, what with the fact that we've guarded our weakest links very carefully in spite of his efforts, he has no other leverage." The lady Turk shot a pointed look at Cait Sith who ducked down behind the head of his mog at the attention. "Sure, he could try stealing the keystone, but we'd know very quickly. It would be too much of a risk." She grinned. "Of course there's also the other matter of which you are all very aware."

"The fact that you and Cissnei are Turks?" Kunsel asked.

Tseng nodded, injecting himself into the conversation. "Precisely."

"And there's no other way around this, I guess." Cloud observed.

Zack shook his head. "The truth is, we have no idea where we're going, and if we don't have a guide, we're sunk." He folded his arms, still not quite comfortable with this situation.

"What's our plan then?" Nanaki asked, flicking his tail and eyeing Tseng suspiciously.

"We'll meet Cissnei at the helipad tomorrow morning, and fly to the coordinates Tseng gives us. He will ride with us to ensure we're not shot down on the way there. He's a said there won't be any SOLDIERs or troopers waiting." Zack gave Tseng another hard look as he finished. "Of course if it is a trap, we want to make sure we're ready."

* * *

><p><strong>December 25<strong>**th** **[ ν ] – εуλ 0007**

Early the next morning in Rocket Town, Shera was quietly brewing a pot of tea in anticipation of a visitor while Cid shaved in the bathroom. Neither of them had any idea why Rufus himself had come all this way out to Rocket Town, but she could tell that Cid was in higher spirits than usual. To his mind, the only thing it could possibly mean was that the new president was going to bring back the Space Program. She sincerely hoped that was the case.

She perked up at the knock on the door, followed by a bellowed "Shera!" from the bathroom and went to answer it.

Standing at the entrance was a familiar yet morbidly obese man. She nodded and politely held the door open for him. "Palmer. So you came too? Cid should be happy to see you."

"I'm sure." The man nodded in response to the greeting and walked inside.

At the same moment, Cid entered the room, a towel in his hand. "Well, if it isn't fatman Palmer! How long were you figurin' on keepin me waitin'?" He tossed the towel near the sink and walked up to the man. "So? When's the Space Program gonna start up again?"

"Hey-hey! I don't know! The president's outside, why don't you ask him?" Palmer replied.

Cid did not take kindly to that. "^$#&! Good for nothing fat &$#!" With that, he walked outside.

"Don't say fat!" Palmer whined after him. That was when his beady little eyes were caught by Shera pouring drinks. "Hey-hey! Tea! Can I have some too? With lots a' sugar and honey, and oh yeah, don't forget the lard." Shera poured the drink for him, internally disgusted before walking to the door to see how things were going outside.

Cid was standing outside the door, apparently livid at what he was hearing. "What the…! You got me all excited for nothing?! Then what'd you come here for?"

Rufus was calm as he spoke, with the three Turks standing behind him. "I want to borrow the Tiny Bronco." His tone clearly indicated that he was not asking permission. "We're going after Sephiroth. But it seems we've been going in the wrong direction. We think we know where he's headed, but we have to cross the ocean. That's why we want your plane…"

Cid crunched down on a cigarette angrily as he cursed. "First the Airship, then the Rocket, and now, the Tiny Bronco. Shinra took outer space away and now you want to take the sky away from me too?"

Rufus gave him a cold look. "Oh my… You seem to forget it was because of Shinra, Inc. that you were able to fly in the first place."

"What?!"

It was at that moment that Shera heard the back door slam, and she turned her attention inside. In listening to Cid's argument she had forgotten Palmer was here, though now it seemed he had left. She squared her shoulders and walked to the door, a little worried about what she might find, but resolute that if what she thought was happening was indeed reality, that she would put a stop to it, for the captain.

Upon nearing the back door, she could hear Palmer talking to himself. "Hmm… Why do I have to do this…? I'm the head of the Space Program…"

She frowned and stepped outside to find him on the fuselage, working with the main propeller. "What are you doing Palmer?" she asked, though she knew the answer already.

"Oh Shera, you see, we need this plane to get to the Temple of the Ancients," he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small handgun. "I'm afraid I can't let you come any closer."

Shera considered that for a moment before putting her hands up and backing towards the door. "That's right honey," Palmer said. "Why don't you go tell Rufus and the Turks we're ready to get underway like a good little girl?" Shera nodded and hurried inside, knowing she didn't want to antagonize the fat man, but upon entering, she didn't go to the front. Instead she walked to Cid's garage where his car sat and looked through the various weapons that were situated there before selecting one of the rifles that hung on the wall. She knew it had been meticulously cleaned. Cid was very particular about his belongings. All that was required was to load it. She found a clip and inserted it before adjusting her glasses and very carefully returning to the back door.

Palmer looked up as she opened it, taking cover behind a box of equipment and aiming her weapon at his heart. "Don't move, or by Odin, I will shoot you!" she threatened, her voice carrying over the yard clearly in spite of its natural softness.

Palmer grinned when both of them heard the sound of the back door opening again. "If you say so."

Before Shera could do anything, she felt something collide with the back of her head, and she fell to the ground. On the edge of her vision the shadows of four figures walking past and then a fifth ran by while the sounds of propellers faded off into the distance. After a moment, the fifth figure returned to find her and turned her over so she was looking up at him. "Shera! #$%^! No one gave you permission to lie down on the job. You're stayin' awake!"

As the darkness overtook her, her last thoughts were "_I'm sorry captain. I did it again..._"

* * *

><p><em>Obviously the original party would have been in Rocket Town, but instead, they're at the Gold Saucer very lateearly depending on what part in the game you're thinking of._

_Tune in next week as we travel to the Temple of the Ancients! I can hardly wait!_


	28. The Pieces Fall Into Place

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spinoffs. That honor goes to Square-Enix.

**Part II: Reunion**

* * *

><p>Chapter 28, The Pieces Fall Into Place<p>

**December 25****th** **[ ν ] – εуλ 0007**

"Doctor? There's a woman out here who wants to speak to you." Rayleigh looked up from her desk as the young woman who usually worked at the front desk looked into her office.

"Is it urgent?" She asked.

The receptionist seemed a little nervous as she spoke. "I'm not sure, but she has a very strange man with her. He won't stop muttering."

Rayleigh stood, adjusting her glasses and walking to the door. "I'll be right there." She hurried down the hall past the treatment rooms up to the waiting area. She was greeted by the unusual sight of a woman with cold eyes and dust brown hair flowing down below her hips, and dressed as though she had come from somewhere that had very cold weather. Though she now wore a T-shirt, the down jacket whose sleeves were tied around her waist and the snow pants were a pretty obvious giveaway. The next thing that got her attention was the obviously malnourished man in a black cloak she was leading by handcuffs secured behind his back. "You must be Liz. Veld told me you were coming."

"That's correct," the former mercenary said. "Can you confirm that this… man… is what you were after?"

That was when Rayleigh heard the low muttering sounds from Liz's prisoner. "Must get… it… Sephiroth… Reunion…"

She looked around the room, hoping the receptionist wasn't within earshot yet. "Perhaps we should discuss this somewhere private."

The Turk nodded in understanding. "Lead the way." They walked past the receptionist and she gave them a wide berth, hurrying back to the front. Rayleigh considered where they were going. She wanted to make sure there was no chance Liz's quarry could escape, and the only way she could think of would be to secure him in one of the rooms for long-term patients. There were a couple of private rooms in the back, and she made for the one that was nearest her office, knowing it was currently unoccupied. Once there, she flipped the light switch and beckoned for Liz to bring the man inside. After they were through, she shut the door to ensure they wouldn't be disturbed.

"Was it hard to bring him here?" she asked once she was certain they were alone.

The Turk shook her head. "He did fight me a little when we tried to get on the plane, but I knocked him out with a tranquilizer for most of the ride, and he quit fussing once we were back on the ground."

"I see." Rayleigh looked the man over again, pulling back his dark hood and almost recoiling when she saw the reptilian green irises trained in her direction. She took a moment to compose herself before returning her attention to Liz. "I will want to examine him as soon as possible. I could use some help, but I'll understand if you want to get some rest first. I know you've come a long way. I'd ask the nurses here, but I'm not sure how far I can trust them with this. Is there anything I can do about compensating you? This couldn't have been easy."

"You couldn't afford it," Liz said. "But you work with Freya and Cissnei. What you're doing helps their goals. I will assist if you need me to."

"All right then. I'll get things ready to conduct the examination in a couple of hours. Wait here a moment." She stepped outside and walked over to one of the supply closets and located a set of cloth restraints. She knew better than to think anyone with SOLDIER enhancements, or at least SOLDIER-like enhancements could be contained by them, but given this man's weakened state, it would at the very least give them time to subdue him should he try to resist. She considered the situation, and then went back to her office to retrieve a vial of sedative. No sense taking chances. While she had no intention of harming the man, she also had no desire to end up with his hands around her neck either. Zack and Cloud, she'd been able to reason with, but she was fairly certain this man was not capable of such reason. '_Gaia, what are we becoming? Thinking like this?_' she wondered.

* * *

><p>Early that morning, Cissnei returned to the Gold Saucer, as promised. She regarded her former boss warily though she did offer him a strained smile when he entered their aircraft. It was starting to get slightly crowded in the back of the helicopter, but they managed. Zack watched the ocean ebb and flow underneath the helicopter and forced himself to try looking on the bright side. They knew where they were going, and maybe now they could get to the bottom of all this insanity. Even so, the uneasy, suspicious, and on some counts, downright hostile mood that had overtaken the passenger compartment was difficult to dispel.<p>

Tseng was the epitome of calm composure and confidence. He always had been, Zack recalled. Lucky for him too, considering the stares he received from the other non-Turks back here. As a safety precaution, they'd put him in a seat between Vincent, who as a fomer Turk seemed less likely to try hurting him, and Zack himself, since they were familiar with each other, but even so, no one was stupid enough to take the current director of the Turks at face value.

About four hours of this uncomfortable silence later, he spotted land up ahead out the window, and beyond the beach, there were signs of a vast forest spread out over the landmass they were approaching. It was approximately half an hour after that when they found a landing site near the coordinates Tseng had indicated and Cissnei brought the helicopter in for a landing. Without saying a word, everyone gathered just outside the vehicle, wary of any sign of an ambush. There was none. Instead, poking out from the forest blanketed in mists, stood the peak of an ancient pyramid, carved out of what looked like dark stones.

Almost as soon as Nanaki padded out onto the grass and sniffed the air, he growled.

"What is it?" Kunsel asked.

"Sephiroth is here, somewhere," Nanaki confirmed. "And not just him. Someone came with him. I think it was one of those strange people in cloaks."

Tseng checked the ammunition in his gun. "In that case, we should be ready for a fight."

"Don' get cocky jes' because yer the head Turk," Barret said.

"It's a state of fact," the director replied, his expression unchanged. He finished with his handgun and returned it to the holster concealed beneath his blazer.

Zack cleared his throat. "We should probably decide who goes where. We don't want to get caught with our guard down." There was a collective nod of assent from the regular party and they gathered in a circle near the helicopter. They had spent most of their time planning for a trap, so the arrangements for who would be going on the main expedition into the temple had been rather sketchy. Zack considered for a moment before speaking. "I think we ought to have at least a few people out here on lookout, just in case someone comes while we're inside."

"That would be wise," Nanaki agreed, "As interested as I would be in going in with you, it would be best if I remained out here. I should be able to catch the scent of anything that gets close."

"I also think either Cissnei or I should stay. Someone should be able to the fly the helicopter," Freya suggested.

"I'll do it," Cissnei said. "Your weapon packs more of a punch."

"I'll stay out here too." Yuffie said. "I don't care about stuffy old temples. Besides, there's probably ghosts in there!"

"Your loss," Freya said.

Zack faced Barret. "Do you mind staying out here to make sure the girls and Nanaki have some firepower to back them up?"

The man nodded, cocking his gun arm. "Any Shinra goons show up, they're gonna regret it."

He then looked at Cait. "You're staying with Cissnei. Don't try anything."

"_I don't intend to,"_ the deeper voice echoed over the speakers.

That finished, he asked "Is there anyone else who wants to stay behind?" No one volunteered. "All right then." He returned to speaking to the B group. "Sweep the area every now and then. We don't want to get caught by surprise here." There were more people going inside than there were remaining, but that couldn't be helped. Not only did they want to be ready for Sephiroth, and by extension, whatever he had brought with him, but no one aside from Freya and Cissnei had been willing to trust Tseng while in their midst, and even they were wary.

Finished with the meeting, he started towards the Temple with Aerith. Tseng walked next to them, though Cloud and Kunsel were both a few steps behind. Freya, Tifa, and Vincent brought up the rear as the party stepped through the tree line and into the jungle growth. It was barely ten minutes before they reached the entrance to the pyramid and Zack took in the landscape surrounding it with concern. This area, like many of the islands along the outer chains ringing the continents, was definitely volcanic, and he now realized that the mist he'd seen earlier wasn't mist at all, but steam billowing out of the ground. They circled around the temple until at last they came to a vast trench that was obviously created over one of the deeper steam vents. He could feel the heat on his face when he neared the rope bridge that had been strung across it.

Tseng stopped behind him as Aerith pulled ahead, kneeling on the bridge. To Zack's surprise, she put her ear to the boards, as though she was trying to hear something rising up through the clouds of steam. "This is… the Temple of the Ancients… I…I know… I feel it… The knowledge of the Ancients…floating…" Her voice became distant, as though she were speaking to someone else. "You could become one with the Planet, but you're stopping it with strength of will… For the future? For us?"

Zack knelt beside her. "You can hear something? What's it saying?"

"Shh…" Aerith whispered, and then she stood, walking through the archway leading into the grounds of the pyramid. Upon entering, she spoke again to whatever it was she seemed to hear. "You're uneasy… but happy? Because I'm here? I'm sorry… I don't understand." Zack and the others followed behind her until they were across the bridge and she turned to look at Zack, her expression blazing with determination. "I want to go inside!"

At that moment, Cloud joined them at the front, pointing up to the door leading inside the pyramid. "What's that up there?"

Zack looked where his friend was indicating and he immediately tensed at the sight of one of the cloaked figures shuffling out the door before falling on the highest step of the pyramid. Zack raced up the stairs with Cloud in hot pursuit and the others not far behind. When they reached the top, he knelt by the side of the man, who was obviously very weak from malnutrition, clearly on the brink of death. "Black…Materia…" he heard him wheeze.

Aerith sat down next to him, trying to ascertain what was wrong, and whether or not the Restore materia she had in her bangle would help him at all. She picked up the man's hand to check for a pulse when his hood fell from his face, revealing a pair of soulless green eyes and a head of lank white hair. "Look…"

Tifa was next to her, and she carefully moved the hair from where it obscured the back of the man's neck. "Number IX. Another man with a tattoo." Before their eyes, the man seized up and then collapsed before disappearing into tendrils of glowing green lifestream in front of them.

They stood there stunned for a moment before Kunsel spoke. "Maybe we ought to go inside."

Zack stood, joining the brown-haired SOLDIER in looking down the dark passageway, holding the Buster Sword ready in front of him just in case. "Yeah. Let's go." Cloud and Tseng were soon behind them and Vincent and the girls brought up the rear. It took them less than half a minute to reach a room that opened out, its walls filled with carvings and the vaulted ceiling supported by stone columns. An altar decorated the opposite end of the room on a dais flanked by a pair of torches, but the room seemed otherwise empty. The three SOLDIER enhanced members of the party made short work of checking the room for any threats before joining the others at the altar.

"It looks like we're clear," Zack said.

"I didn't notice any traps either," Kunsel added.

Freya and Vincent inspected the altar. "It looks like we need to stick the Keystone into this hole here." The lady Turk indicated the slot with her left hand."

Everyone gathered around and Kunsel handed Zack the keystone. Almost immediately, he gave it to Cloud.

"Why me?" Cloud asked.

"You won it. You get to do the honors," Zack said. Cloud held the small stone sphere in his hand for a moment before carefully sliding it into the groove on the altar. At first, Zack wasn't sure anything had happened, but then suddenly, he felt like he was falling. Before he could catch himself on anything, the floor, which had previously been quite solid, rushed past him and he soon found himself looking out at a vast forest of stairs and platforms. They had appeared on one such platform and Tseng stood next to him, taking in the view along with Freya and Vincent while he checked that Aerith was all right. The Cetra walked a few steps away from the group, still listening intently.

"Words… feelings… So many of them here," she muttered. It was clearly a difficult undertaking to make sense of what she was hearing.

"What a strange place," Tifa said. "Do you think we're welcome here?"

At that point Aerith returned her attention to the rest of the party. "I know it's going to be tough, but we can't give up! We can do it!"

Kunsel looked out across the vast expanse of stairs, vines, doors, and platforms, clearly not relishing the prospect. "It's like a maze in here," he said.

"That was probably the intent," Tseng commented.

That was when he heard Tifa suppress a gasp of surprise. "What's that over there?"

Far off, on a set of stairs, Zack could see a small figure in a purple cloak with a huge beard, though his face was obscured in the shadow of a hat. As though he had realized he'd been seen, the figure disappeared into a hole. Zack stared after him intently for a moment before checking his sword and leading the way forward. "Come on, there's no sense sitting around here. Maybe if we catch him we can figure out what's going on."

* * *

><p>They had been wandering around for several minutes when at long last, they followed the figure inside a dark tunnel. At first, Zack thought the person had just gotten too far ahead of them, but he soon realized the figure had disappeared entirely. Instead, what greeted them was a raised walkway, along which there rolled a parade of oddly shaped boulders. They watched this sight for a few moments before Freya said "They look like if we ran and ducked at the right moment we might be able to shelter under them."<p>

"You think so?" Cloud said.

The renegade Turk nodded. "We might be able to get through relatively quickly if we went in twos. Do you want to try it?"

"Don't see what else we can do." Zack looked around the group. "Me and Cloud'll go first, in case there's anything nasty on the other end. "Freya, you'll go with Tifa. Vincent, you're with Tseng. Kunsel, you take care of Aerith, all right?" Everyone nodded and Zack and Cloud took their positions at the front. "You ready Cloud?" Zack asked. His friend nodded. "Okay… go!" The two of them bolted forward to duck just under the oddly shaped depression in the first boulder. Zack felt his muscles tense as the other side of their small shelter rose, revealing the next boulder and the next space where they needed to duck. Cloud was alert and ready next to him and no words were necessary when they both bolted towards the next spot. They were there in a matter of moments, though Zack pulled Cloud back a few inches when he realized his friend was slightly too close to the margin.

A few more agonizing seconds passed before light began to creep under the boulder and it too rolled away. A third one rolled in their direction and they repeated the maneuver. Two more later, and Cloud returned the favor by pushing him forward when he was too far back and his sword might have been smashed behind him. Finally, they were almost to the end. As the last boulder lifted over them, they raced forward. They were almost to a point where the corridor turned right, when a bright light flashed and Zack glanced up just in time to see the next boulder that would have crashed onto the walkway vanish into thin air. Cloud stopped a few steps ahead of him once he also noticed the sudden absence of dangerous rocks.

"Zack? Are you two all right?" He heard Aerith's voice echoing down the path. "We don't see any boulders anymore!"

"We're fine!" he called back. "I don't see them up here either!"

"Well in that case, we'll catch up with you!" the flower girl replied. He heard the sound of several pairs of footsteps in the darkness for a few moments, but then they stopped and Aerith called out again "Zack! Cloud! Come quick!" The two of them hurried towards the sound of her voice and soon found the rest of the group looking down a different corridor they had not spotted on the way in.

Zack walked past the others to join Tseng and Tifa at the end of the side passage. When he looked in, he saw that Aerith had walked around to the opposite side of what appeared to be a shallow pool filled with a luminous liquid of some kind. Right in front of her stood the small bearded figure in the purple cloak and he gestured that she come closer, though Zack heard something that he could swear sounded like "Nyum nyum."

"Ah, we finally found you," Aerith said gently. "I'm sorry. You waited for me." She turned back to the onlookers. "These are the spirit bodies of the Ancients. They've been away from the Planet for a very long time to protect this temple. Over the years they've lost the ability to talk. Though actually, they didn't need words from the beginning because there was only one objective for those left in the temple."

"I would assume that would be to protect it," Tseng said.

Aerith nodded and turned her attention back to the Ancient spirit. "Please, talk to me!" The Ancient leaned forward as though attempting to tell her something but Zack couldn't make out what it was, and it seemed like Aerith didn't either. "No good, I don't understand the rest. Are you afraid…? Is Sephiroth here? Or is it something else?"

With a final 'Nyum nyum!" the spirit gestured towards the pool and Aerith knelt to inspect it. It lit up at her approach and she seemed to stare at it for several moments as though trying to understand. Zack walked over to her, wondering if there was anything he could do to help.

He was halfway around the pool when she spoke again. "It's full of the knowledge of the Ancients." She paused, rethinking what she'd just said. "No…not knowledge… consciousness… a living soul… It's trying to say something." She knelt down at the edge of the pool. "I'm sorry, I don't understand." She leaned in closer, as though listening intently. "What? What is it? …Danger? An evil…consciousness?" She stood, still apparently speaking to the pool. "…show? You're going to show us?"

Just as Zack reached her, he saw a bright light and then suddenly, he found himself looking at a completely different place. It was a room covered in murals and carvings, and lit up with torches. At the edge of his awareness he thought he heard Cloud's voice. "…What's going on?"

Aerith's voice replied "Wait! Look! It's showing us!"

Silence fell across the onlookers as their field of view panned across this new room. Zack wasn't sure if it was part of the vision or if there was actually a chill running down his spine, but what he saw next caused him to shiver. Looking up at one of the murals with a cold hard gaze, stood a familiar man with long white hair in a black leather coat. The scene barely lasted a few seconds before Zack found himself back in the room with the pool.

Aerith hurried over to him. "Did you see it?"

"How did he get ahead of us?!" Tifa exclaimed.

"The place we came from was kind of a maze, and he proved he could fly when we found him just before Cosmo Canyon. He probably just cut right past us," Kunsel said.

"However he did it, we need to catch up with him yesterday," Zack said, and turned to Aerith. "That room with all the pictures on the walls. Did they say anything about where it was?"

"We're almost there…" Aerith said, though she sounded slightly uncertain.

"No matter what, it's going to end here," Cloud said.

"My thoughts exactly," Zack agreed. With that, they all made their way back towards the main corridor and continued onward.

* * *

><p>It was now getting later in the afternoon at the clinic in Mideel, and preparations were nearly complete. The man, unofficially identified as Number VI lay on a gurney in one of the examination rooms, sleeping soundly. As a precaution, they'd put him under using the same method Rayleigh had used when Kunsel had needed to carry Cloud through the slums. A sleep spell to knock him out, and then a sedative to keep him out. She wasn't sure if this was overkill, but one could not be too careful, especially when there was no telling what the subject of this investigation would do. Liz was now in the room, watching him and waiting for the doctor to return from her office. The nurses had mostly stayed away, at her request. She had just procured the rest of the equipment she would need when she received another call from the receptionist. "<em>Doctor, there's someone else at the front who wants to see you. He says his name is Tanjuu. Do you know him? He looks really suspicious."<em>

She pushed the button on the intercom. "Have someone show him to my office. I'll wait for him."

"_Yes ma'am." _She waited at the door for barely half a minute before one of the nurses appeared with a familiar looking man behind her. His bangs were still long and curly as she remembered him from their escape from Midgar, and he was still wearing a suit, though it was more of a leisure suit now since he had shed the standard Turk garb. Freya's former partner had been in Wutai for some time now, for unsaid reasons, and even now the ex-gangster looked around the hall of the clinic with a careful eye. Everyone at the lodge was aware of what had happened between him and Don Corneo, and frankly, she couldn't blame him for being cautious.

"What brings you here?" She asked as the nurse who had directed him to her office departed.

"I heard through the grape vine that big things were happening and felt the need to check it out," he said. "Where're the girls?"

"They aren't here. But Liz arrived earlier. I don't know if you got the news, but she picked up one of the targets I asked everyone to keep an eye out for." She gestured that the man follow her down the hall.

The man behind her grunted in acknowledgment.

"I was just about to conduct an examination in order to run some comparative analysis on the procedural differences and similarities, to see how close they match up to what was done to Zack and Cloud. You were present when I saw them. If it's not too much trouble, I wouldn't mind your assistance."

The man shrugged. "I've got time to kill."

Rayleigh nodded and opened the door. The man had been decloaked on the gurney and his pale figure was now respectfully covered with a sheet, since he had worn nothing else, but he was otherwise oblivious to the goings on in the room. His wrists and his face shone nearly white at the edges of the covering under the stark bright light.

Liz was leaning against a wall, observing her charge warily, but she looked up when the two of them entered and nodded in welcome when she recognized Tanjuu behind the Doctor. The gunman joined the martial artist in observing as Rayleigh set her tools down on the counter nearby and washed her hands, before pulling on a pair of latex gloves. Once she was finished with this task, she passed each of them a pair, and took a deep breath in preparation, her expression grim as she finally broke the silence in the room.

"All right, let's do this." She reached for her stethoscope and clipboard before approaching the slumbering man.

* * *

><p>It was some time later when Cloud and the others finally emerged from the room with that strange clock and mysterious egg-timer looking spirit who called himself the Time Guardian. Granted, it had been rather nice when upon going the wrong way, they had accidentally stumbled on some interesting things. Things that included a ceremonial staff Aerith identified as a traditional Cetra weapon, and a mysterious ribbon Kunsel swore had special properties. However since they were in a hurry, it had been rather frustrating to figure out exactly which opening on the clock face they needed to travel through.<p>

Now, Cloud found himself facing a new set of terraces, each with several tunnels leading into the wall. They stood at the side of the highest terrace, and there was a door to their right that looked like it had been carved out of the rock face with the intent to strike an imposing visage. What also got their attention was that there was a small figure standing at the door, trembling. Upon their approach, they heard a door slamming shut and the figure fled in the other direction. Aerith hurried forward to check the door. "Hey! It's locked."

"Was it that little guy that ran away from us?" Zack wondered.

"Looks like we'll have to catch him," Aerith said.

Once the objective had been decided, Zack nodded and turned to the others. "Okay guys, everyone fan out and search the tunnels. He's gotta be in one of them." Cloud hopped down to one of the lower terraces and the others scattered to check the various entrances. He thought he caught sight of the small figure at one point, but about two minutes later he heard Freya call out "I found him!"

When the group reconvened at the door, Cloud noticed that the person they had been chasing had not followed. On the questioning looks from the others, Freya deferred to Aerith. She smiled and said "Once he saw I was with her, he went ahead and opened the door."

"Good enough for me," Zack said. "Are we ready?" Everyone gripped their weapons in anticipation as they approached the now open passage. The corridor was dark but as they drew closer to the room to which it led, they saw it was lit up with torches as many of the other rooms had been. They stopped at the entrance to take in the scene before them. As they had seen in the vision, this room had been intricately carved and painted with murals and sculptures while pillars rose up into the canopy of the ceiling, but there was one major fact about where they currently stood that no one could have missed. Sephiroth was not here.

"Where is he?" Zack wondered.

"I don't know," Freya said.

Tseng walked forward, looking over the walls with a critical eye. "These murals… they don't look like they're about the Promised Land."

Kunsel examined the pictures. "No they don't. But what could they be for?"

The rest of the party spread out, searching around the room. Finally, Cloud decided he couldn't take the wait. "Sephiroth! Where are you?!"

His call echoed off the walls of the room and then, almost as though the former general had been there the whole time, there he was, kneeling in the middle of the room. Everyone watched in surprise as the silver-haired man stood and then, inexplicably, began to float, rising up into the air, an evil smirk gracing his lips. "So cold. I am always by your side. Come." He vanished and then reappeared, standing in front of one of the murals. Everyone hurried over as he continued. "Splendid. A treasure house of knowledge…"

"What are you going on about?" Zack asked.

Sephiroth laughed malevolently before he moved again this time reappearing in front of a different mural, gesturing to it and Cloud could see that it appeared to be a scene of a giant round object flying towards the ground like a comet. Sephiroth turned to face them. "Look well."

"At what!?" Cloud demanded.

"At that which adds to the knowledge of…" Sephiroth did not finish the sentence but instead started again. "I am becoming one with the planet." He raised his arms in an all-encompassing gesture, and laughed again. He disappeared again and then Cloud spotted him up ahead, sitting at the foot of what appeared to be an altar, continuing to laugh as he watched them approach. "…Mother…It's almost time. Soon… we will become one."

Aerith interrupted his monologue nervously. "How do you intend to become one with the Planet?"

Sephiroth stood, waving his sword for emphasis. "It's simple. Once the Planet is hurt, it gathers Spirit Energy to heal the injury. The amount of energy gathered depends on the size of the injury." He then took the Masamune and stabbed it into the groud. "…What would happen if there was an injury that threatened the very life of the Planet? Think how much energy would be gathered!" He pulled the sword out again, holding it at the ready. "Ha ha ha. And at the center of that injury will be me. All that boundless energy will be mine. By merging with all the energy of the Planet, I will become a new life form, a new existence. Melding with the Planet… I will cease to exist as I am now… Only to be reborn as a 'God' to rule over every soul."

Aerith seemed to be taken aback. "An injury powerful enough to destroy the Planet? Injure… the Planet?"

The light seemed to coalesce around Sephiroth and he gestured to the wall. "Behold that mural. The Ultimate Destructive Magic… Meteor."

"That'll never happen!" Cloud said.

Sephiroth's laughter echoed through the chamber as the light flashed again and he disappeared. "Wake up!"

When the light died, he was gone, and Cloud looked around to see what had happened. Zack appeared just as confused.

In a surge of emotion Cloud ran back towards the mural. "Where are you!? Sephiroth!"

"Cloud! Wait!" He heard Zack behind him and the others were in pursuit.

For reasons he couldn't explain, Cloud suddenly felt giddy. Ecstatic even, and judging from everyone else's expressions, they were just as surprised as he was to hear himself laughing madly. "Ha ha ha…Black Materia…" Even as he laughed, he realized there was a faint buzzing at the edge of his awareness. "Ha ha ha… Call Meteor."

"Cloud?" He could hear Tifa behind him, and then the sound of someone else coming closer.

Zack was next to him, and suddenly he felt a disturbingly familiar ache wrenching its way through his skull. He reached up to grasp his head in his hands and Zack caught him when he saw him sway, slightly unsteady.

"Cloud! Are you all right?!" Zack demanded. The laughter in his throat had died, but the confusion remained, mired in embarrassment. "Z-Zack?"

His friend was in front of him, his hands on his shoulders, willing him to focus. "Good, you know who I am. Do you know who you are?"

"I'm… Cloud… Zack, I…"

Zack looked hard at him, evaluating his response as he asked the last familiar question. "Do you remember where we are?"

He nodded, his vision seeming to clear as the pain slowly left. "We're at the Temple…"

Zack nodded, and sighed in relief, before glaring at him. "You idiot! Why didn't you tell me that was still happening?!"

"It never got that bad before. I didn't want you to worry…"

"Well I'm plenty worried right now! How many times has it happened?" There was an uncomfortable silence for a few moments before Zack seemed to remember they had an audience, and decided it would be better to save the interrogation for the time being. "We'll talk about this later, but right now…"

Cloud suddenly became aware of a distant rumbling sound. Zack seemed to be aware of it too because he turned away from him, pulling out the Buster Sword. "Sephiroth!?"

Laughter echoed around the chamber from a source no one could locate. "Ha ha ha… It is not me."

As though to emphasize his point, an angry roar echoed through the chamber and Cloud caught sight of glowing yellow eyes and a winged body covered in red scales that shone in the torchlight. Now was definitely not the time to be arguing.

* * *

><p>Rayleigh reached for her camera. She had finished with the basic physical analysis. The man's heart rate and vitals were relatively normal for someone who had been suffering from severe deprivation and exposure. She put her clipboard down, and pulled back the sheet so that it stopped just below the man's navel. "If the two of you would lift him up, I want to get a look at his back."<p>

Liz and Tanjuu took a moment to get on either side of the man and lifted him so he was in a sitting position. His head lolled forward under the effects of the sedative, but he made no other movements.

Rayleigh took the camera with her, walking under the light to get a better view. "I thought so. SOLDIER enhancements. This is the same nonstandard procedure Zack and Cloud were subjected to."

"So does that mean Zack and his blonde friend are just like these people?" Liz asked. Having fought side by side with him, she apparently had a good deal of respect for him. Hard not to have that if anyone knew him for any amount of time.

"No. There are differences," Rayleigh said. "First off, one thing I noticed from the Nibelheim samples was that the mako percentages and S-cell counts of that particular subject were 50% greater than Cloud's, which tells me this one should also have a higher percentage of S-cells, though I won't be able to confirm that until I can get in front of a microscope."

She ran a hand over the scars at the tell-tale locations of the Jenova cell implants along the man's spine and shoulders along with several exploratory scars at lower locations. She glanced towards the counter where the old file with the photos she'd taken in Midgar waited, just in case she needed a comparison. But that was unnecessary. She went ahead and documented each scar. Noting a slash mark that was clearly another sword wound along with what remained of a series of burns that must have been sustained prior to this man's enhancement procedures, judging by the way they had healed. She wondered who he was. Had he been a survivor of Nibelheim? It was quite possible. "It is safe to say that whatever Hojo was trying to do with Zack and Cloud, he got a lot farther with these people somehow. It's really strange. My initial theory was that he was trying to recreate Sephiroth, but the more I'm seeing, the more I'm beginning to realize that wasn't the case."

Once she had her photos, she gestured that the two renegades lie him back down on the gurney. When he was situated, she secured his wrists and ankles in the cloth restraints, and proceeded to take a closer look at the man's chest and abdomen.

"Why is that?" Tanjuu asked.

"Because if he really wanted a super soldier he would have to make sure they were functional. We didn't even give a candidate a second look if he wasn't in top physical and psychological condition. This man has obviously never been in the military in his life. Anyone can see there's not much development in his muscles such as one would see even in the infantry. Aside from being wounded by Sephiroth, Cloud was in excellent physical condition at the time during which this was done to him, and Zack was already SOLDIER. This man wasn't even up to Cloud's level."

"Then why would Hojo have even tried something like this?" Liz wondered.

"I don't know." Rayleigh turned her full attention to her work. Zack had slightly fewer scars from the front, but as she looked at the sites here, each one stood out to her, mirroring each cut she had found on Cloud's body, during that tense hour at the hospital in Midgar. She drew in a breath, looking along the man's stomach, his chest, his shoulders. There were some differences. The Mako concentration and the Jenova Cells count she suspected this man had and which she would soon confirm would definitely be a bit higher. So high that his eyes had permanently changed from whatever color they'd been to that strange reptilian green. It was the most unnerving thing she'd ever seen, and at Shinra, she had seen a lot. "What I do know is that whatever was done to him, Cloud got a lot closer to it then Zack did."

She snapped the very last photo, and grimly went back to finish her notes. In all likelihood, she had half an hour left before the sedative would wear off. Just enough to collect samples for comparison to those collected in Nibelheim and document them. She went for the vial and grimly prepared the needle.

* * *

><p>Cloud dived forward, pushing Aerith out of the way as a wall of blue flames washed past overhead. The dragon was blocking their way out of the room, and it was huge. He heard several gunshots behind him before he felt magic wash over him. Tseng and Vincent had pulled their weapons and Kunsel had apparently started using his Barrier materia to cover them. He pulled himself up and reached for his regular sword, just in time to join Zack in charging the monster. The dragon saw them coming and reached out to whip at them with his huge tail, but at the last second, the two of them ducked and parted ways, each headed for the opposite side of the room.<p>

Once Cloud reached the wall, he used his momentum to run for as much height as he could and vault towards his opponent. His sword connected and with all his power behind it, the blade stabbed deep into the monster's hide. The dragon roared though it appeared that Zack was attacking from the ground and the giant lizard was conflicted about which way he needed to go. Cloud had just retrieved his sword when his perch flew out from under him and he landed in a crouch just in time to see the dragon charge across the room, knocking one of the stone pillars askew as it went. It was mad now.

He saw Kunsel and the others scramble to get out of the way before the dragon neared the alter with a roar, his mouth flaming. Vincent hopped away with incredible grace, but somehow, the dragon's tail caught him with a violent 'thwack!' sending him flying across the room. Tseng had managed to get away unscathed, but now he was firing his automatic pistol rapidly and Freya's shotgun blasts were echoing through the room.

Tifa let out a battle cry, casting an ice spell to get the heat off the others, and Aerith raced towards Vincent, ready to cast a Cure spell. Cloud could hear her asking if he was all right behind him, but turned his attention to helping Tifa, racing in front of her and slashing at the dragon's hindquarters to try and get its attention. Zack was already there, heaving the Buster Sword in a wide swing. However, Cloud felt a change in the air around him that felt like a limit break but was at the same time, different. Everyone's attention was suddenly diverted when Aerith shrieked in surprise. "Vincent?!"

Without warning, a guttural growl issued from behind them and a huge angry blur of purple and red whirled past them and threw itself at the dragon, a hurricane of teeth and angry snarls. Zack was already running back to see if Aerith was all right as Cloud dived back into the fray. He wasn't sure where this strange new creature had come from, but at least it seemed to be on their side for now.

Tifa was next to him and she channeled a limit break of her own, landing blow after blow with her powerful fists while he leapt up once again to swing his sword, this time aiming for the monster's head. The dragon was having none of this, and once again whipped out with his tail. The great purple beast was missed but Cloud couldn't correct himself as well in midair, so he found himself flying backwards. He caught himself on one of the pillars, swinging himself around it and leaping forward again, driving his sword deep into the dragon's chest. At the same moment, he heard a gunshot from Tseng's direction, and the great furred beast lunged at the dragon's throat, tightening its great arms around the scaly neck.

Bleeding profusely now, and unable to breathe, the dragon thrashed wildly before Cloud stabbed one final time. With a final rasping cry, the smoke in the dragon's mouth and the heat issuing from its throat died. Soon after, it collapsed.

Cloud remained on his guard as the strange beast pulled itself up, holding his sword ready in case it attacked them, but at that point, he heard Zack behind him. "…Vincent? Is that you?"

The beast then did something that no mere creature would do. It sat back on its haunches, and waited. Fur began to recede, to be replaced by a red cloak and gold gauntlet, and fangs and claws melded back into pale skin and a pair of red eyes peeking out from under a red strip of cloth.

Once the transformation was complete, Vincent stood and dusted himself off, ignoring the surprised stares. Zack cleared his throat after a moment. "So, is that… uh… normal? For you?" he asked.

Vincent gave him a knowing look. "If you are familiar with Veld then you know Jenova cells weren't the only specialty of those working at Shinra mansion."

Zack was obviously trying to conceal a grimace. "Ah… I see." With the dragon already disappearing as it was reabsorbed into the Lifestream, he apparently decided to turn his attention back to the task at hand. After a cursory glance around the room he let out a sigh. "I guess Sephiroth got away, didn't he."

"I'm not sure," Kunsel answered. "What did he mean when he said 'I am always by your side'?"

Zack shrugged.

Cloud looked back up at the mural of the giant comet and he swallowed hard. "I don't know what that was about, but I think I understand what he said he was trying to do." He looked at Aerith before pointing at the mural. "This must be Meteor, right?"

Aerith looked where he was pointing and nodded.

Tifa walked up behind them, a worried look on her face. "Is something going to fall from the sky?"

Aerith frowned, deep in thought. "…This must be magic. Just what Sephiroth was saying. The Ultimate Destructive Magic, Meteor. It finds drifting objects and makes them collide with the Planet. We might get wiped out entirely…"

Tseng swore, and Zack looked back at him in complete surprise. When was the last time the Turk had been this expressive? The man shook his head. "If this is the case, Sephiroth isn't looking for the Promised Land at all. We've been had!"

Aerith shook her head. "One simply cannot just find the Promised Land. Not the way you're talking about it. But that's not what's important right now." She hurried over to the altar above which everyone now noticed something was floating. "Whatever we do, we can't let him get this… oh…"

Zack went to stand next to her. "What is it?"

Aerith frowned again. "There's something written on it that I think I can read." She was trying to spell out the letters when Cloud caught sight of a something glinting red in the corner, and went to investigate.

When he picked up the small orb, he felt the energy drawn from him and he realized this summon materia had to be Bahamut. He walked over to Tifa, slipping it next to ChocoMog in his bangle. Upon reaching her, both of them jumped when he heard Zack say "Black Materia!"

Aerith thought for a moment and then said. "Hang on, I'll see what I can find out." The others watched as she appeared to listen before mumbling "What? I don't understand… Oh… Really?..." She turned her attention back to the others. "They said that the whole temple is the Black Materia."

Kunsel did a double take. "You mean, we're… inside it?"

Aerith nodded.

"But this thing is huge!" Freya interjected. "I don't know if there's a reactor or mako pool big enough to make a materia this large! Not to mention, how would they keep someone from using it?"

Zack shrugged. "Maybe it only works if you touch a certain place? I don't know. At least we don't have to worry about anyone trying to take it."

"It's pretty hard," Aerith agreed. She gestured to the floating pyramid above the altar. "You see, this is a model of the temple. And inside it is a device that makes it smaller each time you solve a puzzle."

"So it shrinks it?" Tifa asked.

Aerith nodded again. "Yes. The problem is, as the temple becomes smaller, you become smaller too, until the Temple is small enough to fit in your hand."

"So if we solve all the puzzles, the Black Materia will get smaller and smaller until we can take it out?" Cloud asked.

"Yes," Aerith said. "But you can only solve them here. So anyone who tries to solve them will be crushed."

"I guess that's one way to keep people from stealing dangerous things," Freya said.

"Maybe it's okay to just leave it then," Tifa suggested, tapping the ground with the toe of her left shoe nervously.

"We've got to find a way to get it out," Cloud said. "Sephiroth seems like he'd be perfectly fine with sacrificing a few flunkies to get it for himself."

"Hmm… now that I think about it, you're probably right," Zack agreed. "It'd be nothing to throw their lives away. This place is definitely not safe for it."

"So what are we going to do?" Aerith said, concern evident on her face.

There was a ringing from Zack's PHS and he answered it. "Yeah?"

He listened to whoever it was on the other end of the line for a while and then he raised an eyebrow. "Hang on a second Cait. For starters, how did you get this number, and second, how did you overhear everything?" He listened a little longer before he scowled. "Oh, is that so? On Tifa?"

Tifa stiffened and then blushed before walking off to a corner to check her clothes. She was clearly annoyed.

Zack listened a little longer before continuing. "Well whatever we do, we can't let Sephiroth have it. Though let me be clear about this. Hell will freeze over before I just hand it over to your employers either. You do realize that right?" Cloud glanced over at Tseng, but the man was incredibly capable of hiding his reactions to things.

Zack listened a little longer as Cait Sith laid out his argument before running a hand through his unruly hair. "I guess we don't have a choice in this." It was at that point when all of them heard the sound of breaking plastic from the corner where Tifa had been checking herself. She had apparently found Cait Sith's bug. At the same time, Zack ended the conversation on his PHS. "Okay guys, Cait says he's gonna meet us at the exit, so we'd better get going." Everyone hurried back down the corridor and past the Ancient spirit. He warbled a final "Nyum nyum," of farewell and soon they were back at the room with the time guardian. Almost as though he'd sensed their return, the Guardian had positioned the hands of the clock so they were pointing at 6:00, forming a bridge straight across. They marched across the precipice and through the next passage. When they exited into the next room, they found themselves looking at a door with a line of light shining underneath it.

"This has got to be the exit," Zack said.

Kunsel and Freya walked forward to inspect the door and the brown haired SOLDIER tried the latch. "That's odd. It feels kind of warm," he said.

That was when Cloud heard a noise up above the two of them that sounded roughly like rocks scraping together. "Behind you!" he called out reaching for his sword.

The SOLDIER and the Turk looked up and their eyes widened as they backed away. Kunsel's hand was already on his own sword and Freya went for her shotgun. A large head had slid out of the wall sporting a mouth filled with rows of sharp teeth. It was accompanied by a pair of equally formidable looking claws.

Zack hurried to the front as the two joined him. "Well guys, looks like it's time for Round Two!"

* * *

><p>Rayleigh was washing her hands at the sink in the room where they were keeping Number VI. She really wished they had a better name by which to call him, but at this point, it was the only designation they knew. He was beginning to stir, though it would still be another ten to twenty minutes before he was fully coherent… or at least as coherent as these people could get…<p>

Liz stood near Tanjuu at the man's bedside. When Rayleigh moved to leave, about to go back to her office, she cleared her throat. "What do you intend to do with this man, now that we're done?" She asked.

"I haven't figured that out yet," Rayleigh admitted. "But I can tell you it will be a lot more humane than what Hojo had in mind." With that, she left the room, uncertainty in her thoughts. What could she do with this man? She didn't have any facilities here to keep him securely, and while she could try and find a place capable of adequately caring for him, that would take some time. She sighed. This whole situation was developing one problem after another. But still, she had to keep going. There was no alternative. She had come too far not to get the answers she'd searched for. They were standing right on the cusp of those answers even now. She could almost taste it…

Her PHS buzzed and she pulled it out of the pocket of her lab coat, adjusting her glasses and checked the message playing across the screen…

Like a runner pushing off from the starting line, she took off towards her office, not minding the low heels of her shoes and she nearly threw herself into her desk chair, wrenching the connector for her PHS out of her desk drawer. Her breath caught in her throat. The screen of her PHS glowed as she started the file transfer process, revealing the message she had just read from Shalua.

"_You need to take a look at this now! Full decryption complete."_

* * *

><p><em>Oh dear, looks like things are heating up again. The original party just left Rocket Town and are probably on their way to Wutai right now, though it seems we've skipped over that entirely.<em>

_Until next time!_


	29. On the Edge of the Odachi

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spinoffs. That honor goes to Square-Enix.

**Part II: Reunion**

* * *

><p>Chapter 29, On the Edge of the Odachi<p>

**December 25****th** **[ ν ] – εуλ 0007**

Zack dived forward, holding the Buster Sword up to shield himself and Aerith as rocks fell from the ceiling. Whatever this thing was, it needed to go and fast. It had been making the room shake and shudder for several seconds, and he was quickly getting the impression that if something wasn't done soon, the infernal thing would likely cause a cave-in. Cloud rushed in with Kunsel, both of them striking at the thing again as he heard gunshots from the rear once they'd gotten clear of the line of fire. Tifa seemed to be holding her own all right, having managed to land a graceful flying kick to the monster's head before it could retreat back into the wall before she backed away. The thing reached out with a giant clawed hand to knock Freya to the side before she could unleash another shotgun blast and he saw blood trickle down her sleeve before feeling the familiar energies as Aerith cast a cure spell on her.

The lady Turk nodded her thanks and Zack felt a limit break channel before noticing that Aerith seemed to have a shield similar to Barrier surrounding her. Now that she was adequately protected, he too raced forward, channeling a limit of his own, memories of Cissnei sharpening his concentration as he ran at the beast, leaping to drive the Buster Sword directly into its head. The monster let out a strange croaking noise and then withdrew into the wall, leaving the way clear.

They barely had a chance to catch their breaths before the door in the wall opened and in came Cait Sith on his mog. "Sorry to keep ye waitin'," the cat said, "It's me!" He was already heading past them but he paused to look back at them. "I'll handle the rest. Well, everyone… Take care of yourselves…"

Aerith walked over to the cat, as though she had something to say. "Cait Sith…" She looked over at Zack imploringly. "Can't anyone say something?"

Zack rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't know, I mean, I've never been a real big fan of goodbyes."

"No problem lad, I feel the same way," Cait interjected.

Aerith thought for a moment and then seemed to get an idea. "I know, why don't you read our fortunes again? You are always right, right?"

The little cat thought for a moment. "All right. It's pretty soon since th' last time, but I haven' read yours yet lass. I'm excited. Right or wrong, I'm still th' same ol' me. Now what would you like to know?"

Aerith deliberated for a moment. "How about telling us how compatible I am with Zack?"

"That'll cost ya exac'ly one date!" Cait Sith said. "Here I go!"

He twitched his tail and spent a little time deliberating before speaking again. "Well well…"

"What is it?" Aerith asked.

"You are perfect for each other, your stars show a great future! Zack, I'll be your matchmaker, your preacher, I'll do whatever you want me to! Just call me when it happens!"

Zack walked over to Aerith. "Sure."

The little robot smiled. "Thank you for allowin' me to do what I could, even though I was a spy. This is the final, final farewell." With that, he hopped off through the door.

"Be strong Cait Sith!" Aerith called after him. There was no sound of reply.

"Well guys, we should get out of here, Zack said at last. An air of extreme melancholy descended upon them as they walked out the door. In spite of his deceptions, in a way, there had been something a lot more human and self-aware about Reeve's little robot cat than any of them had particularly cared to admit.

It was not long before they reached the other side of the bridge and Zack was sure he could feel the ground rumbling beneath him. Apparently they weren't the only ones who had noticed. Barret and the others had appeared out of the foliage. "Wha's goin' on?" he asked.

"Cait Sith's making the Black Materia smaller so we can get it," Tifa explained.

The man nodded and everyone turned their attention back to the pyramid beyond the walls. Before their eyes, it seemed to be swathed in some sort of dark energy, and before they knew it, it seemed to grow smaller and smaller, disappearing from view. It was at that moment when he realized Tseng appeared to be more alert than usual. That told him all he needed to know and he bolted forward, followed by Aerith and Cloud. Tseng was hardly out of shape. He wouldn't be able to do his job if he wasn't in peak condition, but for all his training, he was still only human. Compared to a 1st Class SOLDIER, there was no contest. Zack reached the edge of the pit that the Black Materia had left and Cloud was right behind him as he jumped down into it, picking up the dark crystalline object in his hand. Cloud landed next to him and Aerith reached the edge just after Tseng. The Turk slid down the steep incline, controlling his fall so that he landed next to Cloud, while Aerith slowly climbed down. Zack watched him warily as the flower girl reached the three of them.

"So this is the Black Materia," Tseng said.

Zack nodded and turned to Aerith. "As long as we have this, Sephiroth won't be able to use Meteor, right?"

Aerith nodded. "That should be the case."

"What about you?" Cloud asked. "Can you use it?"

Aerith shook her head. "No, not now. You need great spiritual power for that."

"So a whole lot of Spirit Energy," Zack said.

"That's right. One person's power alone won't do it." Aerith and Cloud walked a little closer to get a better look at the materia as she went on. "He would need to go somewhere special, where there's plenty of the Planet's energy…"

"Like the Promised Land?" Tseng asked.

"But Sephiroth isn't an Ancient, so he shouldn't be able to find the Promised Land, right?" Cloud asked.

Aerith sighed and looked like she was about to say something when her gaze lifted and her expression became one of surprise.

"…Ah, but I have." A shadow fell over them and Zack looked up. Floating a short distance above them, his expression filled with the self-assurance that he had already won, was the very man whom they were now discussing…

* * *

><p>The files finished loading and Rayleigh looked through the now completed list. The Jenova Project, The Reunion Theory, Sephiroth's medical records, the Subject Log. It was all here. All complete. She wavered for a moment. The Reunion Theory beckoned, and so, she clicked on the file and started to read. The majority of it was taken up with discussions of the properties of Jenova cells, however, as she neared the conclusion, she started to get into the meat.<p>

…_In short, it is my belief that subjects possessing high enough concentrations of Jenova Cells are drawn together and have a strong affinity for each other. S-cells should be similar enough to retain that property and theoretically should be similar enough to Jenova cells that subjects should be drawn back to Jenova's main cell concentration. As such, it is my intent to test this theory by using S-cells in SOLDIER enhancements and measuring the strength of this pull. I predict that within ten years, all of the test subjects who survive the procedure should reappear in Migar, attempting to get closer to Jenova…_

Her breath caught in her throat. Jenova? Jenova had been in Midgar, right? But then Zack had told her that Sephiroth had her with him, somehow… Her eyes widened as she gripped her PHS. If the new idea forming in her mind was the truth… No, it couldn't be… she was sure they would have noticed something…

There were footsteps and Liz appeared at the door to her office, not bothering to knock. "Doctor, Number VI is awake but he's acting really strange, even for him."

She stood and followed the renegade back down the hall to the private room, when she heard the sound of a strange eerie laughter. She entered the room to see Tanjuu watching the man with concern. He was cackling with insane glee though few could miss the words he managed between giggles, and it chilled her down the marrow of her bones. "He's won!... Reunion… all will go to the north… and he will rain Calamity from the Skies… They'll give it to him… they found it!... Black Materia…"

The concern was too great now to dispel. She reached for her PHS again and dialed Zack's number. Everything fit far too well to be a coincidence anymore. The Temple of the Ancients, Sephiroth, Jenova, Hojo, Reunion. Whatever the silver general had in mind, Zack and Cloud hadn't been chasing him at all. He'd been leading them! She didn't know if they were aware or if Jenova had actually been calling them, but they had to know if there was a possibility. It was too dangerous for them not to. She thrust the PHS to her ear, realizing the pounding of her heart as the sound of the call connecting echoed through the speaker. With each ring there was a lower likelihood that the dark-haired SOLDIER was going to answer, and when the call timed out, she tried again, forcing herself not to panic. '_Gaia, Zack,' _She thought, '_Please. Pick up!'…_

* * *

><p>Cloud was itching to reach for his broadsword as soon as he saw Sephiroth floating above them, continuing to talk. "I'm far superior to the Ancients. I became a traveler of the Lifestream and gained their knowledge and wisdom, as well as that of those who came after their extinction. And soon, I will create the future."<p>

"We won't let you do it!" Aerith exclaimed furiously. "The future is not only yours!"

Sephiroth floated slightly higher, laughing. "Ha, ha, ha… I wonder?"

With the grace of an angel, he floated down to the ground in front of them and to Cloud's confusion, Zack seemed to be transfixed, his eyes not wavering from the formal general. Cloud gasped when slowly, his friend reached out his hand as though to give the Black Materia to Sephiroth, and the entire scene seemed to freeze, branding itself into Cloud's memory…

The silence was broken as everyone heard a familiar ringing noise. A PHS? Zack shook his head as though coming out of a trance and realized what he was doing. "What the hell?!" He looked down at the materia in his hand, the horror evident in his voice before he once again leveled his gaze at Sephiroth, anger and shock on his face that swiftly turned to pure defiance. The set of his jaw hardened and his eyes smoldered the air between them with a cold fury that had rarely been there before. As though it was a monumental effort, he ever so slowly eased the materia into his pocket. "I don't know what it was you just tried to do Sephiroth," he said, his voice almost a growl. "But if you want this, you'll have to get through me first."

Sephiroth raised an eyebrow. "Really? How disobedient. No matter, I suppose I'll just have to teach you some discipline."

"_Wake up!_" Cloud's vision became hazy, and then suddenly, everything seemed far away, almost as though what he was seeing was filtered through someone else's senses. Distantly he became aware of a loud buzzing sound, and his head throbbed as first his knees dropped from under him and then his body moved of its own accord.

"There Cloud… Good boy…" Sephiroth intoned.

"Cloud!" Distantly he heard Tifa's voice and Aerith's in unison, but he was already drawing his sword and approaching...

"_No…" _It was only because the girls had called attention to his strike that Zack managed to block in time, dodging out of the way before Cloud could swipe at him with the Butterfly Edge.

"Whoa! Cloud! What's wrong! Snap out of it!" Zack parried blow after blow, and moved in a defensive position. Tifa had slid down into the pit and was standing nearby with Tseng, not sure what to do. In a terrifying moment their eyes met and Zack's violet ones widened in surprise. "Shiva, Cloud! What did he do to you?! Don't worry…" He ducked as Cloud slashed with the Butterfly Edge in his off hand. "…We're gonna find a way to fix this…" He ducked again and Cloud internally winced when he saw that several black strands had flown free when his blade tore way too close to his friend's head. Zack turned his attention back to the others, catching Cloud's broadsword with the Buster. "Guys! Stay out of his range! I can handle this!" He dodged a hair's breadth before the Butterfly Edge nearly grazed his hand on the Buster's hilt.

"But what about Cloud?!" Tifa demanded.

Zack struck with the flat of his sword and while Cloud's head swam from the impact, whatever seemed to be controlling him suddenly changed his target. He moved like lightning, and right in front of him, while distant laughter echoed in his ears, he realized why. A flash of pink, familiar green eyes…

"_No…" _He thought again.

He approached Aerith and his horror mounted when another figure jumped in front of him. Tifa stood there, poised to defend the flower girl. He raised his sword…

"_Stop!"_

Someone behind him caught him, his blade just inches from Tifa's arm. The moment froze again as he fought himself, but this time, he felt something sharp connect with his chest, before his eyelids drooped, his body went limp, and he knew no more…

* * *

><p>If anything Sephiroth seemed only mildly disappointed that Tseng managed to knock Cloud out with a tranquilizer dart, but nevertheless, the fact remained that he was now regarding Zack with a look of serious annoyance. Tifa caught Cloud as Zack released him, holding him in her arms while Aerith and Tseng stood, united for once in the face of the enemy. "An entertaining performance…" he finally offered, "But you cannot hope to defeat me. The Black Materia will be mine. One way or another you will give it to me."<p>

"That's what you think," Zack shot back.

"Oops! This looks like I came at a bad time!" Everyone spared a moment to glance up at the rim of the hole they were standing in to see a familiar looking robot cat on a giant mog. "I'm Cait Sith No. 2. Right pleased to meet you all!..."

"You're right Cait, now is not the time for that!" Another familiar voice interrupted. Freya stood at the edge of the hole, her shotgun trained at Sephiroth, along with Vincent and Barret who were all aiming in the same direction. Yuffie stood to one side of them with her shuriken, and Cissnei hefted her rekka on the other side of the group. Kunsel slid down the slope to take a position next to Zack, while Nanaki leapt down to flank him on the other side.

Sephiroth floated a little higher, his eyes still trained hungrily at the dark haired SOLDIER. "So that is how we'll have to settle things. Very well, I will teach you to follow orders."

There was a bright flash, and suddenly the former general was no longer there. Instead, Zack saw a familiar mass of tentacles shaped into a vaguely angelic female form. Jenova again, and it landed with a loud thump, followed by the grinding of fallen sand and gravel underneath it. On reflex he and Kunsel both cast barriers around Aerith, Cloud, and Tifa, before charging into the fray. Zack heard the sound of a gun going off as Tseng fired two shots at the giant mass.

Zack lunged, digging the Buster Sword deep into it while Kunsel leapt higher, slashing at one of the wing like appendages before using his momentum to connect with the upper wall of the hollow in which they were fighting and used one hand to hold himself up, calculating his next strike.

Jenova did not take kindly to that and Zack had to duck when it fired a blue beam in their direction, before hurling a tentacle at his friend, and forcing him to drop in order to avoid the strike. The ground rumbled underneath him and he realized that Nanaki had just cast a quake spell. Jenova flinched away from the red lion, but retaliated with an attack composed of watery projectiles. Nanaki dodged most of them but was unable to avoid being hit by one of the last of the attacks and was knocked to the ground.

Two shuriken flew through the air overhead followed by a hail of bullets from Barret's gun arm. Yuffie let out a yell of triumph before a large humanoid shadow fell over Jenova and Titan unleashed his wrath upon it. Jenova writhed angrily before lashing out with a wave of blue flames across the ledge up above the gap. Zack took advantage of its distraction to run back in and try for another stab, but right at that moment, he felt a limit break channel up above, and caught a glimpse of Cissnei unleashing two powerful attacks with her rekka.

That was when he also felt the energy of a spell being cast and saw that a reflect spell had come into effect on their opponent. Well, he was pretty sure he had the solution for that. Upon backing up for a moment and letting Kunsel have a turn at the monster's lower tentacles, he reached into his pocket for the Destruct materia he'd been carrying around, however, he suddenly heard Freya shout "No wait!"

A wave of electricity washed over Jenova before predictably, it seemed to return to the person who had cast it. Barret grunted in pain as Freya moved to heal him before letting out a roar and channeling a limit break of his own, aiming with laser guided precision and firing off a powerful blow.

Zack ran up the side of the pit before vaulting off and landing on the abomination's back, digging the Buster Sword deep into its shoulders. Once he pulled it back out, Tseng fired again, only this time having to dodge when Jenova's tentacles attempted to whip out at him. Zack leapt back to the ground, slashing through another tentacle on the way down and made another attempt to load the Destruct materia into his bangle. He heard Tseng grunt after barely evading another wave of blue flames before finally, the materia found the slot, and he started to charge up a Debarrier spell.

That was when he suddenly felt a limit break channel that he'd never felt before. He had never seen Tseng this worked up, but now, his hair askew, and his face for once wearing an expression that was far from being blank, he watched as the Turk raised his gun and carefully aimed up at the monster before him, firing once. Jenova shuddered, and suddenly Zack noticed that it seemed to be moving slower, and that it seemed to be bleeding in several places.

He didn't waste any further time, but cast his Debarrier spell before any further shenanigans could happen, and suddenly felt the area charged with electricity. An old man had appeared on the ledge above the pit and he was calling a storm down upon their enemy. Thunder roared as Ramuh unleashed a storm of lightning upon Jenova. The monster they were fighting suddenly went limp and then disappeared into nothing.

An uncomfortable silence permeated the area and Zack looked around taking stock of the damage. Cloud was unconscious, and even though Tifa had just unleashed that summon and ended the fight, she knelt beside him. Freya slid down next to them. "Is he all right?" she asked.

"I don't know," Tifa answered.

Zack suddenly heard his PHS ringing again and didn't bother to check the caller ID before answering. "Hello?"

"_Zack! Oh thank Gaia, I got through. Listen, Shalua's finished the decryption on those documents. There's something about Hojo's experiments that you really need to know. It has to do with Jenova and Sephiroth." _Rayleigh was breathless as she spoke, and Zack felt his heart sink even lower.

"We can talk about that later Doc… Whatever it is, I think I at least have an idea…"

The doctor took a moment to process this information before speaking. "_What happened?"_

"A lot of things. We managed to keep Sephiroth from getting what he wants but… I think there's going to be a lot of discussion when we get back."

Rayleigh almost cut him off. _"This time, I must insist. I don't care where Sephiroth is going, the two of you need to come back here now."_

"You're right," Zack agreed. "We'll be there as soon as Cissnei can fly us."

"_I'll be waiting at the lodge when you return. Don't delay._"

"Got it." He hung up the PHS and walked over to Tifa and Aerith. "Are you two okay?" he asked.

Tifa nodded wordlessly, holding Cloud's unconscious form close. Aerith came over to Zack and put her arms around him. "It's not your fault…" She whispered, halfway to a sob. "And it wasn't Cloud's either."

"I didn't think that for a second," Zack said, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. It was a little frightening though. Almost before he'd known it, he'd been halfway to handing the materia over to Sephiroth. If he hadn't caught himself… No, if Rayleigh hadn't tried to call him when she did… And when he'd been fighting Cloud, he could have sworn his friend's normally blue eyes had turned an eerie reptilian green.

_Gaia, what are we?_

He reached into his pocket, to make sure the Black Materia was still there and sighed with relief when he felt it under his palm. "We need to get going," he reached down to help Tifa lift Cloud so they could pull him out of the pit.

"Leaving so soon?"

Zack looked up the wall of the pit until his eyes landed on the new arrival. He shot the man a grin even as he fought down annoyance at the fact that they were facing another holdup. "Rufus. Late to the party I see."

"Fashionably of course, though I'm sure I'm not too late to pick up my party favor. Was Tseng able to hold it for me?" The current president of the Shinra Electric Power Company smirked, training his gun at the SOLDIER along with Elena, and Reno and Rude stood at their flanks, ready for a fight. Palmer stood behind them, holding another strange looking gun, but he looked less sure of himself.

"I'm afraid we got to it before he did. He could try of course, but from the look of things, it'd be like having a bull's-eye painted on his back a mile wide. I doubt even I could get out of this hole fast enough with this many watching my every move." Zack gestured to the much larger collection of people representing their side of the silent stand-off. The implication was quite clear. Even if Tseng helped Rufus, his side was vastly outnumbered and heavily outgunned. On Zack's side, without Cloud or Cait Sith, there were still ten very capable fighters here to Rufus's six. Two of those ten were 1st Class SOLDIERs, and the majority of the others were masters of their various fighting styles. Any fool could see that a direct confrontation would be a blood bath. Even Palmer could do the math.

Zack took a moment to think about his words before he spoke again. "Now here's the thing, I really don't want anyone else to get hurt. So this is what we're gonna do. My guys are gonna watch you very closely while we get out of here, and Tseng can climb up to you guys if he wants. Then we'll be going, unless you want us to settle this right here. Though really, I think you've got bigger problems than us to worry about with Sephiroth running around."

"But therein lies the problem," Tseng said. "You have the object Sephiroth wants to use to destroy the world, and judging by what happened, you are in no condition to be carrying it."

"And you guys are any better?" Zack retorted. "I've seen what happens when your scientists play with materia, thanks." He gestured that Tifa and Kunsel continue carrying Cloud out of the pit while he and Freya stood protectively in front of them, and their comrades covered them from above. Tseng took the hint and slowly started climbing up the other side of the gap, until he was standing next to Rufus. Once everyone else was out, Zack gave Freya a boost so she could climb out and then he took a running leap to grab onto a large root sticking out of the dirt and used that to pull himself up.

Once he was topside, he happened to hear Tseng on his PHS on the other side. "I need a transport helicopter back to Junon immediately… yes, the coordinates are..." He rattled off some numbers.

Zack was about to tell the others to head back when Freya called across the gap "Hey Reno!"

The red head looked up. "What?"

"What did you do with Cid's plane?"

"You can take it for all I care!" The red-head answered back. "It's not like we need it anymore, and chances are that flyboy won't be needing it either."

"Why's that?" Zack asked.

"Because after the stunt he and that technician he lives with pulled, the army's probably already got him. They did try to shoot us, after all."

Freya whispered something that sounded like "No," before she turned to look at Zack. "I'll be back at the lodge as soon as I can, but I need to go. There's not much more I can do here and I know between Rayleigh and everyone else, Cloud'll be in good hands."

Zack nodded. "Go do what you have to do."

She smiled sadly. "You be safe and don't do anything crazy until then, all right?"

"We'll be fine," Zack said, though he was sure he sounded as tired as he felt. The huntress cocked her shotgun, in readiness to take on whatever might be waiting in the jungle, and then quickly vanished into the undergrowth.

Reno looked like he was halfway considering going after her, but Tseng put a hand on his shoulder and indicated the fact that Vincent's gun was aimed directly at his heart. The standoff continued for an agonizingly long amount of time before the sound of a propeller plane echoed over the tree line and then faded into nothing. As if that were the signal to retreat, both parties slowly backed away from the gaping hole in the middle of the temple grounds, and once they were out of sight of the bridge leading across the surrounding steam vents, the group turned around and hurried back to the helicopter.

As Zack took a seat next to the stretcher where Cloud had been secured and Tifa took the opposite side with Aerith next to her, he found himself dearly wishing to pound his fist into the hull. This should have been a moment to celebrate. By denying Sephiroth what he wanted, he was just about certain they'd just saved the world, but it didn't feel anywhere near a victory. Instead, he found himself looking down at the Black Materia, holding it in his hand and wondering if his having it was any better. What was he supposed to do with this thing, when one of the last people he could trust with it was himself?

* * *

><p><em>Whoa. A shorter chapter, but definitely a busy one. We also get to see some new limit breaks.<em>

_So in order of appearance:_

Protection: Freya's level 2 limit break. Allows one party member to be Invincible for a short period of time.

Double Shuriken: Cissnei's level 2 limit break. Two powerful shuriken attacks thrown in quick succession.

_And finally, a surprise appearance from Tseng's limit break._

Dead-Eye: A powerful well-placed gunshot that causes a devastating amount of damage as well as the Curse and Sap status effects. Instakill on normal enemies, but Jenova ain't no normal enemy, now is she?

_The original party would have just gotten to Wutai right about now, but anyway, hope to see ya next time!_


	30. Zack's Decision

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spinoffs. That honor goes to Square-Enix.

**Part II: Reunion**

* * *

><p>Chapter 30, Zack's Decision<p>

**December 25****th** **[ ν ] – εуλ 0007**

It was getting close to dusk now, and the Tiny Bronco zoomed through the air at its top speed. Freya was grateful for the spare pair of goggles she'd found in the glove compartment to keep the wind out of her eyes, but nothing could be done about her current mood. Part of her felt guilty. Not a feeling a Turk should have, she admitted. She felt bad for leaving the others, but she was sure she could get back in time to help them make plans. Right now, she had a mission to complete. Her eyes drifted over the vast peaks of the Corel Mountains, but her thoughts weren't on them. She was thinking about a time just barely two months ago, when after Zack had been taken to the Shinra building, she and Tanjuu had loaded Cloud's unconscious form into a van and taken him to the annex.

The younger man had been in terrible shape, according to Owen. While Zack had obviously done his best to care for him and keep him fed and hydrated, there were limitations to what one man on the run could do, and it showed…

…_The nurse that had been called in had been in the process of washing away the dirt and grime that Cloud had accumulated on his journey from Nibelheim. His face and arms were caked with it, and Freya had been watching from her place against the wall in a heavy silence. The nurse hadn't been told who Cloud was aside from the fact that he'd suffered Mako Poisoning and that he happened to have SOLDIER enhancements. No one had been privy to any other information aside from Owen himself, even among those who were aware of the annex's true purpose, but in spite of that, she seemed to have figured out already that Freya had known him before. "Well look at that, you opened your eyes." The nurse was talking conversationally even though Cloud made no sign that he was aware of her words. "They're such a pretty blue too." She looked over to the Turk. "You know, if you try talking to him, it might help," She said, wiping down Cloud's chest and arms with a washcloth._

"_What?" The lady Turk looked up in surprise._

_The nurse smiled. "I've worked with patients like him before, Mako poisoned and otherwise, and while some of the worst may not seem to know what's going on, it's important to keep those channels open. It may seem silly, but if you can give them something to focus on, then they'll have an easier time pulling themselves back."_

_Freya warred with herself a little at this. She'd probably been a little less professional out in the wastes than was strictly necessary when she tried and failed to keep the blonde man awake, but she found herself thinking he would probably prefer a complete stranger over her trying to talk to him. "I don't know if he'd want me to, after everything that's happened."_

_The woman clucked her tongue and shook her head. "You are concerned about his well-being though, right? You may be a Turk, but you don't seem like a bad sort. And from what I can see, you're the only thing solid he has to reach out to at the moment."_

_That was true. Without Zack there, Cloud was alone and at their mercy, and if he was coherent enough to realize it, he was probably terrified. She didn't remember much of her own experience with Mako poisoning but the disorienting affects had been bad enough even when she'd felt certain of her own security. She couldn't be his ally even if she wanted to right now, but the least she could do was have the kindness to not be his enemy._

_After a moment, she walked over to the bed. "Cloud, I know you probably don't trust me right now. But no one is going to hurt you here, and Zack will be back with us soon, all right?"_

_No response…_

"_His name is Cloud?" the nurse asked. "That's an unusual name."_

"_Yeah, I thought it a little odd too, when I first heard it, but he wasn't a bad kid. He could be a little quiet, but even untrained he could handle a sword really well and he had a stubborn streak a mile wide…" She paused. Cloud had apparently made an impression on her if she could remember this much about him. Of course, then again, who could forget what had happened in Nibelheim… It had been such a horrifying night, finding the town burning to cinders, following the guys to the reactor and discovering Tifa… _

_Tifa! She suddenly had an idea. She was pretty sure this room would be clean of bugs for another hour too, until Rod could deliver the equipment. Perfect! _

"_Cloud, do you remember the promise you made to Tifa? About how when you made SOLDIER you would keep her safe? When everything happened at…" She stopped herself just before she said Nibelheim, remembering that was information the nurse was not supposed to know. She thought for a second about her words before trying again. "When it happened, you were so worried. But it's all right… You did it. She made it out safely… and I know she's out there somewhere… So try to wake up for real, okay?"_

_No response…_

_She reached out and gently pulled Cloud's bangs out of his face before turning to the nurse with a sheepish smile. "He was really shy about that when he found out I knew. You won't tell anyone, will you? He'd probably already be mad at me for talking about it around someone else."_

_The nurse simply nodded, an understanding smile on her face, apparently falling for her attempt at leading her to believe this secret would only be important to the man she was tending to. "Not a soul..."_

She'd felt rather bad about it later, not saying anything more, but after that, she hadn't been in a situation where she could safely say anything. Allowing Tifa and Zangan to leave had been something she'd never told anyone about. Even though she'd done so before the order had gone out about where the survivors were supposed to go, so much had happened that night in Nibelheim that saying anything was a huge risk. That particular piece of information could very easily have started a manhunt for the martial artist and his young pupil, who could spread the word about the town that had been razed overnight. It had been tricky enough being specifically vague about who Tifa was around the nurse and hoping she wouldn't say anything to the wrong person, and then after the Turks had been disbanded things had been so crazy even as she'd still entertained the thought that she might be taken back into the fold.

By the time the fight with Jade WEAPON had happened, so much had changed it had driven the entire incident completely from her mind, until the news broadcast anyway. But now, she felt reminded of it because in a way, here they were again. What had happened at the Temple was a big problem, and she had no idea how they were going to deal with it. Whatever it was had definitely been caused by the events in Nibelheim, leaving Cloud once again in a position where things were happening to him beyond his control. Maybe he wasn't comatose this time, and to be sure, he was surrounded by people whom she was sure cared about him and wanted him safe, but…

She realized her hand was gripping the flight stick too hard and forced herself to relax. When it came down to it, even though it was Sephiroth who had taken advantage, and Hojo who was the root cause, Shinra had facilitated them. The company she had worked in for years, whom Tseng had sacrificed his freedom and loyalty to, while allowing her and the rest of the renegades to leave. The company which to her mind had once provided so much opportunity, a place to test her skills, to grow, to learn, to use her talents for the betterment of the world through the provision of mako power and SOLDIERs, and so many other fascinating innovations. The company she had once been proud to serve in spite of its shortcomings now seemed so…

How she wanted to scream in frustration! She couldn't remember a time when she'd felt this angry before. Underneath it all though, she hoped she could get back to Mideel soon. She didn't know for sure what Zack intended to do, but if he and Cloud needed her, she wanted to be there.

* * *

><p>Dr. Rayleigh was waiting for them at the landing site along with Zack's parents, Elmyra, Jessie, and Marlene. Pleasantries were not exchanged however, aside from Barret picking up his little girl and giving her a big hug. Zack was too concerned with Cloud at the moment to do much talking. Once they were down, Zack had Kunsel carry his friend's equipment while he lifted Cloud off the stretcher and began to carry him back towards the house. Tifa and Aerith were not far behind them, along with Cissnei, though she kept more of a distance. Rayleigh on the other hand was right next to him. "Was he hurt badly?" She asked.<p>

"No." Zack shook his head. "Tseng knocked him out before that could happen, but I doubt he's gonna take this well."

The doctor nodded. "I'll be up there in just a minute."

They passed through the foyer headed towards the stairs when he happened to look down the hall leading to the rooms on the lower floor and to his surprise, spotted Liz standing at a door not far down. She looked in his direction, but remained where she was.

With his experience at carrying people, he was up the stairs in less than a minute and it wasn't long before he had Cloud laid out on his bed in their room. Since it looked like Tifa wanted to join them, he offered Tifa a chair they usually kept in the corner. Aerith had disappeared to go back downstairs but Kunsel stood at the door. He ran a hand through his unruly hair, probably just as agitated as they were. "What exactly happened down there?" he asked. "One moment, you had the materia in your hand and the next Cloud went completely crazy, and I didn't know what was going on."

"I don't know," Zack admitted. "There was a second or two where things went kind of fuzzy and then I heard my PHS ringing and if I didn't know any better…" He looked up at his friend. "Kunsel, I almost handed it over to him. Just like that. I might have caused the end of the world right there. I was able to fight it, but Cloud… I don't know, it's like whatever it was just completely took him over."

"What do you think it was?" Kunsel asked.

"I don't know man, but I'd bet every gil to my name that Hojo had something to do with it…"

That was when he noticed that Tifa was biting her lip nervously as though she had something she might want to say. "Is something on your mind?" he asked.

Tifa placed her hands in her lap and took a moment to prepare her thoughts. "In the temple, when Cloud started laughing… why did you ask him if he remembered who he was?"

Zack sighed. "Habit, mostly. When he first came to after the Turks found us, sometimes, he'd get these weird episodes… We never were able to figure out if it was some kind of seizure or what but it'd leave him with these painful headaches, and sometimes he'd come out of them really confused. I thought they'd stopped, but…" He shook his head and glared at the blonde man who lay on the bed across the room. "Idiot. I told him to let let me know if anything was wrong, but no, he has to go be a martyr and 'not make me worry…'"

Tifa hung her head. "I should have said something."

Zack looked back at her in surprise. "What do you mean?"

"When we were in Junon… I was talking to him and suddenly he had this weird moment where he just suddenly got really distant and then he was resting his head in one hand, like he was in pain… after what happened down in the basement at Shinra Mansion… I wanted to ask him about it… but I didn't know if I should…"

He shook his head. "There's a lot of things we probably should have said something about. You didn't know."

* * *

><p>Tseng was looking over the papers on his desk and found his pulse quickening by the second, and it wasn't because of the coffee that sat undrunk on the desk by his right hand. It was no longer steaming and was probably quite cold now. The newly decrypted files lay in an open folder in front of him, just delivered to his desk yesterday as he'd been waiting in the Gold Saucer to get the keystone, or failing that, meet up with Zack. All of it now lay before him in ways even he'd never seen before. Hojo's notes on Jenova, the Reunion Theory and the premise behind his experiments. All of it. But for what? Surely these experiments could have just as easily been carried out with lab animals, like a dog or something, why human beings? There were other ways to conduct studies like this, far easier and more practical, not to mention that while it didn't directly harm the company it didn't seem to forward any of the goals either the late President or Rufus had in mind. A waste of effort was not worth the money, or the hassle, or the backlash from the populace should these atrocities become public.<p>

Now that he knew of Sephiroth's plans for the Black Materia, he had few options. He could instigate a search for Zack and see if he could secure the Materia and neutralize Sephiroth when Zack and Cloud were eventually drawn to Jenova, or he could locate Hojo. In the short term, Hojo was far easier, as he was still sunning himself in Costa Del Sol.

He'd also considered the idea of tracking down Freya since she'd said clearly she was going to Rocket Town, but given that the person she was trying to contact had disappeared following Rufus's order to place him under arrest, he was pretty sure she'd be there a while. But he was short-handed and had absolutely no intention of sending matters related to renegade Turks into Heidegger's jurisdiction, or Scarlet's. That left the scientist. The man was, above and beyond all doubt, crazy, but unless he wanted an entire army beating the bushes in Mideel for Zack's party for months while Zack and his comrades were laughing at them in Wutai or some other out of the way place, he failed to see a more viable option. But more than that, if anyone could figure out where Sephiroth was going, it would be Hojo.

He reached for his PHS and contacted Heidegger to send a detachment to retrieve the scientist from his 'retirement' and bring him to Junon immediately. He also stipulated that when they arrived, he was to be brought directly to the Junon branch of Turk headquarters. Rufus would be present of course, but Tseng had some very pointed questions to ask.

* * *

><p><em>He was in the Lifestream again, watching the tendrils of green mist flit by him, but this time there was no pull, he was just there.<em>

"_Quite a show, 'Cloud.'" The voice dripped with annoyance and mockery and he could taste the derision when the voice used his name._

_He whirled around to find himself faced with a familiar pair of reptilian green eyes. He backed away, fear and anger fighting for prominence in his thoughts as he tried to assume a defensive stance. Rather difficult when he couldn't tell if he was standing or floating. " Sephiroth! What do you want? What did you do to me?" He reached for his broadsword but soon realized it wasn't slung on his back._

"_All I did was awaken the real you."_

"_What do you mean?!" Cloud demanded._

"_Perhaps if you'd take a moment to think about things maybe you'd figure it out and end this charade." The tendrils of lifestream began to fade as his vision darkened, erasing the apparition from view…_

…There was a familiar light seeping through his eyelids. It was the warm light of a single light bulb. Not terribly bright but when he instinctively tried to open his eyes, he quickly brought his hand up on reflex to block it, groaning as he did so.

Almost as soon as he'd moved he heard someone else off to his right before a shadow blocked the light out of his face. "Cloud?" He blinked. Zack was standing next to the bed watching him and Tifa was behind him… His throat went dry. He'd felt so powerless… and his sword. How it had stopped, he didn't know, but… he slowly pulled himself up.

"Tifa… I… almost…"

"I'm all right, Zack stopped it in time,"

Tifa's voice was gentle but it was Zack who was standing at the head of the bed and he put a hand on Cloud's shoulder. "It wasn't you, man. You didn't do anything."

"Is Aerith okay?"

"She's downstairs helping Elmyra," Zack said. "She's fine too."

Cloud looked up at his friend as suddenly he remembered what had happened before that moment and tried to flinch away, but Zack refused to let him go. "How can you feel safe around me after that? I attacked you!"

The ex-SOLDIER shook his head. "That wasn't you!" He said emphatically. "I don't understand how it works exactly, but Sephiroth did it. If things had gone any different he might have gotten to me too." He sat down on the chair next to the bed, his brow furrowed in thought.

There was silence in the room and Cloud took that opportunity to pull himself over to the side of the bed so his feet rested on the floor. "Did you hear him?" he finally asked.

"Hear what?" Zack said.

"Before it happened, I heard this voice say 'Wake up' but no one was saying it out loud…" Cloud trailed off.

Zack considered his words for a moment. "Actually, I didn't recognize it for what it was at the time, but now that you mention it… while we were down in the pit, I heard this weird noise just when Sephiroth showed up. At first I thought someone was whispering something I couldn't make out, but then the next thing I knew, my PHS was ringing." He gave Cloud a hard look. "It hasn't happened before has it?"

Cloud couldn't look at him anymore. "I didn't know it was him, and it was never anything like that before…"

"But why didn't you tell me?" Zack asked.

Cloud shrugged, still not meeting his friend's gaze.

The door opened again and he saw Dr. Rayleigh standing there with Kunsel behind her. "So he's awake?" she asked.

Zack turned in her direction and nodded.

The doctor walked into the room, and Cloud noticed she was holding a notebook in her hand. "I suppose we'll have to bring you up to speed then. I've learned a lot since we last talked. But I'm sorry to say, I don't think you're going to like it."

* * *

><p>"…I don't know exactly how he's still running around, but once I remembered what you told me about encountering Jenova after he appeared, all of these phenomena made sense. Hojo was trying to draw these Sephiroth copies… or clones to Midgar. Whether the will behind them is Sephiroth's or Jenova's in Sephiroth's form, I haven't been able to determine, but somehow, this will is what's been manipulating the clones. The reason I called you was because I wanted to know if either of you had felt that same pull… because even though Hojo labeled you failed subjects, you still underwent the same procedures," Rayleigh finished.<p>

Zack listened with a frown on his face. Trust Hojo to do something this sick and twisted just because he could and there were injured people lying around so conveniently. It was an insult in addition to an injury that already ran deeper than anything the Masamune could have inflicted. "So basically we're like the Angeal and Genesis copies that were running around up until this year?"

Rayleigh considered the question for a moment. "Yes… and no…" she said at last. "The majority of the Genesis copies had no autonomy, and were given his cells directly, outside of the SOLDIER enhancement process, not to mention they and the Angeal copies were suffering from degradation issues due to the cellular deterioration their donors suffered."

"What's fascinating about your cases is this." She produced the folder she held underneath her notes and opened it, revealing the photos she'd taken of their SOLDIER enhancements. "Like with SOLDIER, Hojo treated the S-Cells not as an injection that would spread throughout the body through the bloodstream, but as implanted material that would adhere itself to your muscles, bones, and nervous system. Because of this, you're a lot closer to the SOLDIER you used to be than the Genesis copies, but at the same time, you both have the potential to be stronger than they ever were."

Zack thought about that for a moment before saying dryly "So that's why Kunsel usually gets tired before we do in training."

"It's not funny," Kunsel said. "She's basically saying that I'm not that far off from what happened to you. I might be just as vulnerable to this as you are."

"I never said it was," Zack said. "There's a lot we don't understand about this, but at least now we have some idea what's going on, right?"

Rayleigh adjusted her glasses, and considered the assumption before answering. "More or less. What this means for you is that whether the will behind these clones is Sephiroth or not, it is capable of drawing you to it, and because that is the purpose for which Hojo conducted these experiments, you must be aware of how that might affect you. I don't know what you plan to do now with this… Black Materia or whatever it is he's after, but that purpose is a factor you must account for." Rayleigh closed her notebook. "Cloud, Zack told me you were still having those headaches, was there any correlation between them and anything else?"

Cloud considered the question before answering, "Kind of. I didn't notice it for a while, but it seemed like I'd get them at night a lot, or when there was something going on, and sometimes when he was nearby…"

"Like down in the pit?" Zack asked.

"Yeah."

"What was your side of that?" Rayleigh said, directing the inquiry to Cloud.

"There isn't much to say. I heard a voice and things got really blurred. I knew what I was doing, but I couldn't stop… I tried… but…" Cloud was pointedly not looking at Tifa, his hand clenched into a fist.

Rayleigh's expression softened behind her glasses. "I see." She turned her attention to Zack. "I think we've probably talked about this enough for now."

Zack nodded in agreement, suddenly becoming very aware of the smells of Elmyra's cooking downstairs. "You're right. We did just save the world again after all, and we've still got to finish the job. But right now," he looked back over at Cloud "we should take a break and have some dinner. Sephiroth's not bringing Meteor down on our heads and we don't even know where he is at the moment, so we've got time to figure this out later. I'll bet you're probably starving, aren't you Cloud?"

"Are you sure I should be down there?" Cloud asked.

"Staying up here won't help anything. Besides, we'll all be around if anything happens, right?" Zack looked around at the others for support.

"That's right," Tifa said softly.

"See?" Zack said. "Now let's go before the food gets cold." Grudgingly, Cloud stood up and once the others had left the room, he followed Zack and Tifa out into the hall and down the stairs. If there was one thing this discussion had made clear to Zack it was this: Whatever they did, the Black Materia couldn't stay here. He wasn't about to have another scenario where he had to kill someone else he cared about because there was no other way. Destroying it didn't seem to be a viable option either, so if the Materia was what Sephiroth wanted then there was only one alternative. Place it beyond his reach. And if he wanted to do that, he'd have to place it beyond his and Cloud's reach too.

* * *

><p>The dinner table was a very gloomy place that night in spite of the fact that it was surrounded by a lot more people than usual. The others had been alerted to what was going on already, and one of the first things that Aerith did when she saw that Cloud was awake was march up to him and give him a hug. Zack saw him visibly flinch back at her approach, clearly afraid that he might try to hurt her again, but nothing happened and though his friend hadn't been able to bring himself to look at her, he spoke softly. "I'm really sorry…"<p>

"Don't worry about it," she had answered. "We're all here, and we'll find a way to work this out, so hang in there, all right?" She looked up at him with one of her gentle smiles, and though he didn't return it, Cloud nodded slowly. Aerith had returned to help her mother after that.

It was now later in the evening and things were starting to quiet down. The dishes were done and Cloud seemed to have decided to sequester himself upstairs again. Zack shook his head. Part of him felt like he should be up there too, but there was something he needed to take care of first. He walked out of the kitchen and through the living room. Marlene was in there with Barret and Nanaki and when he walked in she was looking up at the two of them with serious concern that didn't belong on her young face. "What's wrong with Cloud, Daddy? Is he sick?"

Barret seemed to be having trouble thinking of an answer. "Kinda… it's hard to explain…"

"But he'll get better, right?" Zack had been almost to the door when he heard that and stopped. As a teenager, there had been so many things he didn't understand about what had happened to Angeal. What must this be like for a little kid?

"Of course, he will." Zack said from across the room. "We're gonna do whatever it takes, okay?"

The little girl seemed to have just noticed him standing there and when she heard that reassurance she smiled. "Okay."

Zack returned it with a tired grin of his own and passed Cissnei and Yuffie to go outside. Just a few hundred yards away, Kunsel seemed to be training alone, though Zack could almost see the frustration in his sword movements. He looked around the porch, hoping he'd guessed right, and finally, he spotted the man he was seeking. Vincent was leaning against the wall on the far end, observing Kunsel's movements with the eye of one who also understood the emotions behind them.

He turned and walked up to the man. Vincent didn't move, or even visibly acknowledge his approach, but once he was within earshot, he heard the other man's voice drift out from behind his collar. "I know what you would ask of me."

Zack was taken aback, but only for a moment. "How so?"

A pair of red eyes looked back at him from the shadow beyond the light shining out of the living room window. "Because I am the only man for the job."

"And why do you think that?" Zack asked.

Vincent smiled wryly. "You and Cloud have been compromised. The Black Materia is not safe if it stays with you. Kunsel may have been compromised as well. Freya and Cissnei would be no match for Sephiroth even if they were together. The other renegades' loyalties are to the Turks as an ideal, not you. Aerith and Tifa? You would not risk them. Barret? He's too hot-headed. Nanaki? He's too trusting. Cait Sith and Reeve are too close to Shinra, Yuffie is a child, Jessie is an amateur, and everyone else here is a noncombatant."

Zack laughed humorlessly and shook his head as he realized this had to have been the most Vincent had ever said in one go. "I couldn't have said it better myself." He pulled the materia out of his pocket and let the light from the window reflect on its dark surface. "I don't expect you to fight him if you can help it. But I know you know how to hide, and that you're tough enough you should be able to hold him off long enough to run for it if you need to. Don't tell me where you're going to hide it. I don't know if he can read minds, but he may already know, so the sooner this thing's safe, the better."

"I trust you have plans of your own," Vincent observed.

Zack nodded. "Whatever Sephiroth tried to do, I managed to shake it off, with some help, but Cloud couldn't do a thing about it. We'll do what we can about that while you're gone, and see if we can find him, but we need to make sure the Materia is safe first."

"Agreed," Vincent held out his right hand and Zack dropped the black crystal into his palm. "The longer we keep this here, the more likely something will happen before a solution can be found. The time will come when even this place isn't safe…"

Almost as though to confirm Vincent's statement, Zack jumped when he heard the sound of glass breaking. He raced around the side of the lodge with Vincent behind him and Kunsel in hot pursuit. When they rounded the second corner they saw that a window on the first floor had been smashed open and a black-cloaked figure had shambled out, followed by Liz. Tifa had heard the noise from inside and was standing at the front door, her eyes wide at the sight.

"Black… Materia…" the man rasped, turning his head towards Zack and Vincent and suddenly lunging in their direction.

Zack was momentarily transfixed in shock when he saw in the low light of dusk, the eerie green mako glow of the clone's eyes, just like Sephiroths, but he recovered quickly and brought up a fist, connecting with the man's jaw and knocking him to the ground. "I almost forgot about you," he said after a moment, pity in his voice. "You're just like us, really, but do you even know who you are anymore?"

The cloaked figure made a sound disturbingly like a hiss before pulling himself into a crouch. "Must get it… Black Materia…" Zack watched the eyes look around the clearing before they landed on Vincent. It was at that moment when Liz sprang into action, diving at the man and trying to secure him again, but he threw a wild punch and with an animalistic growl, pulled himself free. As Tifa moved to help the martial artist, the man lunged again, this time dodging past Zack towards Vincent. The man didn't waste time dodging but quickly drew his weapon and fired a single shot, crippling his leg.

The clone collapsed at the gunman's booted feet, still muttering.

"It seems his plans are already in motion," Vincent said, holstering his weapon again and turning his attention back to Zack. "Look for me in a week. I will not fail, but if I am not back by then, you can assume I will not return."

Zack's expression was grim as he turned his attention away from the Sephiroth Clone and back to the gunman. "No mission is impossible for the Turks, huh?"

"I'm no longer a Turk. But if the world ends, I'll never find Hojo. Nothing will stop me from finding him." Or killing him, Zack didn't doubt it.

"Take care Vincent," Zack said.

The ex-Turk inclined his head one last time, and then turned to leave. It was at that moment when Zack heard someone next to him and found Aerith there, apparently having come out to investigate the breaking glass and the gunshot. He put an arm around her as the two of them watched Vincent disappear into the trees, vanishing out from under the moonlight like a ghost.

After he was gone Zack approached the clone, along with Liz, ready to help her drag him back inside. But when he approached he heard the man say something very different from his previous ramblings, and he was laughing to himself. "You could have followed us… become one with him… you had that choice…"

"Yeah? Well I'm sure the old Sephiroth would have forgiven me for not wanting to end up like you," Zack said, attempting to lift the man up, but recoiling back into a guard position when the Clone grinned madly at him and made a motion like he was planning to claw at his throat.

"Hehehe… he'll be most displeased… he would have accepted you… willingly… Reunion will cleanse the world… but he knows… hehehe…"

The crippled man pulled himself up on his one good leg, and limped closer to Zack, speaking between cackles. "He knows… hehe… he'll always know… and when he comes for you… hehehe… you'll know… you… chose… pain…" In a movement Zack barely saw, the clone thrust himself forward and on impulse, he crouched down into a block, but he realized too late that attacking him was not the clone's objective. With no concern for his own body or even his own life, the man threw himself across the shattered glass shards from the window, reached down to run one of them through his own throat. Aerith turned away, unable to watch anymore. Before Zack could pull the shard away and reach for his Cure, the clone impaled himself even deeper, ending his own cursed life for good.

* * *

><p><em>Wow, over 200 reviews? I'm amazed. Thank you all so much for your feedback, I can't emphasize enough how much I enjoy hearing from you!<em>

_In story news, the original party is still in Wutai, dealing with Yuffie._

_Not much else to report, so until next week, see ya!_


	31. Searching for Solutions

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spinoffs. That honor goes to Square-Enix.

**Part II: Reunion**

* * *

><p>Chapter 31, Searching for Solutions<p>

**December 25****th** **[ ν ] – εуλ 0007**

It was nearly midnight when Freya brought the plane in for a landing about a mile or so away from Rocket Town and began the rest of her journey on foot. As soon as her feet hit the ground, her PHS was to her ear, and it wasn't long before she got hold of Mao. He answered quickly. "_Yeah?"_

"Where are you?" she asked, walking toward the lighted sky that marked the airfield.

"_I'm on the outskirts of town, I saw what happened with Cid. Some old geezer who lives near the Rocket offered him and his wife a place to hide. She took a nasty blow to the head…"_

She heard the sound of someone yelling in the background. _"She ain't my wife! Just thinkin' 'bout marryin' her gives me the chills!"_

"Will she be okay?" Freya climbed up to the top of one of the grassy hills and found herself looking up at the backside of the rocket about a thousand yards away.

"_I was able to patch her up with the Restore materia and Phoenix Down I had in my supplies, but she's resting at the moment. I didn't know your friend had such a foul mouth. I think he must have turned himself blue with all the swear words at least twice."_

"_Don't get your britches in a wad scar-face!" _Cid interjected.

Mao snorted derisively before telling him to go do something unnatural with his hindquarters, much to Freya's amusement.

"Tell him I'm back with his plane. That oughta cheer him up."

"_I expect it will. Where should we meet you?"_

"I'm headed towards the base of the launch pad. Meet me on the side pointed away from the houses and I'll lead you to where I landed it. Given that the army'll be looking for him, it'd probably be best to move quick." Freya continued walking towards the location she'd indicated, though the rocket was still a fair distance away.

"_Will do. There's some guards around here that Rufus called in but we should be there in a bit."_ Mao ended the call, leaving the lady Turk alone with her thoughts as she walked towards the rocket, lit up by spotlights in the distance, a crooked pillar of light surrounded by the inky blackness of the night sky.

* * *

><p>Mao ended the call and looked over at Cid, holding his sheathed katana at the ready. "It's time to move."<p>

"Be careful cap, I know it won't be easy with those guards around," The old man whose house they were sheltering in said.

"Walt, you just worry 'bout yourself. Nothin's getting' between me and my plane." Cid shouldered his spear and then knelt down to shake awake the sleeping technician at his feet. "Shera, get in gear, it's time to go."

The bespectacled woman blinked and pulled herself up and before he could say anything, she reached for the rifle on the table, holding it at the ready. Cid stuck a cigarette into his mouth and lit it with his free hand before walking to the back door. Shera took a position behind him and Mao took the rear, closing the door behind them. A cool evening breeze blew across the grassy fields around the town. Cid turned his attention towards the rocket and led the way around the edge of the buildings.

The pilot vaulted over a fence and waited impatiently while Shera pulled herself over after him. Mao had just hopped across when a shadow blocked their path. "Hey! There they are!" A trooper on patrol had just appeared.

Cid chomped down on his cigarette with a hungry grin before readying his spear and brutally leaping forward, running the man through. The trooper didn't last more than a second before collapsing to the ground. The pilot pulled his weapon free and wordlessly started running in the direction of the rocket. Mao and Shera followed after, though Mao ended up having to pull his katana to slice it along another trooper's throat. They hurried to the peak of a bridge that crossed over one of the tubes leading to the launch pad. Realizing that if they continued further they'd have to deal with being surrounded, Cid pushed Shera down on the opposite side of the stairs so she could kneel down and aim the rifle over the deck while he and Mao took positions on either side of her.

The ruckus from the first trooper had apparently roused the rest of the platoon Rufus had sent. Heidegger apparently hadn't been able to get most of Rocket Town to budge on going after Cid due to their loyalties, thank Gaia, but the army was a different story. Several troopers advanced and Mao felt the woman next to him carefully shift to aim the rifle.

"Any time now Shera!" Cid growled.

"Yes captain," the technician didn't look up at him or even move a muscle for several moments and then Mao heard the rifle discharge. The carefully aimed shot connected with one of the trooper's legs and he fell to the ground, a couple of his comrades tumbling over him. "Six rounds left captain."

"Then hurry it up #$%^*, I ain't got all night!" Cid lunged forward knocking another trooper down the stairs with his spear.

"Yes captain," Shera aimed and fired, adjusting her position after the recoil. Mao looked below and saw another trooper attempting to climb over the pipe. A Thunder spell dealt with that annoyance quickly before he heard a third rifle shot echo across the rocket's hull. That was when he looked up and saw several of the troopers in the distance setting up what looked like a heavy machine gun.

"You idiots!" In less than half a second, Cid dived in between several of the troopers, wading through the platoon towards the gunners. Mao saw no choice but to dive in after the pilot, as he thrust his spear forward, spun the shaft around to knock over several more of his opponents and then lunged after the new threat. "Don't… put… holes… in my ship!"

He heard Shera's rifle go off again and just ahead of them saw one of the gunners fall to the ground, even as he'd been loading the rounds. Cid ran his spear through another trooper, his cigarette a small beacon in the chaos. Mao raced in front of the spearman, slicing through another trooper as he went, before vaulting over another to lunge at one of the other gunners. If they got that thing online, it would be all over.

He felt the spear whoosh by over his head when Cid went after another trooper behind him before another rifle shot went off. He didn't see if it connected, but his own target went down quickly by his sword before he heard Cid grunt as one of the other troopers clipped him with a bayonet. He backed away, a new rage in his eyes. Mao was about to turn around to go after one of the other troopers before they could get the pilot from behind, but another rifle shot rent through the air and the target fell. A glance back revealed Shera readjusting her aim after another recoil.

Cid didn't even seem to notice, but instead rammed his spear through one of the other troopers as they tried to make another try for the machine gun. Mao cast another Thunder, blocking a trooper behind him with his sheath as he did so, and decided he should make his way back towards the stairs. Shera only had two rounds left. Cid should be able to handle the machine gun.

Another rifle shot. Another trooper down near the machine gun. Make that one round left. There were about eight troopers left now. What a waste, he reflected. Most of them were probably no more than teenagers. Yet another trooper fell to his blade and he heard the whoosh behind him when Cid brought his spear around again to harpoon another one.

That was when he saw two more trying to climb the stairs. He was about to go after the lower one when he was forced to dodge another trooper's swipe at him with his own small blade. He dodged out of the way before artfully running the katana upwards across the trooper's chest. Shera's last round took out the first trooper, just as he reached the top of the stairs but the second one was coming up behind him.

Mao lunged forward over the body he'd just downed, but he could already see her eyes widen in fear when her newest attacker raised his own rifle to aim at her.

Another gunshot rang out over the area and for a second, neither of the two at the top of the stairs moved…

Another second passed, and then the trooper fell. Shera looked behind her, at the click of a shotgun dispensing empty shells, to see Freya standing there an encouraging smile on her face. Mao took a position at the foot of the stairs, his blade meeting that of another trooper. "You're late," he called up to the lady Turk.

"Last I checked…" Freya carefully aimed her shotgun away from the rocket so her blast radius encompassed three troopers to the right of the fight before firing again, sending echoes ringing along the bulkheads. "You never showed up to the rendezvous. You can't say anything." Her three targets were collapsed on the ground, and judging from the way they were holding their various injuries from the shell, the blast had done them a lot of damage.

The last two troopers, whom Cid had been on the verge of charging, threw up their hands in surrender. Cid shouldered his spear and the light at the end of his cigarette rose a quarter inch, indicating a crazy grin. "Well, in that case numbskulls, we're leavin'. Tell Rufus that next time he wants to take my $#!%, he can kiss my $$!"

With Freya covering their retreat they walked over the bridge before hurrying off into the night. They didn't stop until they came across the sight of the Tiny Bronco sitting in the grass and Cid took a moment to look her over before returning to the others. Freya watched the man for a moment and then walked over to him. "So what are you going to do now Cid?"

"I don't know. I'm history with Shinra, I guess, not that there's much left there anyway." He took a moment to think and then something dawned on him. "Shera, where the hell did you learn to shoot like that?" Mao might have been mistaken, but he could have sworn there was a new respect in the man's voice.

"We all had basic training captain," the technician answered. "The rest is careful precision."

Cid laughed. "Well #$%."

"If you'd like, you can stay with us for a while," Freya offered. "I'm sure Zack wouldn't mind, since Sephiroth was the reason Rufus did what he did."

"What the hell." Cid smacked a hand down on her shoulder, almost making her stumble. "Freya, you've got yourself a pilot. If you and that SOLDIER friend o' yours're crazy enough to be standin' up to Shinra, I like it. Sign me up!"

"That's great. In that case, do you mind giving me a lift? I can tell you where to go."

Cid grunted and pulled himself up into the pilot's seat with Shera behind him. "What about you scar-face?" He looked down at the swordsman.

"I'll come too," Mao confirmed.

With that, everyone finished boarding and the Tiny Bronco flew off into the night like it was never there in the first place.

* * *

><p><strong>December 26<strong>**th** **[ ν ] – εуλ 0007**

The next morning dawned cool and quiet at the lodge. Tifa awoke on the spare mattress they'd put down for her and Marlene in Aerith's room to find that the little girl had already gotten up. She stretched before running a brush through her hair and stepping out into the upstairs hall. Aerith seemed to already be awake too. Since Yuffie was curled up under the blankets on Aerith's bed, still dead to the world, she continued down the hallway, peering into Zack and Cloud's room as she walked past. Their beds were empty, as was the mattress they'd brought in for Kunsel since his room downstairs was being used for Zack's parents, so she continued down the stairs, becoming aware of the smells of breakfast wafting up from below.

Upon reaching the ground floor, she followed the smells through the living room to look into the kitchen and found Elmyra and Alice talking over a cup of coffee while Aerith was mixing batter for pancakes and Cissnei was cooking bacon in a frying pan on the stove.

Elmyra noticed her first and she offered her a welcoming smile. "Good morning," she said.

"Good morning," Tifa returned.

"There's more coffee over there if you'd like some or juice in the refrigerator, if that's what you prefer," Aerith's mother gestured to the locations of the two drinks. "We'll have breakfast ready in a few minutes."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Tifa asked.

"Don't worry about it, dear," Elmyra shook her head. "We've already got the four of us in here. We'll be all set in no time."

Tifa walked over to the coffee pot and poured herself some of the drink, preparing it with some cream and sugar before walking back out into the living room. Thinking to get a little fresh air, she walked out on the porch and saw Zack leaning against the side of the house, while Cloud sat on the step, quietly watching the scenery.

Zack looked up on hearing her enter and saluted in greeting with his coffee mug. "Morning Tifa."

She nodded in response, "Good morning."

"Did you sleep all right?" He asked.

"Fine thanks," she said.

They were quiet for a bit before Zack tried again. "I know the place isn't much, but still, even if it's just for a while, it is nice to be back here. Maybe we can show you the hot spring, and where Aerith wants to plant her flowers." He looked down at Cloud, who seemed to be slightly surprised that he brought it up. "You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

"Sure…" Cloud still sounded rather dejected after last night, in spite of his assent.

Marlene was watching and after a moment she stood and walked over to Cloud, and she saw him tense on her approach. "It's okay Cloud, I know Tifa will like it there. Doctor Rayleigh already showed me and it was really pretty."

Barret cleared his throat at that point. "Why don't we let'em go then, Marlene. We should see if… uh… breakfast is ready… yeah…"

Marlene looked at her father as he stood up, a little disappointed. "Okay." She walked back to Barret and they walked inside. Tifa held back a sigh. She wasn't sure if Barret was doing that out of concern for Marlene or not, but even if that weren't the only reason, could they blame him? It was one thing when everyone present was capable of defending themselves if Sephiroth tried to control Cloud again. With a child there, who knew what the former general might stoop to in order to take advantage of the situation. Cloud was having enough trouble with guilt over what had happened at the temple. Still, that didn't make the situation horribly cruel. Marlene had been very taken with Zack and Cloud both after their daring rescue at the Shinra building, and even though Barret meant well, that didn't mean it didn't hurt.

Zack drained the last drops of his coffee at that moment and placed the mug down on the window sill. "We probably have enough time, let's go."

Cloud stood, and after Tifa placed her mug next to Zack's, the dark-haired SOLDIER led the two of them down the path through the woods. Tifa followed the two men curiously, not sure where they were leading her, until finally, the trees fell away and she found herself looking out on a clearing in view of the ocean. It took her a few moments to draw her eyes away from the surf around the rocks to see Zack walking past the steaming pool that was fed by a small stream to reach a patch of grass near the crest of the hill.

"Aerith used to grow her flowers down in an old church in the Sector 5 slums," he said, stopping as he looked around the clearing. "It was a little rundown, but it had to be one of the best places in Midgar. Just going there made you feel better. Nice thing is, she brought some of them with her, and when Spring comes around, she's going to want to clear some space here so she can plant them again."

Tifa walked over next to the dark-haired SOLDIER and Cloud joined them as she spoke. "She really likes her flowers, huh."

Zack chuckled and ran a hand through his spikes, grinning as he did so. "Well, yeah…" He trailed off, when he saw that Cloud was still not taking part in the conversation. "Hey man, I said we'd find a solution for this, and we're going to. All right? So don't look so worried, that's just what he'd want."

Cloud looked up from where he was gazing and shook his head. "It's not that," he deflected. "It's just, I think I hear something."

Zack listened for a moment and Tifa craned her neck to listen as well. Off in the distance she could have sworn she heard a soft buzzing sound, like propellers, and it seemed to be getting steadily louder, until at last, she saw the outline of a plane approaching before it veered off to their left and then disappeared. She walked a little closer to where the hill curved down to the ocean, next to the two SOLDIERs, and that was when she saw a man walking down the tiny strip of beach at the base of the hill. After a few moments, she realized it was Kunsel. The brown-haired swordsman was carrying his binoculars in one hand when he got close enough to start climbing the hill. Once they'd reached the top Zack asked "Where'd you get off to?"

"Freya called a little while ago and wanted to know if there was a strip of beach clear of the rocks nearby where they could land the Tiny Bronco, so I went to look for one."

"Ah." Zack nodded in acknowledgment. "I guess that means Vincent's the only one who's gone then."

"And we have three more," Kunsel added. "She apparently brought Cid, Shera, and Mao with her."

Zack looked thoughtful for a moment before exclaiming "Wow! I sure hope Aerith and Cissnei can make enough pancakes. We've got a lot of people here this morning!"

"And you only just noticed that now?" Cloud commented dryly. Tifa looked at him in surprise. He'd cracked a joke? She tried unsuccessfully to stifle a laugh, and felt a wave of relief when on noticing her, a shy smile passed over his face.

"I've had other things on my mind," Zack defended, offering his friend another grin. "Though I guess we'd better head back to let them know." With that, the four of them headed back down the path.

* * *

><p>Professor Hojo sat on a small chair, observing his interrogator with beady eyes behind his glasses. The older man seemed to regard the interruption of his retirement as a personal insult for which, by rights, Tseng should have been cast into his laboratory for even broaching the subject. In the former president's time, that would probably have been true. Times had changed. Even so, the situation seemed to have also piqued his interest. Otherwise, he would have refused to come willingly at all. Reno and Elena stood guard on either side of him while Tseng surveyed him from behind his desk in the Turks' Junon office. Rude was in the process of tracking down leads on the whereabouts of any of the remaining Sephiroth clones, including Zack or Cloud, but Rufus was here, standing in a corner by the window, merely observing the proceedings.<p>

The director of the Turks shuffled the papers on his desk, stood, and continued. "As you heard, Sephiroth claimed that he wanted to be at the center of a great wound where the mako gathered, and ever since he allegedly broke Jenova out of her tank in the Shinra building he's been gathering his resources to do just that. You know Sephiroth better than anyone Professor, we need to know where he's going."

"Hmm…" Hojo allowed his eyes to go half-lidded as he considered the question massaging his jaw with his hand as he considered the conundrum. "There are some fallacies in your theory. First off, though I admit I never expected it, Sephiroth never took Jenova at all."

"What do you mean?" Rufus asked.

Hojo cackled softly. "Fool, hehehe… Given your description of events at the temple, do you really think I wouldn't figure it out? You stole my documents from my computer after those traitors and terrorists broke in to steal my specimen…"

Tseng fought down a shudder and allowed the man to continue. "You saw the security feeds. No one actually saw Sephiroth enter the building. And Jenova's tank was burst out rather than having been blown in. That leads to only one conclusion. The apparition my wayward specimens were chasing wasn't Sephiroth at all, but Jenova herself. Whether the will was hers or Sephiroths remains debatable… but yes… fascinating…"

Tseng walked over to the scientist impassively, his voice cold as a glacier. "Conjecture will get us nowhere. What we need to know is where Sephiroth could find a wound that large before his pull becomes too great for the clones and the Black Materia finds its way to him."

Hojo scoffed disappointedly. "Why stop them? It would be such an incredible scientific event. Hehehe… I would get to see my plans finally come to fruition."

"You planned to destroy the world with Meteor?" Reno raised an eyebrow in concern and disgust at the man he now guarded.

"My plan to take Jenova and humanity even further than they've ever gone! To go beyond the limits of science. I want to see it." He chuckled. "Sephiroth has found the Promised Land, and soon, he'll achieve ascendance and go beyond the power of the Lifestream itself."

"And you intend to let that happen?" Elena was stunned at the professor's words. "You wanted to use Zack to end the world?"

"Frankly, I couldn't care less about my wayward specimens at the moment unless they somehow manage to carry out his will where the others do not. They're failures anyhow…"

To Tseng's surprise, Elena's face hardened in anger and she pulled back her fist, landing a punch to the scientist's face. " #$%^&*! Zack helped save my life once, and helped the Turks save the world! Don't you dare talk about him that way!"

Hojo simply brought his hand up to his face and massaged his jaw, glaring at the young Turk.

"Whoa Elena, remind me never to get on your bad side," Reno teased.

"Elena." The authority in Tseng's voice was implacable; the unspoken order to desist clear as the glass windows behind him.

She looked up at him in surprise before lowering her hand, ashamed of her outburst, but now Tseng turned his unforgiving gaze on the man who had caused all of this. The puppet master behind the puppet master that was Sephiroth. "None of that matters now. What matters is that we prevent the end of the planet. I ask you one more time Professor. If there was a wound on the planet big enough that Sephiroth would think it suited his purposes, where would it be?"

There was an eerie silence, and off in the distance, out over the ocean, Tseng imagined he could hear a roll of thunder. Finally, the stillness was broken by the sound of Hojo cackling with laughter. "If I were him, I would probably go to where Jenova was found, in the Northern Crater. The wound went deep, almost into the heart of the Planet, the perfect place to become one with its might."

"I see. Thank you for your cooperation Professor." He looked to his subordinates. "Reno, Elena, take him to a holding cell, and then return here. I'm afraid this will mean a write-up for insubordination for you Elena, but… We will also be planning our next mission."

Elena bowed her head in acknowledgement before leading the Professor away. When the two Turks and their prisoner had left, Rufus gave the Turk director a hard look. "What do you intend to do?"

Tseng went back to his desk and pulled out a file, opening it to reveal a huge stack of papers, about Sephiroth and about Jenova. "Our first priority is to identify the threat and neutralize it. What has allowed Sephiroth to control Cloud and Zack should be Jenova. If she is destroyed, then that neutralizes the threat posed by their potentially falling under his control completely. Once we have nullified his influence, then we can focus on liberating the Black Materia, and eliminating the clones if they pose a threat. But in order to start, we first need to find Jenova, and that's most likely where she will go. The Turks will conduct a reconnaissance mission in order to locate her and we will take appropriate action once we accomplish that objective."

"Will you require military support?" Rufus asked.

"Not at the moment. This mission is to find information. But we may once we've determined our target's whereabouts." Tseng continued looking through the file as he spoke.

"In that case, I will remain here," Rufus decided. "I expect good news when you send in your report."

Tseng nodded. "We will not fail."

* * *

><p>"Zack?" The dark-haired SOLDIER looked up from the couch where he'd been sitting next to Aerith. Cloud had been standing by the fireplace when Cait Sith had appeared, riding on his mog, and even for a cat he looked rather concerned.<p>

"What is it Cait?" Zack asked.

"Ah've just got word from Reeve. Apparently the Turks're on the move." The cat twitched his tail nervously.

"Where are they going?" Zack asked.

"Ah don't kno'. But wherever it is lad, it's North. He also says that while he doesn' kno where the man is, Hojo's apparently been arrested. "

Zack's eyes widened. "No way! Why would you be telling me this?"

"Like Reeve said before, since we've been watchin' ye, it's shown us some things. Yeh're both good fellas at heart. Ye didn' deserve what happened to ye."

Zack reached out and scratched the little cat behind the ears, momentarily forgetting that he was a robot but the cat purred appreciatively at the gesture. "Thanks," Zack said at last. "Give him my regards if you can, all right?"

"Will do," the cat affirmed. With that, the Mog waddled off into the hallway, apparently having decided to rejoin Rayleigh in her room and office. He had taken to staying with her while she was conducting her research. Cloud had to admit he was grateful for her efforts. She'd been working most of the day to try and find a solution to the current problem. He had no idea how he was supposed to proceed on this, and to tell the truth he couldn't say if he really should continue. Zack seemed determined that they were in this together, but the fact that his very presence put everyone he cared about in danger was not lost on him.

Zack looked over to the door to the kitchen at that point and saw Cissnei standing there. "What do you think?" he asked.

"I think we ought to investigate. It might take some time, but if they know more about his whereabouts than we do, it certainly can't hurt," the Turk said.

Zack nodded. "Do you think you could figure out where they're going?"

"I think so. The Northern Continent is Liz's home turf, so I'll talk to her about it. We can head out tonight if you need us to."

"Sorry to ask, but the sooner we know, the sooner we can do something about it," Zack said.

"It's no trouble." Cissnei smiled at him. "We'll leave as soon as we can." With that, she disappeared into the hallway.

After her departure the room had become uncomfortably quiet. Cloud was considering going back up to his own room when he noticed Kunsel walking inside, carrying some supplies he'd picked up at the village. The brown-haired SOLDIER nodded in greeting and into the kitchen, where he quietly put away his purchases before rejoining them. "So… What's our plan?" he asked.

"Hmm?" Zack looked up.

"I know why you sent Vincent away with the materia, but what are we going to do?" Kunsel elaborated. "Whether he hides the Black Materia or not, Sephiroth's still out there, and we're going to have to deal with him eventually."

"I know," Zack said. "Whatever we do, it has to be soon. I'm thinking we'll use what information we have to track him down and as soon as we know Vincent took the materia somewhere safe, we'll take the fight to him. I don't know how we're going to deal with him being able to control us, but if we could kill him for good, that might take care of it. What do you think?"

Kunsel rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Well, if what Rayleigh said was true, this thing did seem pretty solid, Sephiroth or not. Destroying it does seem like a step in the right direction at least."

"I'm positive it's him…" Cloud spoke up after a moment.

"Why do you think that?" Kunsel asked.

"I don't know exactly how to explain it, but it was like I could feel him…" He looked to Zack for help. "Didn't you?"

Zack clasped his hands together, looking out the window and considering the question. "I don't know for sure. I thought I heard something down in the pit, but like I told you, I couldn't quite make it out."

Kunsel waited until he finished. "It's probably because Hojo did a bit more to Cloud than he did to you."

Cloud walked over to the window and looked outside, wishing he wasn't so useless. All of Zack's effort to get them both away, only to discover that he was just as much of a threat. It was almost too much. Maybe they would have been better off if Zack had just left him…

As though she'd heard his thoughts, he suddenly heard Aerith standing behind him. "It'll be okay Cloud, we'll figure this out."

"That's right," Zack agreed, still on the couch. "I didn't drag you across the planet just for us to give up now. That's not happening."

At those words, Cloud felt slightly more calm, and suddenly he found himself thinking back to the early times here, when they'd just moved in. He hadn't always been coherent, and he'd felt a lot of guilt about being so helpless. Even so, over and over again, Zack had refused to let it get to him, and instead, had gone above and beyond the call of duty, to get him back on track again, and able to care for himself. Zack was right… right? Didn't he have them to fall back on? He saw Tifa, Jessie, and Barret returning with Marlene, whom they had taken swimming at the beach where the Tiny Bronco was tethered.

It wasn't just Zack, Aerith, and their friends anymore either. He had Tifa now too, right?... Maybe… If he didn't end up killing them. He heard the door to the porch open again as the three AVALANCHE members, and he almost visibly shivered. What if something happened while Marlene was here? What if he couldn't stop it? For a brief moment, he'd almost felt hope, but frustratingly, reality had to come crashing in to ruin it… What could he do after all?

Pain shot between his eyes and he leaned against the fireplace, grasping for something solid as the world spun. Terror flowed over him in a wave when he realized his hand had not gone for the mantle. But that was when strong hands grabbed him, and a familiar face swam into his vision… The next thing he knew, someone was flashing a light into one of his eyes…

* * *

><p>Over a hundred miles away, Vincent had just disembarked from a small fishing boat on the coast of the Eastern Continent. He was significantly far south from the Chocobo Farm, within sight of the mountain range that lined the middle of the continent's southern coastline. The Black Materia hung heavy in the pocket of his cloak, and he walked with purpose in a Westerly direction. He made it a point to steer clear of the open fields, in favor of sticking to the foothills that lay at the base of the mountain range. There were many more opportunities to hide there; gullies and stands of trees that could be used for cover if he was attacked, obstacles to slow the progress of pursuers, and if necessary, choke points to control the flow of a fight.<p>

Out in the open fields he would have had the ability to see anything long before it got to him, but judging from Sephiroth's (or Jenova's, whichever it was) speed outside of Nibelheim, there wouldn't have been nearly enough time to run. Those obstacles could very well mean the difference between life and death. Death before completing his mission was unthinkable, because that meant failure, and failure in this case, was not an option. He crept through the trees for several hours in the afternoon light, always aware of the sounds around him, knowing even the slightest crunch of a twig could mean a pursuer.

The sun was beginning to sink in the sky when he saw signs of the marsh drawing close. The hills were giving way to the cliffs that made the area around it impassable for most average travelers, and the stands of trees were soon replaced by underbrush. His was also beginning to pick up the smells of stagnant water and the sounds of buzzing insects. It wasn't long before he saw what he was looking for. Rising up to his left, was a huge cliff, with a series of narrow ledges most regular humans wouldn't even consider making use of, lining the algae-covered morass.

Most regular humans were not Vincent Valentine.

He regarded the various ledges with a careful eye, noting the structural integrity of each one, before whirling into the folds of his cape and leaping to the first one. When the cape fell away, he was standing solidly on the ledge, preparing to jump to the next one. The cape flew on a nonexistent breeze, as his golden boots made contact with the next ledge, rocketing towards a third, and then a fourth. While he flew through the air, his senses drifted out beyond his body, suddenly aware of a dark figure jumping up from the swamp below, clawing its way up the incline from the murky water like a wraith and he stepped up his pace.

He knew the truth of the Sephiroth clones now, but he had no desire to learn whether Sephiroth's puppets or Jenova's, whichever they were, had combat capabilities while under their control. He didn't need to be an expert to see that while under their enemy's influence, Cloud had been slightly jerky, enabling Zack to evade him, probably because the blonde-haired SOLDIER had a will of his own that this other will had to subdue. In a being that had no will of his own, he expected that even a weakened vessel could be dangerous.

He quickened his pace over the next two ledges when he saw a second figure standing on another one up ahead. They were trying to cut him off. He materialized out of his cloak for a second on the next ledge, evaluating his next course of action before pulling out Quicksilver and firing twice. Once at a load-bearing root underneath the ledge on which the figure ahead of him stood and the other at the climbing figure. The bullet hit his second target right between the eyes, but the cloaked figure on the ledge reacted quickly, grabbing onto another root and then hopping to safety and getting behind cover, laughing.

Weighing his options again, Vincent glanced below him into the swamp. Evasion was the best course of action, and so, deciding quickly, he withdrew into the folds of his red cloak again and floated down into the marsh, headed towards what looked like a cave he saw in the distance.

His golden boots dropped into the marsh with a splash that echoed off the cliff walls and he quickly waded towards dry land, probably a few hundred yards away. The Sephiroth Clone didn't even look perturbed by the action, but allowed himself to slide down the cliff side, also splashing into the water not far away. Vincent stepped up his pace, knowing that if he could lose the man in the caves, that would be best. He was too much of a sitting duck out here.

That was when another factor entered into the picture.

He heard the sound of something splash a short distance away, and glanced behind him to see that something was stirring the water from beneath its' surface. Come to think of it, wasn't the swamp known for a particularly voracious species of monster…?

Finally his memory produced the information he'd been seeking. He'd heard of Midgar Zoloms before, but he'd never held a great desire to encounter one. Judging from the shape of the eddies in the water however, it seemed his desires would have no bearing on the circumstances. They rarely did, now that he thought about it.

It was about then when he realized there was no way he could get to solid ground before the Zolom overtook him and he assumed a defensive stance in the murky ooze. He was certain he could not take on a full grown Zolom, but if he could distract it, there was a rather desirable-looking Sephiroth Clone over there.

He watched the ripples on the water growing closer until they were almost right on top of him, and a split second before the beast rose up to try and bite him, he vaulted into the air, using his clawed hand to steady himself by grabbing onto the ridge above the Zolom's eye and planting his feet firmly on the beast's head.

The Zolom reared, hissing angrily as Vincent leapt off, folding into his cloak and floating slightly towards the black figure before catching an updraft near the cliff and landing on another ledge. The Zolom seemed to have sighted the clone and was headed in that direction, but Vincent shot into the water near the man to create a splash the reptilian would definitely pick up on. The reptile hissed and lashed out violently at the point where the bullet had entered the water, and the clone just barely dodged out of the way. Hoping that was the end of it, Vincent floated to a different ledge, slightly closer to the cave, but suddenly he heard the sound of earth crumbling beneath him, and without warning he fell into the water again. He pulled himself out of the muck just in time to see a second Zolom coming at him.

He fired Quicksilver into its slitted golden left eye and the monster hissed in pain, rearing to strike, even as it was half blinded. As if subconsciously knowing he wouldn't survive the hit, energy channeled around the gunman, and he felt his body melt as muscles strained within him. He was growing larger, his exposed skin was becoming grey, and by the time the Zolom struck, two powerful hands reached up to rip it's fangs right out of its mouth. The hulking creature Vincent had become leapt into the air, stabbing the Zolom with one of its own fangs before leaping the last hundred feet to the stand of trees at the entrance to the cave and disappearing inside. He had no idea what had happened to his dark cloaked pursuer, but as he drew deeper into the network of caves under the Junon mountains, he had a feeling he had evaded him for now.

* * *

><p>To Zack's immense relief, Cloud blinked and sat up on the couch, attempting to reorient himself. "I didn't hurt anyone… did I?"<p>

Zack shook his head.

"From what the others told me, you took a step towards the others and then you collapsed after Zack stopped you." Rayleigh said.

Cloud glanced around the room to see everyone there, and once he'd confirmed everyone was okay, he sat up the whole way and looked down at the floor, shutting his eyes again. Zack hadn't wanted to say anything, but in that moment before Cloud had blacked out, he'd been sure his friend's eyes had gone green again.

Rayleigh placed her penlight back in her jacket pocket and asked gently "How do you feel right now?"

"I'm all right. But wherever Sephiroth is, I don't think he's in a very good mood."

"Why do you think that?" Tifa asked.

"I don't know if it was my imagination or not, but somehow, I got this feeling, like he'd been focused on something but it didn't happen…" Cloud shrugged and looked up at Zack as though he might have some idea how to better explain it, but the dark-haired SOLDIER was just as confused.

Cloud stood at that moment and Rayleigh tried to get in front of him. "Where are you going?"

"I just need some fresh air…" He said, and with that, he walked out the door.

"You sure we should have let him do that?" Kunsel asked after he was out of earshot.

"What else are we going to do?" Zack asked. "We're certainly not going to lock ourselves inside if we can help it." That was the last thing he felt he could ever accept.

"Of course not," Aerith agreed.

Zack looked over at the doctor and found himself thinking. "But there is one thing I want to know. Do you mind if I ask you something in private doc?"

"Not at all," Rayleigh gestured that he follow her back to her room.

"Okay, I'll be right back," he said to the others. Kunsel nodded and leaned against the mantle of the fireplace, about where Cloud had been half an hour earlier.

Zack turned and followed the doctor back up the stairs and along the hallway stopping at her room and waiting patiently while she put her bag away. When she returned, she looked up at him and asked "All right Zack, what is it?"

"I just thought of something… If Sephiroth can control us both, then why is it Cloud's having such a hard time with it?" Zack folded his arms in front of him, rubbing his chin with one hand.

"Well, the most obvious answer I would think is that Hojo got a lot further with him then he did with you, as Kunsel said. But I think it might also go a little deeper than that." In the back glow of the ray of light through a window that lay behind them, Zack saw the doctor's face sadden a little.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Have you ever noticed how he behaves around his peers? As though he's always uncertain and shy, never really approaching people, but always quietly wishing for their approval. And when he's around you, have you noticed how you're the person he always defers to?" She asked.

"Not since he got better…" Zack paused reconsidering. "Okay, so maybe a little."

"I'm not saying that it's something critically wrong. The two of you are good friends and are a good team when out in the field…" She sighed. "If I went into detail, I would probably confuse you, but the short version is that he doesn't have nearly as strong of a sense of self as you do."

Zack raised an eyebrow. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Let me make it easy. When we grow up, we all develop at different rates. That's why some of us are still short in our teenage years while others tower over everyone else. The same thing happens psychologically. Some of us develop more of an awareness of ourselves earlier and some later. You may recall that he joined the army after failing to get into SOLDIER. His records said he didn't have the confidence and psychological stamina that would have carried him through the process."

Zack frowned at her. "I'm trying to figure out how that's not an insult."

"It's more of an assessment. We go through a series of stages in our lives where we learn how to interact with the people around us and find our place within that framework. In the earliest stages its simple things like learning how to take initiative, or learning how to have friends. Our teenage years are a time normally spent trying to find our social identity, answering questions about what we are and the potential of what we can be."

"And that means?" Zack asked.

Rayleigh peered out of the gloom at him. "When you joined SOLDIER you had that sense of self-identity fairly well established, but Cloud didn't. That might have been what he was searching for initially, and after Nibelheim, he never got the chance to develop it. Hojo took that away from him. Normally, even that would be negotiable, but think about how difficult that uncertainty makes it for someone to focus themselves when they have the added strain of another mind exerting its will over theirs." Rayleigh's expression saddened as she spoke.

"Wow," Zack ran a hand through his hair as he considered the possibilities and winced. "I never thought of it that way before. The experiments themselves were bad enough. I was prepared for nightmares, and flashbacks, and headaches… He cut into us pretty deep, and not just with a scalpel, but that's a different kind of evil all together…"

Rayleigh shook her head and sighed. "As young as you were when you joined SOLDIER, did it never occur to you how integrally developmental psychology would play into it?"

"All it means is that we're going to have to try harder, doc. If he can't fight it alone, then I won't let him fight it alone," Zack said, determinedly.

The doctor smiled. "You're absolutely right. Do you have any other questions?"

Zack shook his head. "No, but thanks."

"No problem," Rayleigh walked ahead of him towards the stairs and Zack turned to follow her. He didn't really have much of an idea on what they could do about this problem in the long run, but this thing had to be fought.

He was almost back to the end of the hall when he heard someone behind him. A glance over his shoulder revealed Freya closing the door to the room she shared with Cissnei. Her clothes were slightly mussed as though she'd been asleep but she looked fully alert now. On seeing she had been noticed, she walked up to him. "Sorry, I couldn't help overhearing."

"It's okay," Zack said.

"But are you?" she asked.

"I'm more worried about him," he said.

"I didn't get to see him much before I fell asleep, but how is he?" The two of them started back towards the living room.

"Not so good," Zack admitted. "We just had another scare a minute or two ago."

"I see." They had reached the living room by now and Freya almost immediately spotted Cloud's head of spiky blonde hair through one of the windows. Nodding in greeting to the others in the room, she walked out the door and Zack followed. He was thinking he might just want her to leave him alone, but he stopped, deciding to wait and see. Cloud looked up as she approached; only coming to a stop about a meter away. Close enough to indicate she wanted to talk to him, but far enough away to show she didn't want to be overbearing. "Cloud?" she said.

"Mm?"

"How're you doing?" She clasped her hands behind her, offering a gentle smile.

He looked back at the woods. "I don't know, really."

She took a couple more tentative steps closer. "Well, everyone probably already told you they're there, and I'm not about to get caught up in some silly friendship speech. We can save those for the TV shows, right?"

Cloud chuckled weakly. "You're a Turk anyway, what do you need with those?"

"Nothing. It's not really my style," Freya agreed. "But we're no less human, and neither are you. We've all done things we probably regret, but that's not all we're capable of." She walked the last couple of feet to a point where she stood behind him. "There is one thing I know, and it's something I used to tell the others. We're all here now, and there's definitely going to be something waiting for us when it's over." Cloud stiffened visibly as she put a hand on his shoulder. "Things may not be okay at the moment, but everything's going to be all right, in the end. That's what I truly believe."

Zack heard the door open behind him and saw Tifa and Barret walk out, but apparently the other two hadn't noticed. Cloud seemed to be thinking about what Freya had said, and after a moment, he opened his mouth. "I guess the truth is, I'm afraid… What if I go crazy and someone gets hurt?… What am I supposed to do…?"

"Well that's obvious ain't it?" Barret interjected, and Freya straightened and backed away again as the two turned to face him. "Me an' Zack'll go upside that spiky white head of yours and bring ya back to normal."

Tifa walked over to him at that point, and sat next to him. "In other words, don't think like that. We won't let it happen."

Cloud looked up at her with a sad smile, as though he was comforted by the words, but couldn't completely believe them. "Thanks…"

* * *

><p><strong>December 27<strong>**th** **[ ν ] – εуλ 0007**

_Vincent found himself walking along a tunnel within a dank, dark cave. He had never seen this place before, but somehow, he couldn't shake the feeling he was going somewhere important. His boots clicked along below him, and he could feel his cloak floating out behind him. Up ahead he could see the tunnel opening out. Upon reaching the exit, he found he was no longer on the ground. Jumping up and taking flight, he found he was moving west through a clear blue sky. He wondered absently where he was flying, and looked down, watching the ground pass under him. To his surprise, he thought he saw the Corel Desert and the Golden Saucer below. He soared onward, passing into the mountains and beyond. He wasn't quite sure even how he was going._

_After some time passed, he descended lower and lower until he was flying around peaks and over valleys. At last the mountains parted, and he came to land on a rocky ledge looking out over a vast and circular valley. It might have even been a meteor crater at some point, but he did not know. Now it was divided in half by a river surrounded by vast fields. The river was fed by a gigantic waterfall and barely within his ability to make it out, was another ledge beckoning into another tunnel… He wasn't sure, but he almost thought he could hear voices floating out of it. That of a woman, and perhaps… something darker…_

Vincent opened his eyes and looked around the cave. He had been snoozing quietly in a small alcove above the main path through the cave, in a place uniquely situated so that the sound would carry to his location and alert him of any trouble long before it came within visual range. Nothing seemed to have arrived, but that did not matter. It was now time to move. He wasn't sure what that had been about, but his plan had been to head west to Junon. He stood, stretching out the kinks in muscles, and after checking that the Black Materia was safe in the pocket of his cloak, he walked onward, reaching the west entrance to the cave and going out into the blazing light of morning.

* * *

><p><em>Phew... A long chapter, I know. But there was a lot I wanted to cover, and I was really really hoping this one turned out okay.<em>

_Timelinewise, the party is only just about to leave Wutai to look for the keystone._

_Until next week!_


	32. The Call of Chaos

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spin-offs That honor goes to Square-Enix.

**Part II: Reunion**

* * *

><p>Chapter 32, The Call of Chaos<p>

**December 27****th** **[ ν ] – εуλ 0007**

It was getting close to mid-morning when Vincent reached Junon, though miraculously the storm hovering out over the sea had not yet made landfall. The wind was blowing hard against the window shutters in the beleaguered lower city, and he couldn't help but be aware of a muted sadness about the place. He remembered in his younger days, when Junon had not yet been as built up as it was now, the beach nearby had still been visited by tourists, though now he could smell the pollution and the dejected temperament of the place clung to him as though it were a physical presence.

He walked down to the beach, avoiding anyone who might ask him unnecessary questions, making note of his surroundings. The cliffs that rose up to support upper Junon towered above him while an electricity tower stuck out of the surf, pointing the way up. He was quite confident he could get up there if he had an updraft, but he'd probably have to walk around a bit to find one.

With this in mind he walked further out onto the sand, the salty wind blowing in his face, wafting the putrid smells of the ocean into his nostrils. He was about halfway along the strand when he noticed something to his left. A small shrine had been erected, decorated with shells, flowers, and notes. It had been placed up on a rock ledge, high enough so that it wouldn't wash away. Some of the larger offerings had notes saying things like "We miss you" and "Good bye." A child had apparently died here. A young one too, judging by the toys some of the people had left.

"Can I help you with something?" He looked behind him to see an older man standing on the path back to the city.

He almost didn't answer him, but upon noticing the red rose the man carried with him, he decided to speak, "I was just passing through."

"Oh. Well there isn't much of interest on this beach." The man walked to the shrine and laid the rose on the rock in front of the shrine.

"What happened?" Vincent asked.

"My granddaughter died here a little over a week ago…" the man said. "She liked to play with this dolphin that used to swim nearby, but on that day, a monster attacked and she ended up washed out by the waves it caused. The only thing we found was the whistle she used to use to call the dolphin…" The man knelt by the shrine, apparently overcome by emotion. "It's a terrible thing, friend… I had hoped I would go long before she did…" He bit back a sob. "But it seems the Planet had other plans…"

Vincent was silent for a while before looking around and spotting a large seashell that had been washed up on the beach. He walked over to collect it with his gloved hand and then returned to respectfully place it in front of the shrine. He then walked away to give the grieving man some privacy. He was almost to the end of the beach when he heard a squeaking sound to his left. When he glanced over, he suddenly noticed a dolphin propelling itself on its tail fin to stay out of the water. If he didn't know any better, he could have sworn the animal had been watching him, and when he looked over at it, it dived into the water and reappeared in the shallows, holding something it its mouth and squeaking insistently.

It was when Vincent caught the red glint that he realized it was a materia. Walking close enough to see, he watched as the dolphin's tail rose out of the water like a catapult, sending the materia flying through the air. Next to it where it landed, Vincent could see another shell. He was surprised by the dolphin's apparent intelligence, but even more surprised to see that it was using its head to gesture towards the shrine. Finally, something deep within him understood.

He picked up the materia and then the new shell, taking the second of these offerings back to the shrine, which the grandfather of the deceased child had left by now. At that point he checked the materia. A summon, he believed, and judging from the icy chill he felt down his spine, it was probably Shiva. When he looked up to see what the dolphin was doing, it too was gone. It was all right though, he decided. He had his own business to attend to.

Sticking the materia into one of his pockets, he walked to a place on the beach where he'd felt an updraft and folded back into his cloak, sailing up on Junon's polluted winds.

He hoped there were planes ready for takeoff at the airport.

* * *

><p>Freya stood by the window in the room she usually shared with Cissnei, with her arms folded. Her former partner had walked in on her just at that moment, and there was no way she could miss the tell-tale signs that he had something on his mind.<p>

"All right Tanjuu, what is it?" Freya asked.

"I wanted your assessment of the risk Zack and Cloud pose," the former gangster said.

"Zack's fine. He knows what to look for, so he can fight it off, and he won't let anything happen with Cloud. He cares too much about him to let him hurt anyone," Freya insisted.

"And what if he can't prevent it?" The gunman asked. "We all know what Dr. Rayleigh found. If whatever it is that is manipulating the other clones manages to get control of either of them, it could make things difficult. Zack is a powerful fighter, and if what you've told me is true, then even though Cloud lacks the long term experience, he's not only a natural swordsman, but he's also very strong. With that power behind someone with skills of Sephiroth's caliber, it could be a serious threat."

"It is true," Freya said. "But I don't intend to let that happen."

"Even though they could destroy everything?" Her partner frowned disapprovingly.

"Zack would never do that." Freya's tone was calm, but Tanjuu had known her far too long not to notice the glimmer of annoyance at his questioning of her logic.

The gunman looked out the window as he considered his words. "We still need to be prepared, just in case."

"If it really turns out that there's no other way," Freya began, "I will kill them myself. But, do you remember that mission I took with Zack to Icicle Inn?"

Tanjuu nodded and she continued. "On that mission, there were two other SOLDIERs named Essai and Sebastian who Zack was good friends with. Fuhito captured them and tried to make them into Ravens, but Zack did everything he could to call them back, because he believed they were still trapped in their heads somewhere. He was right too. They apparently did return to themselves in the end."

"Your point?" Tanjuu asked.

"My point is that I intend to explore every other possible option before I make that choice, because if anyone can fight this, they can. One thing I'll never do is just write them off again, like I did in Nibelheim…" She paused at that.

Tanjuu raised an eyebrow, before observing "You never were quite the same after that."

Freya smiled sadly. "No, I guess not."

* * *

><p>It had been relatively easy to look around the airport and find a plane that was fueled and ready for takeoff. The hard part was going to be getting out of here. He'd selected an old propeller plane, not unlike one he'd flown back before they trained Turks to fly in helicopters. The idea of simply stowing aboard the aircraft was quickly dismissed as the minimal crew would mean sneaking aboard unnoticed was virtually impossible. That left taking it on the ground and being quick enough the guards wouldn't see. He could do it. He was already past the checkpoints most normal people went through, and there were only two technicians and the pilot to worry about.<p>

He checked his ammunition and then crept forward to the nearest man while their backs were turned, putting an arm around his neck to cut off his air supply. It only took a quick tightening of his enhanced muscles and a few seconds before the technician was limp in his arms. He knew he only had a few more seconds before the man recovered when he dropped him on the ground, and he sprinted to his next victim, doing the same thing before jumping through the cargo hatch to get at the pilot running flight checks in the cockpit. The man hadn't noticed anything was up yet, and with any luck, he wouldn't until he was missing a plane.

He did manage to catch the pilot before anyone noticed anything, but he was in the process of carrying the unconscious man out to dump him on the tarmac when he noticed two figures nearing the plane. They were wearing black cloaks, and one of them was already approaching.

Dropping his burden, Vincent went for his gun, and fired, though to his surprise, the Clone dodged out of the way. That was when something else got his attention. A third man in black had also appeared, shuffling in his direction, but this one that had just dodged him… When did Sephiroth clones have tentacles such as the one this particular figure seemed to be using to hold onto the boxes it had used to pull itself out of the way?

He only had a split second to contemplate this mystery before this new abomination released the box and came at him again. He rolled out of the way before firing twice. Both shots hit, but this new 'not-Sephiroth-Clone' didn't even flinch as it rammed into the bulkhead of the plane, causing it to wobble slightly on its landing gear. If anything, it seemed to be growing. The first of the two technicians started picking himself up at that moment and his eyes widened in surprise, which was quickly replaced by horror at the sight before him when the being with tentacles divested itself of its cloak and started changing, until Vincent could see it transform into the form of a woman with a gaping hole in her stomach and splayed across the front a membranous sphere that was skull-like in appearance. The technician ran in the opposite direction, leaving his comrades and Vincent alone with this thing.

Not good, he was probably going for SOLDIERs. Vincent fired Quicksilver again, dodging out of the way as a Bio spell was released in his direction. He evaded the poisonous goo, but only just, before he got to cover, feeling his cloak pull slightly at the edges, just barely whipped past by one of the tentacles.

"Black… Materia…" He whirled around to see the second real clone approaching him and it lunged forward before he shot it, grazing one of the man's arms. This could not last long. It would mean disaster if it did.

He aimed for the crippled clone's forehead and fired again, and the man lay still when Vincent turned and sprinted across the tarmac to better cover, firing a flurry of bullets at the gigantic thing that had now turned to follow him. If he could get the thing away from the plane just long enough, he might be able to get away.

It was at that moment when the second technician pulled to a sitting position and looked around. Unfortunately for him, that was also the moment when the giant thing with tentacles (another form of Jenova perhaps?) rushed at Vincent, knocking the other man to the ground again. Any other person might have winced at the painful crunch, but the red-cloaked gunman fired off two more bullets before dodging again, this time to avoid a devastatingly powerful spell this iteration of Jenova had cast, which destroyed the crates behind him. He'd barely managed to avoid the blast radius. The remaining pilot and the prone technician had not been so lucky. At least the pilot was unconscious when he went.

Pain lashed across Vincent's chest when the monster attacked again with its tentacles and he was thrown backwards. When his back connected with the steel support of one of the nearby hangars, he winced, picking himself up. He could see Jenova advancing on him and things were not looking good.

Feeling the Black Materia hanging heavy in his pocket, he stood straight, aiming his gun while he prepared to run again, but desperation was beginning to overtake him; he could feel it. This monster was strong, and his bullets alone were only minimally affecting it as things were. He dodged again, only barely avoiding Jenova's tentacles. This time however, he found his way blocked by the first Sephiroth Clone that had appeared on the scene.

He shot at the Clone but it didn't move, and without warning, he felt his body changing again. The gun in his hand was changing as was his body. He could feel himself growing taller and his face becoming obscured by a mask. When awareness returned to him again, he found himself holding a chainsaw, and a crazy grin spread across his face behind the mask as he revved it, approaching the Sephiroth Clone that blocked his path. Carelessly, he ran the blade of the chainsaw through the creature before turning around. He leaped over top of Jenova, leaving a slicing wound across the top of the abomination before racing into the cargo bay of the plane and slamming the hatch closed.

Fortunately he was still fast, and though he could barely fit in the cockpit, he was able to activate the controls and hurriedly push the throttle forward. He didn't bother to check if the runway was clear. He was far too busy trying to tamp down on his inner demon's urge to keep fighting until Jenova was dead to care. It took every ounce of control he had to carefully send the plane airborne off the runway and into a stable flight path. After engaging the autopilot, he stood and leaned against the bulkhead, warring with himself until he finally felt his body shrink back to its normal size and saw the golden gauntlet return to his left hand. It was an act of will not to collapse on the floor of the plane…

* * *

><p>"We're here boss!" Tseng was waiting by the helicopter when Reno and Rude appeared with Elena behind them. She was checking the ammunition in her gun when they stopped in front of the chopper. He didn't need to ask if they were ready. They were Turks.<p>

Rude pulled his gloves slightly tighter on his hands as they stopped in front of him. Reno slouched, holding his EMR rod over his shoulder. Though for some reason, Tseng couldn't shake this feeling of foreboding. He'd felt it before, but his intuition had no bearing on their orders.

"So we're really headed into the belly of the beast, huh?" Reno interrupted his thoughts.

Tseng nodded. "Our goal is to investigate the Northern Crater and then report to the President what we find there."

"Got it," Elena said.

"…I'll fly." Rude walked past them to climb into the helicopter, and without a word, everyone followed him. The helicopter departed soon after, leaving no one on the helipad but the guard who had been on duty.

* * *

><p>Cloud was somewhat surprised that afternoon when Zack asked him to come out and train at the clearing where they usually kept the helicopter, but even as he'd questioned the wisdom of it, he knew he would go. "We can't let ourselves get slack, after all we've still got to take care of Sephiroth, right?" Zack had said insistently.<p>

"It's true," he had agreed. On the one hand, he was slightly worried that something might happen again, but part of him was glad. It meant they were still moving forward, and that meant that life was not on hold. This was good, because he felt restless and sitting around doing nothing went against his very grain. It was already wearing on Zack too, and they had to find some way to dispel their unease. Kunsel walked with them and he also noticed that Freya and Tanjuu had apparently decided to come out to watch. Then again, he thought with a sinking feeling, the Turks rarely did anything without purpose. He placed his swords down in a spot that would be within easy reach when he was ready to get started before walking into the center of the clearing.

He stopped near where Kunsel was working out to begin his regular set of warm up exercises. The familiar regimen of squats, pushups, and various stretches were strangely calming. Zack was also warming up nearby, finishing up his own set of squats before moving on to pushups, and Kunsel, having completed his own routine, was working slowly through a series of sword techniques a safe distance away while he waited for them. If he didn't know better he might have thought they were only out here on a normal day in preparation for another monster extermination job.

A couple of minutes later, Zack retrieved the Buster Sword from where he'd leaned it against a tree and began practicing with it while Cloud finished. On completing the very last pushup, he retrieved his broadsword, deciding to focus on his primary weapon. When Zack saw that he was done, he walked to the center of the clearing followed by Kunsel and waited for him to join them. He did so in short order and Zack shouldered the Buster Sword as he considered what they'd be doing.

"How about we start with a short spar before we go into drills?"

"I'm fine with that," Kunsel agreed. "What's the order?"

"I'll watch first, and then I'd like you and me to go at it a little before you switch out with Cloud. We can try a free-for-all again after that," Zack decided.

Kunsel nodded and once Zack walked off a ways to observe, Cloud reached for his broadsword and took stance. The hazel-eyed SOLDIER also readied his own blade and waited for the word to begin. Zack raised his hand in the air and began to count down. "3… 2… 1… Go!" He brought his hand down and Kunsel went in for the first strike. Cloud countered with a block before parrying and returning with another thrust which his sparring partner dodged to avoid. He couldn't help but notice the other man was watching him warily. Was he nervous that something was going to happen? He tried to ignore that thought and stay focused on the current exercise.

Kunsel was an interesting opponent to spar with. While Cloud had started to notice his own strikes were more powerful, like Zack's, the brown-haired SOLDIER was light and quick. He was not to be underestimated and he proved this by attempting to rush in from the side to catch Cloud's broadsword before he could raise it. Cloud just barely managed to roll out of the way before catching the other man's wrist. Kunsel's eyes widened in surprise before he backed away to prepare for the second round. "That was good. You're getting faster," he said approvingly.

He grinned and resumed a ready stance before they went into the second round. They continued for a couple of minutes and he found himself starting to relax when Zack signaled he was ready to trade places with him. He glanced over to the path and noticed that Cid had appeared and was talking to Freya about something while she sat nonchalantly in the shade.

He turned his attention back to watching Zack and Kunsel for a while. Zack ducked and rolled away when his friend swung at him before bringing the Buster Sword around in a carefully angled strike. Kunsel dodged before returning with a blow, but Zack blocked. The two were in perfect rhythm with each other. He wasn't sure why they even needed him. He hadn't even been able to fight Sephiroth's will. Why did they even think he should still be here, when he posed so much of a threat?

"_Sometimes we just can't help but hold onto ghosts."_

He almost jumped out of his skin. He knew that voice, and he could already feel the familiar prickle of a headache coming on. _"Sephiroth…" _Though the recognition wasn't uttered aloud, he was sure he could hear a low chuckle from the deepest recesses of his mind. He frowned. "_What do you want from me?_"

"_Perhaps you should really be asking what he wants from you, 'Cloud'." _Somehow, he found himself looking at Zack and he knew that was who Sephiroth was talking about.

"_I don't understand." _He tried his hardest to stay aware of anything Sephiroth might try to do.

"_I suppose you wouldn't. What do you know of his struggles? Or the truths he can't accept. Should I show it to you?" _Cloud watched intently while the other two continued to spar. Their swords clashed again and again, glistening in the afternoon sunshine.

"_It'll just be an illusion…" _Cloud thought.

"_Quite the contrary, I want to show you the truth… The part of you that wanted to give me the Black Materia that day… Because 'Cloud', all you are, and all you will ever be…"_

"_Shut up!"_ he said, pain was becoming worse and he was starting to hear something buzz in his ears… That was when he noticed the sound of swordplay had stopped.

"Hey Cloud? You ready to trade in?" Zack asked.

"…_Is a puppet. A copy of a failure; Hojo never even gave you a number to identify you…"_

"Shut up!" The pain had become too great, and Cloud sank to his knees, cradling his head in his hands and gritting his teeth, willing it to go away, not realizing he'd shouted his last words aloud. His sword clattered to the ground next to him.

"Cloud?!" He heard the sound of the Buster Sword being thrust into the earth and Zack running towards him. The buzzing sound was slowly dying away, but that didn't matter. The world still spun and he curled up on the ground, before he felt the familiar sensation of someone trying to lift him to a sitting position, and his heart, which he was sure couldn't possibly sink any lower, sank a few more inches. The next thing he saw was Zack looking down at him with a somber expression. "It was him again, wasn't it?"

He was in too much pain to do more than lean into Zack and shut his eyes again, silently cursing his own uselessness and wishing his friend wouldn't look at him that way.

* * *

><p>It was late afternoon when Vincent realized the mountains he was flying over were starting to look very familiar. He had crossed over the Corel Desert and into the Corel Mountain range about an hour ago, and was now flying over the snow-capped peaks and valleys that would eventually give way to the grassland south of Nibelheim. Had he been further north, he would have been able to see the Nibel Mountains off in the distance, but here, it was just the rocky crags and ancient forests of the Corel region. A river flowed to the east at his left, and it frolicked over the rocks and rapids, careening around bends and over waterfalls.<p>

He forced himself to stay awake, grateful that the windows were tinted against the glare of the setting sun lowering into the western sky. Fortunately the plane he'd hijacked to escape from that thing he assumed was a piece of Jenova had been provisioned with a full tank of fuel, but even that wouldn't last forever.

Off in the distance, he was surprised to see a valley opening before him and his breath caught in his throat. It was the same valley from his dream. He knew it to be true for the river flowed out through a great gash in the cliff side and off to his right, in shadowed relief under the dying sunlight was a ledge peeking out from a huge waterfall. He had been alert for any pursuers over the last few hours but had seen none since crossing the ocean, and so he brought the plane in for a landing on a strip of flat grass by the river, just long enough for a runway. Pulling open the rear hatch and climbing out, he looked around the vast expanse, which appeared to be uninhabited, with bewilderment. The location itself was pristine and beautiful, with forests and grassland marking the areas around the river but none of that explained why he had dreamed about it.

Finally, he decided to investigate the ledge. Perhaps his answers could be found if the cave was truly there. It took him several minutes to get to the waterfall, and upon reaching it, he began climbing. In the deepening gloom of evening, with the shadows of the surrounding cliffs rising higher above him, he hopped from ledge to ledge, sometimes capitalizing on a good updraft to fold into his cape and get up to the next boulder. Mostly however, he maintained a steady pace, grabbing onto branches and rocks to lift him further up the precipice. Finally, he came to the ledge, jutting out from behind the waterfall and looked out over the valley. The sun was now level with the mountains, sending a burning pyre across the tips of the eastern cliff side. He squinted, and then turned around to walk into the overhang behind the falling waters. Looking around at the cave he now found himself in, he could hear faint noises up ahead that sounded like sobbing and his mouth fell open behind his red collar.

"_Sephiroth…" _That voice… It couldn't be…

He knew it well… It had been branded into his memory so deeply and lovingly, even thirty years of slumber could not erase the remembrance of it… He quickened his pace, not bothering to listen to his surroundings anymore.

At last, the tunnel opened out and he found himself in a room constructed almost entirely of mako crystals. The fading light reflected down from a hole in the roof, illuminating a small pool of rainwater on the cave floor, as well as the largest crystal contained in the center. "Lucrecia…?" He glanced around the room with his blood red eyes, searching for the origin of the voice.

"_Vincent…?"_ The bodiless voice echoed around the chamber and right in front of him, Lucrecia's body, frozen in mako, hung suspended in the central column. Before his eyes the woman, as he remembered her, appeared as a transparent image curled on the floor at the base of the mako pillar. The image looked up at him, her face contorted with sadness and guilt.

"Lucrecia!" He hurried forward as she swooned, ready to take her in his arms but she held up a hand.

"_Stay back!"_ she commanded.

How could he? All those times, before as a Turk, when he had held himself back from her, because he'd thought that if she was happy, it would be all right. Even after Hojo used her to give birth to Sephiroth, from whom he now kept the Black Materia. Too late, when her health had begun to fail, he'd gone to that evil man to put an end to it, but Hojo had shot him through the chest. That should have killed him, but somehow instead he had been cursed with this nearly immortal body full of monsters as punishment for that sin. He tried to step forward, but it was then when he saw the warning in her eyes.

"Lucrecia… You're alive…"

Tears were streaming down her face as she looked upon him. _"I wanted to disappear… I couldn't be with anyone… I wanted to die… But the Jenova inside me wouldn't let me die…"_ Her image pulled itself to its feet, though she remained hunched, hugging herself as she looked away from him. "_Lately, I dream a lot of Sephiroth… My dear, dear child. Ever since he was born I never got to hold him, even once… Not even once. You can't call me his mother… That… is my sin…" _

She heaved a sob and Vincent tried to approach her again, but she spoke sharply. _"Back! Stay Back!"_

He was but a few feet away from her, trying his best to remain in control, even as he watched her pain.

"_Vincent… Won't you please tell me?"_

"…What?" he asked.

"_If Sephiroth is still alive?" _She had calmed slightly, but was still on the verge of tears. "_I heard that he died five years ago. But I see him in my dreams so often… And I know that physically, like myself, he can't die so easily. Please, Vincent tell me…"_

Vincent considered his answer carefully. She was obviously in a state as it was, and telling her about what Sephiroth or what Jenova in Sephiroth's form, whichever it was, had been up to would hardly help her already fragile mental condition. Finally, he said "Lucrecia… Sephiroth is dead…"

Better to give her news she had already known about and resigned herself to, than news that would no doubt drive her further over the edge with guilt. Lucrecia smiled sadly, as another tear streamed down her cheek before her image faded from view. _"I'm so sorry…"_ With that, the cave became silent.

* * *

><p><em>Cloud looked around him and couldn't dispel the sense of dread overpowering his thoughts. He found himself surrounded once again by that oppressive burning green he could now associate with memories of Hojo's mako tubes. He tried to look around him, but his gaze was fixed as another figure moved in front of the tube, barely able to walk in a straight line and hit the button to let out the mako. The man, whose name he could not recall in his muddled mind, allowed him to fall into his arms, whispering a name he could hardly recognize as his own… "Cloud…"<em>

"_You never carried that name…"_

"_What do you mean…? That can't be right… He just said it, I'm Cloud."_

_He could almost hear the malevolent chuckle again. "He did say that indeed, and you certainly look like you should be, but are you certain?"_

_He was now standing next to the operating table in Hojo's laboratory, and upon looking down at his left elbow, he saw the report he'd found there. One word blared out from the paper, cascading through his mind like a gunshot through an echo chamber "Failed…"_

…His eyes opened and he found himself in the room he shared with Zack. It took him a while to orient himself but in that time he felt his head aching again, though not as bad as it had this afternoon. He moaned softly, but found himself distracted by sounds from the bed across the room. "Hojo… he can't take much more of this… why…?" Zack was mumbling in his sleep again. It wasn't very loud, otherwise Kunsel might have been awakened by it, but the brown-haired SOLDIER had not moved from his position under the covers.

Cloud took a moment to organize his thoughts and awaken fully. _"What are you trying to say? That I'm not Cloud? That's stupid. Rayleigh would have been able to tell, wouldn't she? And I know my memories are a little off in places, but I remember the important things."_

The throbbing intensified, until he was curled up on the bed. _"Do you now?" _Sephiroth's voice reverberated through him. _"As much as Zack told you about clones copying the appearance of the original, did you never consider the idea? Why do you think most of your memories of your time in the lab are blank?"_

"_I remember a little..." _It would have been impossible to grit out the words, but somehow he managed to get the idea across in spite of the agony he was currently in.

"_What Rayleigh and Zack told you…" _The voice paused, and he could almost detect a smirk in the man's voice._ "Is there anything from that time you truly remember on your own?"_

Cloud tried to think, but in his current state, he kept coming back to the memory of Hojo, and how it corroborated Rayleigh's assessments, while his memories of being with Zack and escaping did seem to match pretty closely with his account. He heard a faint chuckle. _"I'll leave you to ruminate on that."_

Almost immediately, the pressure inside his skull seemed to dissipate, and Cloud turned his attention back to Zack, but in the time Sephiroth had decided to leave, Zack had apparently moved on to a quieter, less Hojo-related dream. Exhaustion nagging at him, he finally lay down, though it was a while before he was willing to let himself fall asleep again. He could still feel the shock of that one terrible word echoing through his mind. "_Failed…_"

* * *

><p><strong>December 28<strong>**th** **[ ν ] – εуλ 0007**

Vincent spent the night with his back against the wall of the tunnel leading to Lucrecia's cave, sleeping peacefully for the first time in a while, though he chalked it up to physical exhaustion more than anything else. He awoke early, and walked to the entrance of the cave, considering what he needed to do. He'd done some thinking the previous evening and it occurred to him that this valley wouldn't be a bad place to hide the Black Materia, not to mention it was a place to which he could easily return to check on it. He would also have reason to come back and check on Lucrecia too, now that he knew where she was, so all that was left to do was find the right place.

The wind blew his cloak back behind him dramatically as he strode out into the sunshine from behind the waterfall, and pulled the materia out of his pocket to look at the small, black, crystal. The first Cait Sith's remains were probably still within it, crushed deep inside its interior, and while he hadn't known him much longer than most of the others had, he was not going to let a comrade's sacrifice be in vain. He cast around the ledge, thinking carefully about how he would do this.

He had heard an ancient proverb once that the best place to hide a leaf was in a forest. From that philosophy, the best place to hide a black crystal would probably be in a pile of other crystals, or polished stones. There were plenty along the riverbed, but Vincent didn't think that would be good enough. It would be too easy for such a thing to be jostled loose in a flood or earthquake, not to mention the idea of hiding a doomsday materia along a riverbed was just asking for trouble. He was not about to hide it in Lucrecia's cave either. Too obvious.

After a moment, he replaced the materia in his pocket and folded into his cloak, allowing the wind to carry him down off the eastern side of the ledge and once he landed at the base of the waterfall, he started walking along the edge of the cliffs surrounding the valley. He had already passed a couple of smaller caves when he happened upon a stand of trees at a point where the river bent its way especially close to the eastern wall. He was almost to the other side of this grove, when he found himself at the entrance to another particularly large cave and here, he decided he would enter.

It was dark and for a while, his path was only lit by the blood-red glow of his Mako-infused eyes, but then, he found himself in a dimly lit chamber, the walls aglow with luminescent moss, fed by the dripping of rainwater through cracks in the ceiling. With his enhanced vision, he saw across the chamber, a pile of innocuous looking dark stones, some as dark as opals, and others simply grey granite. Reverently, he walked over and knelt before them, pulling a few away from the top and commenced arranging them to his liking, placing the materia in the base of the pile. A casual traveler would not have been able to tell it was even here, and to Vincent's eye, none of those ever came through here. There were no paths or other signs of habitation to indicate anyone nearby and he felt secure in that knowledge.

Once he was finished, he walked back towards the ledge leading to Lucrecia's cave and it was around late morning when he finished climbing to the top. His mission now accomplished, he walked back into the chamber where Lucrecia remained, if only to see her once more. Her image did not appear in front of the crystal again, but as he approached and stepped into the water, he saw something at the base of it where she had stood. It was a small rifle, intricately inlaid with silver filigree along the short barrel. He knelt to inspect it and upon drawing closer, he saw inscribed into the ivory handle the words "_Death Penalty_." At almost the same moment, he wasn't sure if it was his imagination, but he felt a shiver run through his body, as though something inside him had just become much more… awake? It was unsettling, but he pushed that thought aside, reverently picking up the gun and inspecting every inch of it.

"Lucrecia…" he said softly, once more casting his gaze upon the woman enshrined in crystal before turning and leaving the way he came.

* * *

><p>Zack awoke that morning, to find he was the last one up. After Sephiroth had attacked Cloud again during their training, he'd been able to get a little about what their enemy had tried to do out of his friend, but most of it had been the conclusion that Cloud wasn't exactly sure what Sephiroth was trying to gain from it. It sounded like he was trying to tell him something, but the most Zack had been able to do was tell him not to listen and hang on until they could figure out where Sephiroth was.<p>

The prognosis had not looked good. Even the best painkillers Rayleigh had at her disposal could not act fast enough to counter the headaches and the last one had been gone before they could do anything about it. They could deal with the after effects, but aside from that and just being supportive, there was little else that could be done. Zack clenched his fist into the sheets of his own bed. He was powerless to protect Cloud from this and he hated it. It was the lab all over again. Hours, days, sometimes weeks of waiting for the next trauma to strike, not knowing when it would hit, and yet being unable to do anything to prepare for it and only being able to offer words of encouragement as he watched him suffer. Sure, they were in a safe place now, but they couldn't even fight back. How could they when their attacker wasn't even physically there?

If only they knew where Sephiroth was! There had been no word from Vincent, though apparently Tseng was going north. That was not a lot of information, he admitted. North from Junon could be anywhere from Icicle Inn to some isolated cave near Modeoheim. He hadn't heard anything from Cissnei yet, but she, Mao, and Liz should have arrived on the Northern Continent by now. He hoped they were all right, but more than anything, he hoped they would find something. Just a clue even, as long as it was something that would bring them closer to finding where Sephiroth was so they could make this stop.

He pulled himself out of bed, seeing that Kunsel was awake too, and left the room to go downstairs. Upon entering the living room he could see both of them out on the porch, and so, he walked out to see what was up. To his dismay, Cloud looked more exhausted than when he'd gone to bed. He sat on the step watching Marlene try to play ball with Nanaki and Yuffie while they waited for breakfast.

Barret was nearby along with Freya and Cait Sith. His father was also sitting on a chair nearby, nursing a mug of coffee, and it was his calm demeanor that made him remember that the sun was shining today. There was hardly a cloud in the sky, and to his relief, no Meteor. Wherever Vincent was, he seemed to have succeeded thus far in keeping the Black Materia safe.

He sat down next to Cloud. "How're you doing?" he asked.

"I'm all right. Just tired…" the blonde-haired swordsman answered.

"We'll take it easy today then," Zack decided. After a moment he gave his friend a questioning look. "He hasn't been bothering you anymore has he?"

Cloud didn't meet his eyes. "Don't worry about it…"

"What kind of friend would I be if I didn't? I don't want to wake up one morning and find out he gave you an aneurism or something. And you're not fooling anyone. What did he do this time?"

Cloud sighed. "If I wasn't the real Cloud, Rayleigh would have known, right?"

Zack raised an eyebrow. "Sure she'd know. I mean, if you were a copy or something, then what about your scars, and your memories all fit in the right places don't they? We can ask when she gets back from work if you want, but that sounds kind of out there to me."

"You're probably right…" Cloud muttered.

* * *

><p>It was early in the afternoon, Vincent found himself looking upon an ancient city. He had landed the plane just north of Bone Village, slightly beyond the forest and had decided to go north until he could find a boat from Icicle Inn. The more confused SephirothJenova was about his movements the better. He seemed to have lost them when he'd taken the plane, but if he was dealing with Shinra's former general, then it was best not to take chances. He walked along the path, seemingly built of stones, past the various houses constructed of ancient shells, bones, and driftwood, wondering absently if this was a city Lucrecia had mentioned once when they'd talked about the history of the Ancients. It was certainly old enough.

Off in the distance he could see a conch shell with a small lake in front of it, noting the distinctly blue color under the unearthly half-light filtering through the white barked trees shading the place from the chill northern sunlight. It held a quality as unearthly as Lucrecia's cave.

Then he looked ahead of him, and found himself thinking of some of Barret's more colorful word choices.

Two white-haired figures divested of their cloaks flanked a gigantic floating object resembling the form of a woman, emblazoned across the brow of a skull with two huge tentacles. It was the piece of Jenova he had encountered in Junon. He stopped, his red eyes meeting with the two men in turn before he regarded the giant floating object with a quick glance. Not even half a second later, he fired his gun twice before fleeing back down the path. He could already hear the two Sephiroth clones behind him and making use of an updraft, he folded into his cloak to land on one of the larger buildings, thanking Gaia the shell roof could still support his weight. He ran along the swirl of the conch, even as he heard the distant sound of something hopping to try and catch him here, but he was not about to let those creatures overtake him.

He glanced behind him upon reaching the edge, before hopping back down to the ground, firing the Death Penalty and hitting one of the clones right between the eyes as he went. The man dropped dead next to the building but he was already fleeing into the stand of trees by the lake. The close quarters would go to his advantage, and as he used his cloak to land neatly on one of the ivory white branches, he could already see the other clone scrabbling to climb after him, Jenova not far behind, trying to push its way through the trees. He leapt and swung to a larger branch that would support his weight, flipping around in midair to fire three more rounds from Death Penalty just before landing in a crouch, taking a moment to reload. The second clone was unaffected, but Jenova seemed to have started bleeding slightly. Vincent turned, folding into his cloak again, flying like a leaf on a breeze to another tree further away from his pursuers. Materializing back into reality near the central trunk he fired again and the final clone fell to his death.

The muted sunlight reflected through the forest as the monstrosity that now chased him whipped out one of its tentacles, knocking trees askew. They were getting deeper into the woods surrounding the old city, and Vincent leaped across the canopy, swinging from limb to limb, occasionally gliding when he felt a draft. He vaulted over another branch before turning in midair to shoot three more rounds, but Jenova was drawing ever closer, a force that was becoming more and more difficult to escape.

He was almost to the edge of the forest when a tree branch he landed on collapsed and he fell to the ground, Jenova hot on his heels. But suddenly he felt himself changing. Two wings sprung from his back as his bodysuit and cloak gave way under the guise of black skin and bulging muscles. Red wings sprouted from his back and he felt an incredible rage overtake him. One he could not control. He turned on the monster chasing him and lunged with all his might, roaring with rage and tackled Jenova's form with all the vigor of a lesser god.

In his desperation the monster within him had all but gone berserk and it clawed at his attacker mercilessly. Jenova did not make a sound but flicked out with its tentacles. It was a clash of two titans as several more trees crashed to the ground, sending echoes of the fight throughout the city. But even this was not enough. Vincent gave a final slash with both his claws, before the monster within him seemed to realize that alone it could not withstand the might of its attacker and he turned to flee, pumping for altitude with his gigantic leathery wings, but it was too late. He felt something lash across his back, and his left wing snapped, sending him crashing into the forest below. The last thing he saw before his world went black was the ground rushing up to meet him…

* * *

><p><em>Well, it looks like we're ending this one on another cliffhanger folks. Things are certainly not looking good.<em>

_In the original timeline, it's date night at the Gold Saucer. Aerith told Cloud she wanted to meet him for real (or one of the other date scenes, take your pick), and Cait Sith stole the Key Stone, gave it to Tseng, and held Marlene and Elmyra hostage to keep Cloud from doing anything about it. Phew, we've really stepped on the accelerator here, haven't we?_

_See ya next week!_


	33. Breaking Point

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spin-offs That honor goes to Square-Enix.

**Part II: Reunion**

* * *

><p>Chapter 33, Breaking Point<p>

**December 28****th** **[ ν ] – εуλ 0007**

Cissnei looked out across the frozen wastes that lay below her from her perch atop Gaia's Cliffs. The helicopter was a few hundred feet off, camouflaged on a large ledge just below the northern rim. It was a good hiding place since she and the other two renegades with her had both determined Tseng and his party would be leaving towards the south. While it was very possible they could circle around a bit before departing, the crater around which the cliffs stretched was so vast, they'd have plenty of time to retreat were that the case.

It had been a stroke of luck that had led them here. Thanks to a communications interception device Liz had kept from her mercenary days, they'd managed to detect a broadcast from a helicopter to one of the bases Shinra had in the area.

While they hadn't been able to decrypt the transmission, they'd been able to pinpoint roughly the direction the other helicopter was headed, and after that, figuring out the location had been relatively easy. She pulled her heavy coat around her, scanning the crater for any signs of life. Up here on the cliffs the winds were unforgiving, but somehow, Liz stood next to her, unperturbed, also with a set of binoculars. Mao had just traded out with Cissnei to take a turn at operating the radio interceptor. Though they'd been attempting to crack the channel for a while, taking it in turns, thus far, it had proved to be quite stubborn.

She clapped her hands together and rubbed her shoulders to get the feeling back into her body. Liz noticed the gesture and looked in her direction. "If you're cold, I won't stop you from going back into the chopper."

"No, it's all right. I've handled tougher than this," Cissnei said.

The former mercenary shrugged. "Your decision."

It was at that moment they both heard Mao call out from the chopper "Hey, I think we have something!"

The two renegades gathered at the main hatch to listen and Mao patched it through the speakers.

"_Tseng!"_ Elena's voice was shrill and they heard the sound of several gunshots.

Their former director's voice echoed over the speakers. _"Reno, the chopper!"_

More gunshots were fired in rapid succession before a final order from Tseng. _"Go!"_

With that, the communications channel went quiet.

Cissnei rushed back to the edge of the cliff upon hearing the sound of rotor blades and finally, out of the mist below, a familiar helicopter rose out of the mist and left, flying at top speed.

* * *

><p>It was early in the evening and Cloud was watching Zack work through the monumental task of cleaning and polishing the Buster Sword. They usually maintained their weapons very carefully, but it had been a little while since they'd stopped to do so. Aerith and Tifa were also nearby, chatting about something. Aerith was talking about passing Cid while Shera had been laying down the law to him about smoking in the house.<p>

"I think I must have misjudged her a little," Tifa admitted. "She'd seemed so timid when we were in Rocket Town."

"Well, I think she'd need to be tough to be able to handle Cid when he goes too far," Aerith said.

Tifa chuckled. "Still, the image of her scolding him, I don't know if I could see it."

"It was something to see," Aerith agreed.

Cloud was leaning against the side of the house, just listening to the conversation and trying to forget the past few days. Whatever Sephiroth was up to, he'd been quiet through most of the day and Rayleigh was supposed to return any time now.

He watched as Zack moved across the blade, polishing with careful strokes until the Buster Sword shined. He knew it was a memento of Zack's mentor. Zack had told him the story before, of how Angeal had given it to him in his last moments. After he was satisfied, he moved on to oiling the blade so it wouldn't rust before setting it aside, cleaning up his mess.

"_Do you really think talking to her will erase the truth?"_

Cloud looked away, hoping Zack wouldn't notice the change in his expression. "_I'm not listening to you."_

"_Do you even know what Jenova cells are?" _

"_I don't care about anything you're saying,"_ Cloud interrupted.

Seeming to ignore him Sephiroth went on, _"Well then, ask her!" _With that, he went silent, and Cloud shut his eyes for a moment as he felt a slight twinge before the pain left him.

Tifa seemed to have noticed at that moment because she walked over, looking slightly concerned. "Are you all right?"

"Fine," he said. She didn't look convinced, and neither did Zack, but he didn't say anything.

As if on cue, he and Zack both heard the front door opening and then closing. Shouldering the oil cloth he'd been working with and holding the Buster Sword while balancing his other cleaning supplies, he pushed open the door to take his stuff in. Cloud walked after him, not quite sure what he was going to get out of this, but certain that it had to be better than listening to Sephiroth spitting poison in his ear. He heard the doctor greet Elmyra and Alice before walking up the stairs. Zack had already turned the corner to follow her, so, he took a deep breath and made his way up there, passing Kunsel and Freya in the living room as he went.

Preparing himself, he climbed the stairs, pausing at the door to his own room and noticing Zack calmly putting the Buster Sword away. His friend finally looked up at him and nodded in the direction of Rayleigh's room, wordlessly telling him to keep going. At that moment, he saw her walk back out into the hall, having put away her doctor's bag and her lab coat and was walking back towards the stairs. When she saw him there, she paused. "Is there something the matter Cloud?" she asked.

After a moment, he answered "I'm not really sure," he frowned and folded his arms, trying to figure out how to phrase his concern. How did one ask a question like this? Finally he ended up going with the question Sephiroth had posed. "What exactly are Jenova cells?"

Rayleigh was surprised for a moment but adjusted her glasses. "That's a very good question. Jenova cells, the basic ones, are cells originating from the being known as Jenova, however, while the attributes of these cells are definitely different in origin from a Cetra's or even a human's, this is not due to the cells themselves being of different origin. Indeed they are believed to be a Cetra's cells in the original body, but they have been altered by a virus. In short, while Jenova herself is definitely not a Cetra, the cells she uses were incorporated from one. It was probably part of the reason Gast made the mistake when he identified the body."

Zack was obviously listening and at that moment, he peeked his head out of their room. "Wait, so Jenova cells were actually cells infected by a virus?"

"Yes. But you see, what happened in the case of SOLDIER was that the properties of the virus were specifically managed such that they only remained effective to desirable levels. That's what the mako is for, to keep the virus from getting out of control and spreading."

"What about S-cells?" Zack asked.

Rayleigh continued. "S-cells are a different matter. They were taken directly from Sephiroth. He was conceived by Hojo through a female host already infused with altered Jenova cells. As such, because he was still in the development stages, all of his cells were effectively S-cells, altered specifically to augment his abilities. In your cases, the difference is that you've been given SOLDIER treatments, but Hojo decided to use S-cells with you."

"So if there were cells that the S-cells didn't replace then you could still tell if someone… wasn't who they thought they were?" Cloud asked.

Rayleigh nodded. "If I had the right samples and equipment. Why?"

Cloud looked away nervously. "He's trying to say I'm not Cloud. But that can't be true, right? I told him you would probably have known. Wouldn't you?" There was no need to clarify who 'he' was.

Deep in the back of his mind he'd been afraid she'd laugh at him, or worse that she'd brush him off but instead her reply was completely serious. "The only way I'd be able to check that for sure would be to run a DNA test. I know for a fact you're definitely still human, after all there are markers in Jenova cells that differentiate them from regular ones when you look at them under a microscope. Any more specific than that and I would need a sample from you from before the Nibelheim incident or from a close relative in order to compare it to your genetic code, which could take a little while. That being said, I have very little doubt that you are who you think you are."

"Why do you say that?" Cloud asked.

"Well, if you weren't, then how is it that your memories all fit? And Zack would have known, right?"

"I guess so," Cloud said.

Rayleigh came a step closer, her expression as serious as the tone of her voice. "Don't doubt who you are, it's what he wants. If there's anything I can do, I will help you, even if it takes some time, but just remember, whatever it is he's saying, it's because he wants you to give in. You're better than that, and don't forget it."

Cloud nodded to show he understood, but he found himself privately thinking it was a lot easier to believe that when you weren't living in terror of being attacked at any given time. He certainly didn't know of any close relatives he possessed who could be of help here. The only known relative he was aware of was his mother, and she'd been killed by Sephiroth. He didn't even know where her remains were or if they were even still in existence, so going through that route was impossible.

* * *

><p>When Tseng regained consciousness, he found himself lying in a very strange space, lit only by a muted green glow that didn't seem to come from anywhere in particular. If anything it looked like a chamber constructed of Mako crystals, and upon pulling upright, he winced, making note of his injuries. He was certain from the pain in his chest that he was sporting several cracked ribs, and upon looking at his reflection on the walls of this place, he found he also noticed a trickle of dried blood that had fallen from a wound along his hairline. Then he tried to stand, and realized his left ankle seemed to also be broken. Having established this information, he tried to get a feel for the place he was in, and soon discovered this particular chamber was very small, barely wide enough for four people to fit inside, and while the ceiling was high enough for a fully grown man to walk upright, there was little here that could help him escape unless there was an opening large enough for him to crawl through. He had been divested of his gun and his materia so making an exit was not immediately an option either.<p>

A noise attracted his attention. The sound of a man, grunting in pain. He crawled on his knees and his good hand, pulling himself towards the origin of the sound, until finally, his eyes found a tiny hole in the wall, only just large enough to provide air flow and give him a limited view of another area. He peered through the hole, craning to see when he finally spotted the origin of the sound and his eyes widened. Pressed up against the opposite wall of the room, beaten and bloody, was a dark-haired man with a red strip of cloth across his forehead, nearly unrecognizable through a face of cuts and bruises. A golden gauntlet hung on his left arm, but he was too physically injured to use it as a weapon.

The man with long silver hair who had thrown him against the wall, and held him there by his throat was drawling softly, the venom dripping from his voice as from the fangs of a viper. "This can go on as long as you wish it, Vincent, but until you tell me where you left the Black Materia, I will not let you die."

"Well then…" Vincent panted heavily, even though he was clearly unperturbed by the threat. "In that case… we will be here… a very… very long time…" A sudden energy flew through the room like a limit break. A dark mist surrounded the two men before Sephiroth ran his sword through the gunman's body, causing him to lose consciousness, and dropped him unceremoniously to the ground.

The mist vanished and Sephiroth looked down at the gunman with narrowed eyes. "Your passengers are not welcome in this conversation. You will keep them under better control next time."

Tseng sat back away from the hole and leaned against the wall to rest and wait, but Sephiroth did not draw near his cell, instead choosing to leave him alone with his thoughts.

* * *

><p><strong>December 29<strong>**th** **[ ν ] – εуλ 0007**

_Zack found himself standing in a long tunnel of what looked like Mako crystals. He wasn't exactly sure why he was here but he found himself walking forward, as though drawn by the gentle current of a river. This was a lot different from his usual nightmares. Normally, they entailed the lab, the prison cell, or Hojo... Or all of the above. He continued serenely through the corridors until at last, the tunnel opened out into a small chamber, and he felt a shiver of horror at what he saw. Across the room, lying bloody and beaten was a man in a familiar, tattered, red cape._

"_Vincent!" Zack drew closer and to his relief he saw the man was still breathing, but he had clearly been put through hell. "What is this?" He demanded searching the room for an explanation, and that was when he saw Cloud, also walking around. "Cloud, do you know what's going on?"_

_Cloud didn't answer him, didn't even act like he'd seen him, but instead laid his eyes on Vincent and then froze before calling out "Sephiroth!"_

"_No need to shout, 'Cloud', I'm right here." Sephiroth's voice echoed across the empty space before the man himself appeared before them. For a split second those reptilian eyes met with Zack's and he distinctly saw the smirk in them, daring Zack to try and interfere, now that it was obvious Cloud couldn't even hear or see him._

_Zack scowled and raised his voice "Cloud! Whatever this is, don't listen to him! He's just trying to confuse you!"_

_Cloud did not react but continued looking at the former General, his stance defensive and his expression suspicious. Sephiroth didn't even seem to care, but walked nonchalantly over towards the blonde swordsman, leering malevolently. "Did you have a nice talk with the good doctor?"_

"_How does anything she said back up anything you've been trying to say?" Cloud demanded, though it was clear he was starting to feel Sephiroth's influence by the pained look on his face. Come to think of it, Zack was beginning to hear a low buzzing sound too, almost like the radio he was listening to had poor reception, but he did his best to stay focused._

"_Is that truly what you think, 'Cloud?' Maybe I should show you what's really in your heart." He glanced back towards where Zack was standing, invisible to all except the former General. "Or perhaps I should show you what's in Zack's?"_

"_What the hell are you trying to pull?" Zack hissed. But again, Cloud couldn't hear him._

"_I-I don't know what you mean," Cloud said uncertainly. Vincent and the chamber of Mako Crystals disappeared into a flurry of green mist that reminded Zack eerily of the Mako tanks before the world began to reshape itself, this time Zack could see himself standing in the ruins of the Gongaga reactor. Cloud was seated in the sidecar of a motorcycle, and Zack stood in front of a white-haired man with a single white wing. "It's been a long time, Zack."_

"_Lazard!" Zack said aloud._

_His own past self tossed a dumbapple into the air and caught it with one hand. "So, what happened? That thing wasn't so tough."_

_The former director of SOLDIER shook his head. "I can't fight like a 1st. I'm just an Angeal copy."_

"_Copy?" the memory Zack repeated._

"_It's Lazard," the former director said, pulling himself up so he was standing._

_Zack looked over at Cloud, seeing his eyes widen in recognition. He had never met Lazard, but he had heard Zack talk about him before. Even now as Zack looked at his memory of the former SOLDIER director, Zack found himself amazed by the incredible resemblance to his mentor. It had been like looking at a ghost…_

_The green mist reappeared and they found themselves back in the crystal cave, as Cloud's eyes narrowed at the spot where Sephiroth reappeared. "That's stupid. If you're trying to say I'm someone else, then how come I have no memory of it?"_

"_Lazard had a very determined will, but even he was unable to fight Angeal's basic personality," Sephiroth intoned. "Many of the Genesis copies were completely unable to fight their master at all. They lost all sense of who they used to be and many of them were SOLDIERs."_

_Cloud was starting to get a little agitated now, "So you're saying I'm some kind of Cloud clone? Why would Hojo want to do that? I was a failure, it said so in his notes, why would he want to clone me?"_

_Another memory surfaced in a flurry of mists and Zack found they were in the room with all the pods outside of Jenova's chamber. There were people moving around, technicians and troopers while Hojo supervised. Zack could see himself being lifted onto a stretcher, barely conscious while Hojo walked to another one on which Cloud lay, mortally wounded. "This one here, yes… he'll make a fine test subject…"_

_The memory faded into another. Zack was waiting in the cell, furious and upset until finally, the guards opened the door, tossing Cloud in. He wasn't looking good, in fact, he looked deathly ill and unconscious. Zack suddenly heard his past self muttering while pulling Cloud gently over to one of the bunks. "Hojo, you bastard, can't you see you're killing him like this?"_

"_You're saying the one Zack rescued from the tanks wasn't me?" Cloud demanded._

"_Accidents happen, and Hojo had many test subjects in his laboratory. Too many to be troubled with after the experiment was over, and only a select few were successful. The ability to change one's looks, voice, and words is the power of Jenova."_

"_That's not true!" _

_Zack hurried over to Cloud, trying vainly to get his attention, but he continued listening to Sephiroth as though transfixed as the former General continued. "After Cloud passed, his appearance and Zack's memories of him merged, creating you. After all they suffered through together, it is no small wonder that another of Hojo's failed clones would tap into that connection, and capitalize on it."_

"_That's not true!" Zack repeated. "Cloud! You gotta listen to me man! Yes it's true that clones can do that but there's no way you could be one!_

_Another memory phased into existence. This time Zack had the disorienting experience of looking out of a mako tube and seeing himself drain the fluid out and open the tank, allowing the person from whom the memory originated to fall into his arms. "Cloud…"_

_Sephiroth laughed as the crystal chamber reappeared and Zack felt like that buzzing sound was intensified. "Don't blame him for his mistake. After all, he could not have known how much time had passed before he escaped."_

_A familiar voice echoed from the past as they found themselves looking at the field in Banora where Zack had left Lazard to look after Cloud while he fought Genesis. He had returned with his opponent and was now looking at a letter. "Four years?" The dumbapple he held in his hand dropped to the ground as he shouted into the sky "What do you mean final?!" _

_Sephiroth continued. "During the time he was in that tank, anything could have happened. If anything, it was his own gullible faith that gave you everything you needed to assume that role. He didn't even realize he was doing it, but with every bit of information he fed you, you became more and more like the original." _

_They found themselves looking in on a hospital room in Midgar. Cissnei was nearby and Zack was standing near the bed, where Cloud was watching him suspiciously. Past Zack tried to reach out to him but as he flinched, his decided to keep his distance. "So why don't we take it from the top. As I told you, I'm Zack. I'm your friend, and we're here because you've been very sick… otherwise, we'd probably be in a cell in the Shinra building… but anyway. We were in the Shinra military, and we met on a mission to this place called Modeoheim. We got to talking because we were both country boys, and, you know, us country boys gotta stick together…" The memory faded back to the chamber as Sephiroth's laughter echoed through it._

_Cloud seemed to be torn between agony and shock, before he finally asked in a quiet voice. "What about Tifa? And the promise I made her? I never told Zack about that!" Cloud argued._

_The laughter grew louder and Zack noticed that Cloud looked to be in even more pain than when this crazy nightmare started. All of a sudden he could hear echoes of a single word cascading through the chamber as water through a bursting dam. "Failed…"_

Zack snapped awake and looked over at the other bed. It had seemed like a dream, but somehow he knew it wasn't, and the proof was what he saw now. Cloud's face was screwed up in agony and he hurried over, putting a hand on his shoulder and tried to gently shake him awake. "Cloud! Wake up!"

Cloud opened his eyes, but for a moment, Zack nearly felt his own heart stop. The moment he'd awakened his expression seemed to have gone blank and he said nothing, simply staring at the ceiling. He heard Kunsel behind him, pulling himself awake, grumbling "Zack…? What the hell is going on? It's nearly…Ifrit… 3:00 AM…"

Zack didn't answer him, instead pulling Cloud up to a sitting position, noticing it was slightly more difficult than it had been the last time he'd had to carry him. He put his hands on his friend's shoulders and tried to meet his blue eyes with his own violet ones. "Don't do this to me Cloud… Say something. If you go quiet again, what am I gonna tell Aerith and Tifa?"

Cloud blinked and finally let out a groan, resting his head in his hands. "Zack…" he said softly, "How did you know…?"

"I was watching," Zack said. "He showed me the whole thing."

"What are you talking about?" Kunsel asked. He was standing behind Zack, having realized something was going on.

Zack looked behind him before sitting on the side of Cloud's bed and running a hand through his unruly black hair agitatedly. What the hell were Cissnei and the others doing? "Sephiroth again. And I think he got Vincent."

Kunsel's eyes widened. "Are you sure?"

"He had him lying in front of me like he was saying 'I've got your friend right here, come and get him.'"

"What's going on?" He looked up and saw Aerith and Tifa peeking into the room, with Freya standing behind them.

He angrily slammed his fist into the mattress. "This is all my fault…"

"You're sure this wasn't some kind of nightmare?" Kunsel asked.

"No…" Cloud mumbled. "I didn't see Zack there, but I saw Vincent too…"

"You didn't believe what he was saying did you?" Zack asked.

"I don't know…" Cloud looked away from him, out the window. "I don't want to… but Zack, some of what he says does make some sense. What if I am like… Lazard?... What if I'm really not…"

"I don't care what he says, you are Cloud Strife. You were born in Nibelheim and we met six years ago on the mission to find Angeal. You killed Sephiroth with your own hands, and then we went through hell together. There's no other person you could be." Zack said emphatically. He paused for a moment before forcing Cloud to look him in the eye. "So this is what's been happening the last couple of nights?"

His friend nodded and Zack stood up straight, swearing. "This is all my fault!"

"What is?" Aerith walked into the room and tried to meet his eyes. Freya and Tifa followed her inside and Tifa walked over to where Cloud was.

"If I hadn't gotten rid of the materia, Vincent wouldn't be in the spot he's in now, and Sephiroth…"

Freya walked over to him, her copper eyes glowing in the dim light. "Don't think like that. Vincent was a Turk. He knew the risks, and Sephiroth's the one who's doing this, not you."

"But it was my decision," Zack ground out. "If we'd just gone looking for him rather than having Vincent go out on his own…"

"That wouldn't have kept Sephiroth from what he's up to right now and you know it. If anything that would have made it worse because we would have had to watch you even more closely in case he tried to use you to bring the Materia to him," Freya snapped. "Don't you see what he's doing? He's trying to break both of you by striking at what will hurt you the most. If you give in to it, and allow him to get you flustered, we have lost!"

Zack glared at her with a cold fury in his eyes, but in typical Turk fashion, she didn't flinch.

"Cloud?" Tifa's voice was soft. Though it carried across the room, breaking the standoff.

"I'm all right…" Cloud rolled out of bed and stood up, apparently tired of the attention. "I'm going to get some water." With that, he walked out of the room.

There was quiet for a moment, and then Aerith walked over to him. "We'll wait here," she said softly.

He nodded and walked downstairs into the empty living room. Everyone had turned in hours ago, though now he could see Cloud standing at the window, watching the yard outside bathed in the moonlight. "You sure you're all right?"

"Not really," Cloud admitted. "I don't want to think what he's saying is true, but..."

"Then don't," Zack said. "And if you can't discount it, well, we'll hunt around for some answers, okay?"

"How are you going to do that?"

"You seemed to hold your own when you mentioned Tifa. Once everyone has the chance to wake up and get dressed, we'll go for a walk and see if we can't sort this out. I'm sure between the six of us, we'll find an answer to back that one up."

"Six of us?" Cloud asked.

"Yeah, us, Tifa, Aerith, Kunsel, and Freya. We're your friends, and nothing's gonna change that, ever." Zack said.

Cloud gave him a tired look. "What if it's true?"

"It's not, and one way or another, we're gonna find a way to prove him wrong. I don't know how just yet, but… What you said about the promise in there. It's true, I never would have known about that. So that's your proof right there. Hang on to that, and don't let it go."

"I'll try," Cloud answered. "Though it's awful hard to think clearly when he's saying those things."

"I know. But it worked this time. That'll be our trump card until we find a way to make things upstairs a little more solid, all right?"

"Are you calling me crazy?" Cloud asked, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"After what we went through? We probably both are," Zack admitted grimly. "Let's go back upstairs and get ready to go. We've got some things to talk about."

* * *

><p>It had taken almost a whole day to climb down to the hole through which Reno's helicopter had departed, but with Mao backing her up, just like in the old days, Cissnei rappelled down it, alert for any sign of Sephiroth, or Jenova. Upon reaching the floor, she tugged at the rope and Mao slid down next to her. The two of them crept along the vast tunnel they found themselves in for several minutes.<p>

A sound up ahead caught her attention and they soon found themselves along a wall of mako crystals. Mist formed in front of her as she exhaled, following the wall with her partner behind her. Silently they continued on through several chambers around the wall until at last, through the maze, they discovered an entrance. Readying her rekka, Cissnei crept forward, hearing the click as Mao separated the katana from his sheath with his thumb, in preparation for drawing it. Down at the end of the tunnel, a figure was walking, and Cissnei gasped. It was him!

The flowing silver hair and the legendary reptilian green eyes. The long leather duster, and the equally long odachi, nigh unweildable by any other man. She ducked behind a stalagmite, and Mao followed. The two looked at each other, and then Mao gestured back in the direction of the hole they'd climbed down from. No mission was impossible for the Turks, but there were some missions that required more than two. Getting rid of Sephiroth would be one of those.

If they were going to take this place by force, they would need a force with which to take it. This mission was only to gather information. They'd spend a little more time getting the layout, and then they'd report back to Zack… Once the former General was out of sight, they crept a little further down the tunnel, ready to retreat at the slightest possibility they'd been discovered.

That was when it appeared in front of them. A wall that seemed to be made of transparent energy. She peered at it curiously for a moment before walking up to it. Mao pulled level with her, picking up a rock and tossing it at the barrier. It sparked, shattering the rock into a thousand pieces, as they ducked away from it. "What is this?" he wondered aloud, picking himself up to take a second look. "It appears Sephiroth does not wish to allow anyone inside."

"I guess we'll just have to scout around for another entrance," Cissnei suggested. "And if we don't find one, report back."

Mao nodded and the two turned around to find and alternate route.

* * *

><p>The sun was just peeking over the horizon when Cloud saw where they were walking. They had left a note in the kitchen for anyone who might be wondering where they got off to, and then followed the northern path through the woods. It had taken about an hour for everyone to get ready, but no one who had been awakened wanted to stay behind. Now, as a few of his namesake hung golden in the brightening sky, they found themselves headed towards…<p>

"The chocobo farm?" Cloud asked incredulously. They were standing a few hundred yards away from the barn at the chocobo farm where Cloud had been keeping the baby chocobos.

"Trust me on this," Zack said. It wasn't long before they found Ed, the man who managed the stables for the farm's owner, and shortly after that, they were shown into the barn. Cloud wandered over to the stall where his two birds were poking their heads out, recognizing their caretaker even after this long, and he patted their crests, feeling himself start to relax a little while they cooed softly and tried to preen his hair.

Tifa approached him after a moment. "Are these the little birds you were talking about?"

Zack spoke up. "Yup, why don't you tell her their names, Cloud?"

Cloud sighed and then answer patiently. "This one is Robin, and the other one is Rudy…" He offered them some greens from a nearby bucket and added as an afterthought "Aerith was the one who named them."

Tifa smiled and offered Rudy a soft pat. The birds had done a bit of growing since Cloud had last seen them. Their heads were now about level with his own as they looked around curiously at the gathered crowd. Cloud looked away, still tired after last night, but there was no way he wanted to sleep right now. His mind was still reeling from what had happened. "_Tifa." _He thought. "_Remember the promise you made to her, it's your proof._"

Aerith approached Robin from behind Cloud and stroked her crest gently. "You two have gotten so big!" she crooned softly. "One of these days, you'll be big enough Cloud could ride you. How would you like that?"

Almost as though she could understand, Robin offered Aerith a soft "Wark."

Freya chuckled softly. "I guess she does like the idea."

"Why don't we take them out and let them run around for a little bit?" Zack suggested. A few minutes later, Cloud released the two young birds in the paddock outside and after a few more greens, the two birds seemed to have decided to chase each other to the opposite fence.

Cloud rejoined the others and leaned against the rail, waiting for someone to say something.

"Do you feel any better?" Zack asked.

"Maybe a little," he admitted.

"I thought so. After all, the chocobos are probably lonely without you."

"Is that why you wanted us to come here?" Cloud asked, glancing along the fence. Tifa was approaching one of the other chocobos, one he knew to have a lot of personality to match his redder plumage. Aerith was standing slightly further down, looking in their direction every now and then, while Freya and Kunsel stood a short distance away, talking quietly.

"Well, I just thought you needed a little reminder of something that was… well, you, you know? The way you care about these little guys can't be an illusion. There's no way you would have kept them otherwise, I don't think. We gotta start somewhere, right?"

He looked back at the chocobos, and allowed himself to forget for a moment. The little birds were gallivanting around the paddock, until finally Rudy caught up with Robin and started preening his sister's crest. To hell with Sephiroth. They would defeat him, and this would all go away. Maybe, next season, he'd start working with Ed on breaking the two birds into a saddle and bridle. He didn't know if he wanted to race professionally, but it would be nice he thought, to be able to take them out and ride them every now and then… who was he kidding? His justifications were feeling very flimsy right now, and just the idea that he might have inadvertently deceived Zack, of all people, and that Zack was continuing to delude himself if that was actually true, just seemed cruel.

If the real Cloud had died in the lab, like Sephiroth said, wouldn't it be better to end things now and just leave? Before resentment set in? He shook his head.

No, he couldn't think like that. Zack was doing everything he could to help him set things straight, why was he doubting him like this?...

"_Because he refuses to see the truth."_

"_Go away…" _

"Cloud?" He blinked and saw Tifa nearby. "What's this red one called?"

"I think that's one of Ed's," he said. "I seem to remember him calling him Clive."

"Oh…" Tifa turned her attention back to the red bird.

"_I told you to get lost. I don't believe you. After all, the truth is in my memory. You're just trying to get under my skin."_

He heard Sephiroth chuckle and it made the hair on the back of his neck prickle. "_You think that feeble 'childhood memory' is going to be enough to ward me off? Let me show you something, and after that, tell me you have a leg to stand on, 'Cloud.'_

A mist swam before Cloud's eyes and he grabbed onto the railing to support himself…

_Familiar sensations… Warm water… A familiar voice speaking above him… "Cloud, do you remember the promise you made to Tifa? About how when you made SOLDIER you would keep her safe? When everything happened at…" There was a pause, and then the voice continued. "When it happened, you were so worried. But it's all right… She made it out safely… and I know she's out there somewhere… So try to wake up for real, okay?"_

He would have swayed if he wasn't gripping the railing hard, though he felt it crack slightly under his hand when he heard someone talking nearby. "So what are we doing out here Zack?" Freya… It had been her voice…

"I don't exactly have a plan, but I was thinking if we could just find some more proof that he is who we think he is…" He'd stopped listening. Instead, his eyes widened, as Sephiroth started laughing in his mind. The pain was becoming unbearable, rising to a crescendo with the buzzing in his ears. Finally, he couldn't take it anymore. His will to fight had left him completely. He wasn't aware that he was already falling to the ground, his mind doing the only thing it knew how to do when fighting back and escape were not possible. It stopped, his subconscious pulling him deep into a place where not even the pain could reach him. What did Zack need with a failed Sephiroth clone anyway…?

* * *

><p><em>As of December 29th, the original party just reached the Temple of the Ancients and found Tseng near death. At the end of the chapter, they're probably still dungeon crawling.<em>

_Until next time!_


	34. Return to Banora

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spin-offs That honor goes to Square-Enix.

**Part II: Reunion**

* * *

><p>Chapter 34, Return to Banora<p>

**December 29****th** **[ ν ] – εуλ 0007**

It was early morning, and Rufus stood at the window of his Junon office, watching the passersby below. Behind him, across his desk, ornately carved from the darkest mahogany, stood Reno and Rude, and Elena, his last three remaining Turks. It was hard to believe that their organization, so full of members just three months ago, could have been whittled down to so few. His father should have known better than to get rid of the others. Instead of winning back their loyalty, he'd made it so that most of the former operatives now ran amok, causing him problems and getting in his way. "So you know for certain that he's down there."

"We saw him ourselves boss," Reno said.

"This is getting far too large for the Turks," Rufus decided. "As incompetent as Heidegger is, he does control the army and Scarlet does have her uses. I shall order them to form a joint strike team. We will prepare to infiltrate the crater in two days. You are dismissed."

With that, the three Turks left the room and Rufus returned to looking out the window. Sephiroth would soon meet his end, and the world would finally know his own power for what it really was. That was all there was to it.

* * *

><p>Zack stormed out the back door of the lodge glaring at the backyard lit by the early afternoon sunlight, fighting down the intense urge to break something as he made his way into the woods. Vincent was in trouble, he had no idea where Cissnei and Mao were, and Cloud… He let out a growl of frustration. Here they were back to square one. After everything he and Cloud had gone through, the months of effort he'd put into making sure Cloud got out of the lab safely and made what he thought had been a full recovery… Sephiroth had swept it all away from him in a matter of days. Was this the price he had to pay to make sure the world didn't get hit by a giant rock? Was this the sacrifice he had to make? Or worse, had he made his friends suffer needlessly because of his careless decision?<p>

He found a small clearing off the main path and leaned against one of the older trees, slamming his fist into the trunk hard enough to make its entire canopy shake. The last few hours had been like something out of a nightmare. A nightmare from which he was begging to wake up.

He'd been talking to Freya about what he was trying to accomplish when he turned around to find Cloud on the ground, and his expression as blank and lifeless as it had been when he'd first dragged him out of the mako tank. He'd knelt in front of him, calling his name and trying to meet his eyes, but he'd only found an empty shell looking back at him. After he'd spent what had seemed like ages trying to get his attention, Kunsel had taken charge of the situation and had offered to carry him back to the lodge. They had arrived about half an hour ago, walking into the yard to find Cid and Barret outside with Liam, watching Marlene playing with Nanaki again.

"What happened now?" Barret had asked.

"We're gonna find out," Freya had answered him, stopping to give an explanation while Kunsel set Cloud down on the couch.

They'd called Rayleigh back from work ahead of time and she had already arrived. Unfortunately, there wasn't much she could do. "It's catatonia," she'd said.

"You mean like what happened when he had mako poisoning?" Zack had asked her.

At that point, Barret who'd been looking in on the conversation looked confused "But ya haven' even been near any mako, why would that happen again?"

"Because this is not a symptom of mako poisoning," Rayleigh explained patiently. "It's a symptom of psychological and emotional trauma. The mako poisoning might have masked it before, but there are plenty of patients who've been poisoned who can still communicate, even if what they say may not make the most sense. I'm not surprised to tell the truth. It's probably a holdover response from the time in Hojo's lab. It's not unheard of in comparable situations for old symptoms to manifest again."

"Will he… come out of it?" Tifa asked nervously.

"He may wake up on his own. There are medicines that can be used to help, but unfortunately they aren't the easiest to come by. I'll place an order with the pharmacist at the clinic, but with our luck with the village courier, it might be a few days before we can try anything. At the very least, his life isn't in any immediate danger as long as we can keep him fed and properly cared for." Rayleigh stood and collected her bag in preparation to leave for the village.

"And what else are we supposed to do?" Zack had asked. "We can't just sit here and wait."

Rayleigh looked back at the younger swordsman resting on the couch, and her expression saddened. "Unless you somehow think finding Sephiroth might solve it, I don't know" she said at last. "But I'll do everything I can."

Zack had watched her walk out the front door and for a moment the room was silent until Cid folded his arms. "So what's the plan, kid?"

"As soon as we find Sephiroth, we move out and we make him pay. That's all there is to it. If we don't hear from Cissnei by tonight, we're gonna start looking ourselves." Zack decided. "I'm not gonna wait any longer than I can help."

As if to add insult to injury, at that moment, Cait Sith piped up from where he was standing near the fireplace. "This mey not be the best time, but Reeve just sent me some news from Junon. He says the Turks have returned, but Tseng seems ta be missin'."

"Perfect." He'd stood there trying hard to think until finally, it just wasn't possible anymore, and so he'd walked out the door. No one had said anything, but he knew he would have to go back in sometime. He just wasn't ready to face Cloud like this again.

He leaned against the tree trunk he'd been abusing, allowing his breathing to slow and trying to get himself to think clearly again. More than anything, he felt trapped. "Angeal?" He let the name of his mentor out in a breath, imploring an answer to come though he knew it wouldn't. "What do we do now?"

"Zack?" He looked behind him to see Kunsel and Aerith there. The flower girl approached him while Kunsel stayed a couple of steps away.

"It's all right," he answered. "I just needed to clear my head a little…"

His voice trailed off when his girlfriend put her arms around him, nuzzling into his chest when he returned the embrace. "Tifa's with him," she said after a moment.

"Good…" Zack answered, willing his throat not to tighten.

Kunsel folded his arms and paced a couple of steps, the light catching on his sword as he rubbed his chin, thoughtfully. "So how do you propose to find Sephiroth if Cissnei can't?"

Zack's expression hardened. "I don't know. But I am not going to sit around if I can help it. Not after what's happened. I just wish I knew what to do about this. As far as Cloud's concerned, I'm completely clueless."

Aerith pulled back a little to look up at him. "Maybe I could try asking the planet. It might have some ideas."

"Do you think that would work?" Zack asked.

"Well, we don't know until we try," Aerith answered him. "It's not always the easiest to hear exactly what you're listening for, but it wanted to help that other man you told me about didn't it?"

"Genesis…" Zack murmured, frowning as he considered that. It was true. The planet had helped heal the red haired former commander though he'd been convinced it was that goddess he was always talking about. While Zack had no idea what had happened to him after he and Cloud had left Banora, the fact that such a thing had taken place gave him a little hope at least. It also gave him an idea. "Aerith?"

"Yes?" She looked up at him.

"When you talk to the planet, is there anything that lets you focus in and hear it better, that you know of? I remember you saying once that you heard it better in the church and at the Temple you also heard those spirits really well."

She considered the question. "I think it's because those places are really closely tied to the Lifestream. You remember what Bugenhagen said, about how every living thing is connected to it?"

"Yeah," Zack answered. "But I was thinking. The last place I fought Genesis isn't all that far away, and there's a lot of Lifestream coming out of the ground there. If you tried to listen around that area, would it be any easier?"

"Probably," Aerith answered.

Zack's PHS rang at that moment and he answered it. "Cissnei?"

"_Zack, we've found Sephiroth."_

"Where is he?" He realized too late that his voice had sounded more like a growl.

"_He's in the Northern Crater, but I've got some bad news."_

"What?"

"_He's put up a barrier around the cave he's hiding in. We tried everything we had to break through it, even some low grade explosives Liz was holding onto, but unfortunately we weren't able to do a thing. He's shut in there tight. We're returning in the helicopter, but Liz says she'll go back to run surveillance once she has enough supplies of her own to weather the local conditions. That shouldn't take her more than a day at most."_

"What about you?" Zack asked. "How soon can you get here?"

"_We'll need to stop for fuel and that will take a few hours. Factoring that in, getting back'll probably take at least two days, maybe a little more."_

"That long?" Zack asked.

"_We are flying halfway around the world, what do you think?" _Cissnei sounded a little tired as she spoke, but seemed to have caught onto the intensity in Zack's tone. _"What happened?"_

"He got to Cloud, and I think he's got Vincent too."

Cissnei was quiet for a bit before speaking again. "_I see. How bad is the damage?"_

"I'll give you the details when you get back. But please hurry. The longer we sit around, the more time that % $# %# has to do what he wants with Cloud. I don't know how long Vincent has."

"_We'll get there as fast as we can." _With that, Cissnei ended the call.

"It'll probably be a while." Kunsel interrupted.

"Why do you think that?" Zack asked.

Kunsel looked troubled, and when he finally spoke his piece, his tone was grim. "I'm not saying it's a good thing, but it seems to me that Vincent accomplished what he said he would do. Otherwise Sephiroth would have killed him outright. That being the case, what Sephiroth most likely wants him for is to tell him where the Black Materia is. I doubt he'll kill him unless he can get him to talk."

"No, it's definitely not good. I doubt he'd talk, but that's no reason to prolong this any more than we have to." Zack took a deep breath, squaring his shoulders. "All right, I think I'm ready to go back in."

The three of them left the woods and returned to the lodge in short order. Zack walked ahead of the small group, taking in what he saw around him. Marlene was sitting with Jessie on the step, the younger girl silent, clearly aware that something serious was going on. Barret leaned against the wall nearby, watching the three of them approach, while Nanaki sat on alert next to him. Cid sat in a chair on the porch, cleaning his spear while Freya was talking quietly with Tanjuu. Through the window, he could see Yuffie inside, quiet for once as she stood next to where Tifa sat near the couch. He could tell even from out here that Cloud had not moved.

Upon seeing that most of the people here seemed to be waiting to find out what he would say, Zack cleared his throat. "Cissnei and Mao have found Sephiroth. He's apparently holed up in the Northern Crater. She'll be back with the helicopter in two days, and we'll leave as soon as everyone's ready. In the meantime, Aerith and I are going to see if there's anything more we can do about Cloud."

The others were silent for a while and then Freya spoke up. "That'll be four days minimum before we even get there, once we factor in fuel."

"It's the best we got at the moment," Kunsel said.

Cid finished with his spear and stood up. "Maybe if you stick with the chopper, but I got somethin' that might be better."

Zack turned to face the pilot. "Okay, we're listening."

Cid lit a cigarette and stuck it between his teeth. "I was thinkin' now might be a good time to recollect some more of my property." A puff of smoke wafted across the porch. "In the Junon airport, there's an airship. I designed it myself, and I can tell you, she's twice as fast as that damn whirligig you're usin' right now. Even if we got back after they did, we'd still get to the Crater with a lot more time to spare."

Zack considered a moment before giving the pilot a hard look. "And you think it's worth it?"

"Kid, everything in life's got some risk attached to it, and even if we take on all the guards in Junon, I'd say the Highwind is worth it. It may be a side trip, but it's the kind that'll save us precious time we could be usin' rescuin' that friend o' yours. If you're game, I'll pick a team, and have it back here before ya know we're gone."

Zack considered it while the others watched and then finally, he nodded. "All right, you've got yourself a plan. The day after tomorrow is New Year's Eve. We'll wait 'till midnight, and no longer."

Cid nodded. "That's more than fair, Fair."

"How many people do you need?"

"Three. I should be able to talk to the crew and get them on board. The rest is cake." The pilot knocked the ash out the cigarette before taking another puff.

"All right, let me know who's going and we'll see you in two days."

The pilot grunted his assent, and Zack walked into the lodge. That was when he noticed that his parents had joined Tifa in the living room and his mother had taken a seat next to her. Seeing Cloud like this again was hard, but he mastered himself and looked over at his father, standing in the door to the kitchen. "Dad, Aerith and I have to go somewhere for a little while. I don't know if what we're looking for will help or not, but if there's the slightest chance… I wish I didn't have to ask, but could you guys help Tifa look after Cloud while we're gone? We'll be back as soon as we can."

Liam nodded. "Did you really think you had to? We'll look after him like he was our own son. That's a promise."

Zack felt a tight feeling in his throat again and swallowed hard to keep it under control before turning around to look at Kunsel. "I'm leaving you in charge while we're gone. Keep us posted on everything that happens and if Cloud wakes up, I want to be the first to know. Got that?"

"Yeah." The brown haired SOLDIER looked like he was about to continue when Cid walked in.

"Barret and the pooch want in on the action, I just need one more."

Yuffie looked up. She'd been uncharacteristically quiet since Cloud had been brought back in, but now she stood. "If we get this ship, it means we can get to Sephiroth faster right?"

"That's right," Cid said.

Yuffie punched her right hand into her left, cracking her knuckles once her fist nested in her open palm. "Then count me in. The sooner this is done, the sooner I can kill that jerk for what he did to Cloud."

Zack was surprised. As spoiled as Yuffie was, it seemed the days of watching Cloud slowly being driven into the state he was currently in had had an effect on her. Though he guessed he could understand. Even if he had often been placed in charge of keeping an eye on her, Cloud had never been unkind about it, and if anything their camaraderie had been rather strong due to his constantly helping her with her motion sickness.

Cid raised his eyebrow, only just showing that he was taken aback by the young ninja, but after a moment, he nodded, and said "Get yer $%#& together then, we have a flight to catch." That would be important, Zack thought. Easy as it was to forget, there were actually a couple of commercial airlines that ran. None of them were particularly large, but they would at least get the team within striking distance of Junon relatively quickly so long as the right amount of gil ended up greasing the right palm. At that point, Yuffie left the room.

With everything decided, Zack turned to Aerith. "I guess we'd better get some things together of our own."

"Right." Aerith went to the hallway and he could already hear her climbing the stairs to gather her things. It wouldn't be a long walk, but they might be gone overnight.

Zack turned his attention back to Cloud. The stiffness with which he sat reminded him eerily of a time not that long ago when he'd left him seated in a small grove of dumbapple trees, in Lazard's care while he climbed down into the caves of Banora to settle things with Genesis. Tifa looked up at him as he approached, and gently brought his hand down on the blonde head, ruffling his spikes. "Hang in there Cloud. We're gonna do everything we can to make this right. You'll see."

Tifa's expression was hopeful. "You'll be back soon, right?"

"We'll try. I'll call you if there's anything we can find out," he promised.

The martial artist smiled. "Thanks."

Zack followed Aerith upstairs and proceeded to strap on his sword harness, attaching the Buster Sword firmly on his back, and retrieving his knapsack from where he'd stashed it in the corner the previous evening. It still held a few potions and other items he'd accumulated on his journey. He found Aerith waiting for him at the door, the staff they'd found in the Temple of the Ancients grasped firmly in her hand. It suited her, he thought. The gold ornament on the top with its outstretched wings and the red crystal encased in its center seemed to embody how far she had come from the timid young girl who only tended flowers in a rundown old church.

Once he was ready, they walked downstairs and past the kitchen. They were almost out when Elmyra called to them. "Hold on you two." Zack looked behind him to see what was the matter.

Aerith's mother approached them with a small bundle in her hands. "It's not much, but it won't help anything if you go hungry on the way."

Zack offered her a small smile of gratitude. "Thanks."

Elmyra's expression was kind but stern. "It's no trouble. You get back soon, all right?"

"You got it." With that, they turned, and Aerith followed him to the path leading north.

* * *

><p>The stars were just starting to show in the evening sky when Zack and Aerith picked their way past an old road, now horribly overgrown from lack of use, to find themselves looking out over a vast expanse of crevices. An old windmill rotated a few hundred yards away, the rips and tears in the fabric secured across its rickety old frame standing out even more apparently than the last time Zack had seen it. The ruins of the various houses that Shinra had utterly obliterated lay everywhere, almost obscured by the brush. The most apparent things that stood out to him though, were the tendrils of Lifestream still bleeding out of the ground, and the empty chair, slightly discolored and showing some signs of rot from its exposure to the elements, standing sheltered under a lone dumbapple tree on the edge of the field they'd just crossed into.<p>

Aerith walked a couple of steps ahead of him, her eyes wide with wonder. "This is incredible… So many voices… It's like we were back at the temple."

"There's a lot more underground," Zack said. In his mind's eye, he could still see Lazard's body lying next to the chair, near the other injured Angeal copy that had guarded Aerith, as it lay dying, custodian of the last letter she had written to him. "We probably ought to at least check to see if Genesis is still here," he thought aloud.

Aerith looked back at him. "Do you think he's still around?"

"He might be. Who knows? He might even have some ideas. He was still here when we left." Zack glanced around until his eyes landed on the only pathway leading deeper into the ruined village. His troubles had started in Wutai, but so many of their origins were here, it was a little eerie, even now. As they walked along, he spotted a young tree to the left of the path, and on its branches hung one of Banora's signature fruits, just ripe for picking. He walked over and plucked it, tossing it to Aerith. She caught it in her hand and inspected it curiously.

"What is this?"

"It's a dumbapple," he explained. "Angeal told me once that the trees around here bear fruit all year long, and don't have a particular season," he walked further, keeping an eye out for trouble. "Now that I think about it, considering how much Lifestream is close to the surface here, that's not so surprising. We were pretty confused too, after spending all that time in those mako tanks…"

Aerith walked over to the tree, regarding it sympathetically. "Poor things," she murmured, regarding the tree sympathetically before following after him, placing the dumbapple inside the box containing her mother's provisions. The sky was getting darker as they reached the ruined warehouse under which Zack knew lay the statue of the Goddess. He had managed to climb out with Genesis on his back before, so he knew it was possible, but still, the precipice that yawned before them was rather deep. Taking a deep breath to prepare himself, he climbed over the edge and slowly picked his way along the various roots and vines that were strewn along the wall of the crevasse. When he reached the bottom, he reached into his pack and lit up a glowstick. He could see just fine thanks to the faint mako glow of his eyes, but Aerith would need it.

"It's safe!" he called up to her, holding the stick aloft so she had some illumination by which to climb down. Shortly afterward, he saw her scaling down the side, and once she was within reach of him, she dropped her staff for him to catch so she had both her hands free to climb the rest of the way safely. Upon reaching solid ground again, the two of them walked into the darkened cave, the glowstick lighting their path, gleaming out of the dark as ethereally as the tendrils of Lifestream.

"Genesis? Hello? Is anyone home?" The tunnel was gradually getting darker, the further away they got from the entrance. Their footfalls echoed, but aside from the sounds of creatures moving around in other branches of the tunnels they heard nothing else. The last time Zack had been here, the walls had been rigged with cables and strings of Shinra issue fluorescent lamps, but now, they had gone dark from disuse, even the once bright lamp near the small desk he'd run across last time, with its walls surrounded by pictures and the shelves filled with trophies and record books of Genesis' achievements. Not seeing any sign of life there, he turned his attention to the left and Aerith followed him down the tunnel to what he knew was a network of caves lit by mako crystals.

Aerith drew in a breath as they entered. "It's beautiful," she muttered.

Zack nodded, steering them down the path he knew to lead in the direction of the statue in front of which he and Genesis had fought their last battle. Climbing up the ramp and turning right, they followed it under a natural bridge and into another tunnel, once again swallowed by the darkness. Hardened stone soon turned to soft mosses underneath their feet and he was able to see the podium up ahead in which the Goddess materia had had to be placed the first time he'd come through here. There was no need now. The gate was wide open.

"What is this place?" Aerith wondered aloud.

"I don't know exactly," Zack admitted. "But in that next room, there used to be a statue of this person Genesis called the Goddess. It fell apart after the fight, but…" he trailed off then as his eyes landed on a familiar sword. Rapier stood where it had impaled itself into the ground when Genesis fell. It hadn't been cleaned or moved an inch since he'd left it here to carry Genesis out of this cave. Upon approaching, he could still see the stains of what was probably some of his own blood, dried in the the throes of dripping down the blade.

A terrible thought entered his mind. What if, by leaving him out in the open without his sword, he had caused the auburn haired man to die when only just minutes previously he'd spared the man's life?... S_low down Zack. Better not think like that…_ One catastrophe at a time, he decided, taking a deep breath and turning his attention back to Aerith. The Ancient had walked across the cavern, kneeling at the broken statue's head. She had reached out to touch it, her expression alert, as though she were listening intently, and yet her eyes were turned upward, as though she was looking at something on the dais where it had once stood, but that Zack couldn't see.

"You must be the goddess Zack told me about," she said after a moment. There was silence, and then she said, "If you already know why we came, then do you know if there's anything we can do?"

"Aerith?" he walked over to the flower girl but she didn't look up.

"Shh…" she whispered softly, "Give me a moment."

Zack sat down next to her, patiently waiting.

* * *

><p><em>The moment Aerith had touched the statue she had spotted a beautiful woman standing with long blonde hair on the dais as though she had always been there, her form enveloping the broken pedestal on which the statue had once stood. She was clad in ornate armor, and wielding a long staff and shield. She spoke not in words, but in thoughts and images. The gentle smile on her face was all Aerith needed to know she was being greeted. Tendrils of Lifestream swam at her feet in and out of the mists that now obscured the ground.<em>

"_You must be the goddess Zack told me about," she said._

_She was answered with a small nod and a single name passed through her thoughts "Minerva." The subject changed as soon as it was broached. An image of a friend, lost and alone flowed through her thoughts and Aerith saw in the woman's face a look of complete understanding._

_Aerith considered her words carefully but decided it was best to speak without fear. "If you already know why we came, then do you know if there's anything we can do?..."_

"_Aerith?" She heard Zack behind her, pulling her back towards reality as the Lifestream played around her skirt._

"_Shh… give me a moment." She said. Zack appeared in her mind and she tried to explain through her thoughts to the goddess what she was trying to convey. It wasn't just Cloud she worried for, but so many of the others around him. Zack who'd risked everything to save him, Tifa who'd only just got him back, Freya who in spite of how she didn't generally speak of it, had been so torn with guilt over what had happened, Kunsel, Yuffie, Barret, Nanaki and all their other friends who'd only been able to stand and watch while Sephiroth and torn Cloud's already fragile mind to pieces. Surely there was something she could do._

_Minerva reached out a hand, bidding her to rise to her feet and come a little closer. She did so and waited as the goddess flooded her mind with images. A tribe of Ancients in the distant past conducting rituals and spells in a place of crystals deep beneath a city of shells and driftwood… The Lifestream bending around the participants as they spoke to the planet… The experience of a shaman who conducted these rituals as the glowing green tendrils flowed around him… and finally the image of walking down a path shrouded in green mists… and a warning._

_She digested this new knowledge and then her eyes once again trained on the goddess, gratitude in her eyes, even as she tried to keep them from filling with tears of relief._

_The goddess looked down upon her with a gentle smile, reaching out to caress her cheek. She knew without words what the goddess was saying. "Farewell, child of the Cetra."_

_Aerith bowed her head reverently and before she could comprehend it, the mist, the Lifestream, and the goddess had all vanished… _

Only to be replaced with the fallen statue and a broken dais. She gazed to her right and found Zack sitting patiently near the statue's ruins. Upon seeing she was no longer listening to something he couldn't hear he stood and walked over to her. "What did she say?"

"Not much," Aerith said. "Most of it was thoughts and feelings but there is something we can do to help. Let's get back to that field."

Zack stole a glance back at Genesis' sword before deciding to collect it. Once that task was completed, he joined Aerith at the mouth of the tunnel and the two of them walked back into the moss covered cavern. "So what can we do?" He asked.

"She told me of a ritual the Cetra used to do to better communicate within the Lifestream. If done properly, we could use the Lifestream here as a conduit to reach him." They were walking quickly now, hurrying through the cave with the mako crystals. "She did say there was a certain amount of risk, so we'll need to handle this carefully."

"Why?" Zack asked.

"Because if we go about it the wrong way, we could end up hurting him worse. It would mean using the Lifestream and our connection to it to enter his mind… It won't keep Sephiroth from attacking him again, but it might give us an opening to help him fight back."

They were almost halfway across the cavern, and Zack spent the rest of the way to the entrance tunnel considering what she had said. "In that case, here's what we'll do," he decided, as they walked down the path towards the exit into the hole under the warehouse. "I want you to practice on me tonight."

"What?" Aerith asked.

"It'll be better if you know what to do," Zack said. "I'm pretty tough. I should be able take whatever you can throw at me. So do what you have to, okay?"

They had almost reached the mouth of the tunnel. Aerith looked up at Zack's glowing violet eyes in the dark. "Are you sure about that?" she asked. "I've never done anything like this before. What if I hurt you?"

"You won't," Zack answered forcefully. By now, they were at the bottom of the hole, and they faced each other in the darkened pit.

Aerith took a moment to think about it and then finally she sighed in resignation. She had learned a long time ago that when Zack made his mind up about something there was little that could be done to change it. "All right," she said at last. "But first, let's get out of this hole."

There was no arguing. It took them several minutes to pull themselves out and get back to the clearing and since it was late, they took some time to eat dinner and put together a small campfire for warmth. Since they were in the southern hemisphere it was currently summer, but the evenings could still get relatively cool at night. It was only a little while later when the flames had died down to a few embers, when Zack decided they had put this experiment off long enough. He finished with a second dumbapple he'd retrieved from the tree and tossed the core into the brush nearby with a sense of finality. "All right, so how are we going to do this?"

She shivered involuntarily as she looked into his intensely glowing eyes. "I suppose you don't really need to do anything… except… get comfortable I guess."

"I think I ought to be able to manage that," he said, offering her a halfhearted smile.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" she asked.

"Don't make me repeat myself." His voice wasn't harsh, though she could still detect the nervousness in his eyes.

"All right." Slowly, they stood from their campfire and walked a few steps away. Zack speared the Buster Sword into the ground before sitting down cross-legged in the grass, and though she caught him looking hard at the empty chair a mere three yards away, he turned his head back to facing her and closed his eyes.

Aerith held her staff between them, and after a moment, she could sense the tendrils of Lifestream nearby. Shutting her own eyes, she called on them the way Minerva had shown her to do, inviting them to connect with their inner space. At first she wasn't sure if it was working or not. She heard nothing but the crackle of the coals and Zack's breathing, and saw nothing but the darkness behind her eyelids. But little by little, a new light crept beneath them, beckoning her to see what lay beyond her awareness. Soon she felt as though a gentle breeze was blowing past her, and then, without warning, the planet's calls which up until now she'd only been able to hear as whispers suddenly enveloped her in a wave…

…_Opening her eyes, she found she no longer stood in the field in Banora, but in another wide open field, warmed by the sun and filled with yellow flowers like the ones she'd grown at the church. Clouds floated by overhead and off in the distance, the rolling hills were broken by a single dirt road. Zack was nowhere to be seen._

_Gripping her staff, she walked towards the road, since it seemed to be the only way out of this place, and past a small pool of what she believed to be water. Ripples ran across it as another warm breeze flowed over her. She walked further along the road, keeping an eye out for anything that might give her an idea how to proceed from here._

_After a while, the dirt road led out of the field and into a vast expanse of… well for lack of a better term… emptiness. Far off to her left, she caught sight of shadows that seemed to be watching her. She knew her real mother had gone back to the planet, but she had stopped hearing her voice a long time ago. The figure that stood at the edge of her experience did not come near, and she continued on, feeling a little saddened, and yet, resolved. She had a goal to accomplish._

_The road continued a little longer, before she found herself walking into another open field. The ground itself was not particularly remarkable. There was grass covering the earth and off in the distance she could see a small patch of her flowers growing, but the thing that drew her attention the most, was the vast open sky. It seemed so vibrant and free, and yet unreachable._

_At the edge of her vision she thought she could see something flying away into the blue abyss. Whatever it was, its wings were as white as an angel's. It was flying in the direction the path led, so she determined to follow it._

_She had been walking for a little longer when something else got her attention. "Those wings… I want them too…" The voice echoed through her mind and she knew exactly who had said those words even if she knew it was nothing but an echo of a memory. She broke into a run, trying to chase the elusive winged being, but it disappeared over a line of eerily familiar looking mountains. Smoke and dark clouds lay in that direction, and as she approached a new vision came into existence. It was clearly Nibelheim in flames, as Sephiroth stood near the mansion, smiling malevolently before disappearing into them. Somehow she knew deep in her heart that if she were to pass through there to the basement of the mansion, terrible things would lie in wait. Things that had been branded into Zack's memories, and that he couldn't forget. The pain of being helpless, hurt, and trapped in the dark. _

_As though he had had been summoned by this observation, she suddenly saw Zack standing at Nibelheim's entrance, not going in, but aware of its existence, regarding it with sadness and anger. One foot rested in the grassy field, the other standing at the gate of the doomed village._

"_Zack?"_

_He looked up at her, and in that moment, she saw him for what he was. He had sought his fortune and his own destiny in the beginning, and the determination showed through in his eyes, but even as he smiled half-heartedly at her, she also saw the wounds his life had inflicted upon him. Blood, grime, and ash stained his skin, and he looked tired and worried._

_Memories of what he'd gone through paraded through her mind. The times he'd spent in blinding pain in the cell after Hojo had been done with him, only to pull himself back up because Cloud was far worse off. Times on the run, where he hadn't just fought with Shinra to keep himself and Cloud safe, but the elements, starvation, thirst, and predators, all while trying so hard to get his friend to wake up. All that effort, only for his friend to be psychologically ripped to pieces in front of him by a specter from their past he couldn't even help him fight. _

_Finally, the wave of feelings and experiences faded into the Lifestream leaving the two of them where they stood. In spite of it all, the light and laughter had never been extinguished, but it had been tempered to hold back the darkness life had forced upon him the last few years. Had that not been true, his time in the labs would have eaten away at him completely._

"_It never stopped for you, did it?" she murmured." He's not the only one who's been fighting all this time."_

_He said not a word, but simply shook his head as the vision faded into the Lifestream which itself began to pull away from them…_

…When awareness returned to her, she found herself still standing in front of Zack and he was looking up at her with that same expression. Overcome with emotion, her staff dropped to the ground forgotten as she knelt to hold him close. He leaned into her breast, returning her gentle embrace and she could already hear his sobs as her brave, strong SOLDIER released his sorrows and frustrations to the world.

"I couldn't do anything…" he forced out after a while. "All I could do was sit in that cell, or watch from that tube… and wait for them to be done with him… They hurt him so much Aerith… and there wasn't a damn thing I could do… It's the same thing… all over again…"

"It'll be all right, Zack" she soothed, allowing a few of her own tears to fall. He said nothing more, but just allowed her to rock him gently. She looked up at the stars, watching the tendrils of green bleeding out from the nearby chasms reach up into the night sky. "It'll be all right. Tomorrow, we are definitely going to find him."

* * *

><p><em>I hope everyone's had a happy and safe Halloween. It's been an interesting week. My first original novel became available on Amazon a couple of days ago (self published of course), so now, I am officially a commercially published author. Go figure. ^^ I'm not sure how well it'll do, but I can dream, right?<em>

_Not a lot of action this chapter, but as of about this time, Aerith's probably about to leave to go to the City of the Ancients, Cloud's unconscious after giving Sephiroth the Black Materia, and the party is most likely sailing to Gongaga aboard the tiny Bronco to find a safe place for Cloud to wake up. Poor guy._

_Until next time!_


	35. Into the Lifestream

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spin-offs That honor goes to Square-Enix.

**Part II: Reunion**

* * *

><p>Chapter 35, Into the Lifestream<p>

**December 30****th** **[ ν ] – εуλ 0007**

Morning dawned bright and early as the Tiny Bronco sailed along the shore line towards a small beach near Banora's western edge. It was still a mile or so to the actual ruins, but that was as close as its pilot could get the craft they had at their disposal without endangering its cargo. Tifa sat on the wing next to where Cloud rested, making sure he wasn't going anywhere, while Rayleigh sat on the other side of him, helping her keep him secure. Kunsel was seated on the other side of the cockpit, eyes alert for any possible dangers while Freya carefully piloted the craft, making sure to avoid waves and swells so as to make the journey as smooth as possible.

Cloud had not made any sign that he was aware of the goings on, but Tifa was hopeful. As soon as Zack had called her last night, sounding somewhat like he had a head cold, to tell her they wanted him in Banora first thing in the morning, she'd felt her heart lift. There was something that could be done after all. _"Just hang on a little longer Cloud. We're coming,"_ she thought. The beach had just come into their field of vision and she could see two familiar figures waiting at the line where the sand met grassy fields and brush.

Zack spotted them first, and she could see him pointing them out to Aerith before they walked to the sand and waved them in. Freya carefully steered the seaplane in at a point where the surf wasn't quite so rough and soon they had made landfall. "Glad to see you made it!" The dark-haired swordsman called up to them. "Did you have any trouble?"

"Not really. Freya sailed us real smooth," Kunsel said.

Zack then turned his attention to what he was really worried about. "How's he doing?"

"Still no signs of coherence, but other than that, he's stayed stable," Rayleigh answered. She had insisted on coming along due to the unorthodox nature of what they were about to attempt.

Once he was satisfied Zack turned his attention to Tifa, while wading out into the shallows to help Kunsel with the ropes they were going to use to pull the craft out on the beach where the surf wouldn't wash it away in their absence. "What about you Tifa? Are you doing all right?"

"We got him through the night just fine," she answered. "We even got him to eat a little this morning."

"I'm definitely glad about that, but it wasn't what I asked." Zack clarified. By now Kunsel had joined him in the water and they were getting ready to pull.

"I'm okay. I really wish there was more I could have done…"

"It's not your fault," He nodded to Kunsel on the other side of the nose of the plane and they proceeded to drag the aircraft up onto solid ground. "More than anything… I should be apologizing to you for not being able to keep him out of trouble… but that's not the point." He grunted the last part of the sentence as he heaved forward a final time and the plane now rolled up on its landing gear and off its pontoons. He and Kunsel secured the plane to a nearby rock with the ropes before he walked over to the wing and proceeded to help Tifa lower Cloud to the ground. Once he had him secure in his grasp, he draped Cloud's arm over his shoulder and hitched him up by his waist in a motion that belied a lot of practice. "What we've got to do now is make it right." Once everyone was on dry land, Zack and Aerith led the way, the ex-SOLDIER carrying Cloud as gently as he could.

Tifa stayed next to Cloud, keeping an eye out for any brush that might hinder Zack's movement while the others were behind them. They eventually made it to a worn dirt road which showed signs of having been recently cleared somewhat by a large object.

"I cleaned out some of the brush here to make it easier to get in," Zack explained when he saw her taking in the debris on the sides of the path.

"Ah, I see."

They walked a little further before coming to a clearing with a chair near a dumbapple tree. She was rather surprised to see it, since they'd become rather rare as of late. Dumbapple juice from the Mideel region was a popular additive for certain mixed drinks, but it was expensive, since there weren't a lot of producers left.

"I'll bet you never thought we'd come back here, huh Cloud?" Zack's words broke her out of her thoughts as the ex-SOLDIER paused in the middle of the clearing, and at that moment she caught sight of the ashes of a campfire nearby. This must have been where he and Aerith had camped for the night.

There was no response to his query from the blond swordsman.

Zack on the other hand seemed to have accepted it. It had been hard to watch him at the chocobo farm as he'd tried vainly to get Cloud's attention, but it seemed that his brief absence had been enough to help him get his head back on straight. Now, he just looked calm and determined. "So, are we ready?" he asked when the others joined him.

"I think I am," Aerith said.

"Okay," Zack said. "How do you want him?"

"Why don't we let him lie down here," the Cetra indicated a patch of grass under the shade of the tree.

Zack nodded and turned to Kunsel. "Could you go over to our stuff and get a bedroll for me?"

He nodded and immediately went to carry out the request. Before long, he'd set it out on the spot Aerith had indicated.

Zack moved to lower Cloud onto it, but Tifa walked forward at that moment to help him along with Kunsel. Once the swordsman was lying on his back, Tifa sat down behind him and gently pulled him so his head rested in her lap. Upon seeing the gesture, Zack smiled. "I guess he could use a pillow, huh."

"This is fine," Tifa assured him.

"That means you'll be going in with us," Aerith said.

"I wanted to go even before you told me," she answered, one hand balling into a fist. "I'm not losing him either."

Aerith put a hand on her shoulder. "Then we'll look for him together."

"We'll keep watch while you're busy then," Freya suggested, taking a seat near the ashes of the fire.

"Probably not a bad idea," Zack agreed. "I don't know how long this is going to take, but it'd be pretty awkward if something got the drop on us."

Kunsel backed away so he stood next to the lady Turk. "We'll be right here with Rayleigh so don't worry."

Zack nodded before taking off the Buster Sword, sticking it into the ground and sitting down next to Tifa.

No words needed to be said as they looked at each other, though Tifa saw Aerith take hold of Zack's hand before setting her staff before her and instructing them to shut their eyes. The last thing Tifa noticed before the world changed was a green glow peeking under her eyelids…

* * *

><p>When Zack opened his eyes he found himself standing in the middle of the field with the vast open sky above it, and there was no one else around. He had expected this to happen, since this was where he'd ended up before. But still, it would have been nice to have everyone around. No time to fret about it. He considered where he needed to go. A dirt road led out of the field, and so he decided to head in that direction. He could feel the Buster Sword on his back as he walked, and felt content in knowing that if he were faced with an adversary, he could fight.<p>

Upon walking further from the center of the field, he found himself looking out on a strange sight even working with Aerith hadn't prepared him for. It seemed that rather than connecting to Aerith's 'field', for lack of a better term, this road seemed to be suspended out over a vast empty space before disappearing into fog of green mist. Further, he could distinctly hear a pervasive cacophony of whispers surrounding the path on which he stood. "Hello?!" he called out into the void. "Tifa? Aerith! Can anyone hear me?"

No response.

Zack took in his surroundings. He didn't feel insecure here, in spite of the eerie reminders of his time bathing in the mako tank. Perhaps this was because they were taking an indirect approach rather than actually immersing themselves in the stuff. It may not have been leading to a clear destination, but the road he was on seemed to lead somewhere. The first time they'd tried this, the road had led to Aerith, so maybe if he followed this road, it would lead him to Cloud. It was a legitimate theory anyway.

Squaring his shoulders, he started along the path, trying to ignore the swirling green that surrounded him, and the whispers that echoed in his ears. It was hard when they were everywhere.

He had been walking for some time when up ahead the area around him suddenly began to get a little more… well, if he had to put it into words, he supposed he would have to describe it as 'weird.' Rather than a linear sort of space like what his own and Aerith's appeared to be, what ground had appeared before him seemed rocky and broken up, floating around the path at various levels. Some of it might have even been blasted apart. It kind of reminded him of a belt of rocks that had been circling the sun in Bugenhagen's observatory, and that did not seem like a good thing. At the very least, these didn't seem to be moving anywhere.

The path continued deeper into the field of rocks before he suddenly found himself coming upon the shattered remains of a mountain path covered in snow. His boot had just crunched onto the fresh powder and the ice that had hardened below it when up ahead of him he saw a figure standing at the summit. Upon coming closer, he found himself looking at the figure of a lone trooper, watching the snow fall onto what appeared to be an old excavation site below, though in places, it looked like huge chunks of the scene had been gouged away revealing the green swirling abyss beyond.

He called out to the trooper when he reached the summit. "Cloud?"

The trooper looked in his direction, not taking off his helmet. "Don't lie to yourself Zack. He was right… I'm not… I was his puppet, all along. Forget about me… I'll only get in your way."

Zack shook his head. "Sorry, I can't accept that. I don't know what he said, but we didn't come in here after you just so you could tell us you believe that son of a…"

"We?" the trooper looked surprised even under the helmet.

"Yes, 'we.' I don't know where they are exactly, but Tifa and Aerith are somewhere around here too. So try to work with us a little. We came to help. Now take that helmet off. I know who's hiding under there."

The trooper paused. "I don't think there's anything you can do to help… I'm not…"

Zack put both hands on the trooper's shoulders emphatically. "Stop saying that! Of course you're Cloud. I don't know how we're going to prove it, but if it takes us all day we are going to set things straight. So just give us a little time, okay?"

The trooper looked down at the ground and sighed. It was as close to a surrender as Zack thought he could get from his friend, and so he reached up and lifted the helmet off his head. He was surprised to see the face that lay underneath it. It was indeed Cloud's but he was as Zack had first seen him here at this mountain, a teenager, still smarting from his failure to make it into SOLDIER, though Zack hadn't known that yet. He decided to run with it. Stranger things had happened before. "You see?" he said. "There's no monster," he offered a grin, though Cloud backed away when it looked like he might be about to try ruffling his spikes. At that moment, his attention seemed to be caught by another familiar voice.

"Yo! Don't fall too far behind!" Zack turned to see his younger self calling back to a younger Tseng as he walked next to another trooper. As they approached, past Zack turned to face the trooper. "At least someone's keeping up!"

The trooper spoke softly when he answered. "Well, I'm a country boy too."

"From where?"

"Nibelheim," the trooper said.

Past Zack quickly burst out laughing and the trooper asked "How about you?"

"Me? Gongaga." His past self was grinning like a maniac even as the trooper started chuckling himself.

His past self stopped. "Hey! What's so funny about that? You know Gongaga?"

The trooper shook his head, still grinning under the helmet. "No, but it's such a backwater name."

"Ditto Nibelheim." With that, his past self continued up the path.

"Like you've been there," the trooper said.

"I haven't, but there's a reactor there, right?" The trooper nodded at past Zack's observation and he continued. "A mako reactor outside of Midgar usually means..."

The two spoke the next line in unison, "Nothing else out there," before breaking into laughter again.

Zack's younger self looked back down the hill and called "Good news, Tseng! Me and…" he paused and looked over at the trooper.

He pulled off his own helmet revealing a second younger Cloud as he spoke his name and past Zack continued. "Me and Cloud here are both backwater experts. Oh yeah!"…

Zack looked away from the scene and over where what he assumed was 'present Cloud' stood. "You seem to remember how we met pretty well."

"Only because you told me. The Jenova cells probably filled in the rest…"Cloud walked away from him and Zack could see the dirt road he'd been following leading deeper into whatever this place was, so he decided to follow it, catching up to his friend. He was so much shorter here. It was a little jarring. "Okay, why don't we try thinking of something else then?" Zack suggested after a moment.

"I don't know what you could suggest…"

"What happened to that promise of yours?"

Instead of having the desired effect, it seemed to make Cloud even more slumped over. "It wasn't enough," he mumbled. Zack looked ahead of him and saw they were walking towards Nibelheim as it stood today, vacant and empty. It wasn't long after when they found themselves somewhere Zack wished he couldn't go back to and he almost recoiled. But he forced himself to look at the interior of Hojo's lab. It was empty.

"You know, Rayleigh said your scars matched up, so why would you not think that's evidence?"

Cloud continued to stare at the floor. "I don't remember anything about the lab, and if what Sephiroth said was true, then it would be easy for me to change my appearance."

"What about what happened while we were in the lab with Tifa and the others? Those were memories, right?" Zack asked.

Almost immediately he regretted asking as he looked over at the operating table and there was a brief flash of a figure lying bound upon its surface, blue eyes wide with terror as a hunched man descended with a scalpel. "Rayleigh's reports…" Cloud intoned. "We both saw them, and you confirmed a lot of them."

The scene vanished, leaving the lab empty and Zack walked deeper into the room. "Yeah, they were pretty horrible. But that's no reason to think you aren't the real deal. If anything, I would think that would make our case more convincing."

"Even when you said what Hojo was doing was killing me…"

"It was. I know. I had to watch."

"Then, if I am Cloud, how am I even here now Zack?"

"Because you were tough," Zack said. "And because I wasn't about to leave you when I escaped."

Cloud shook his head in disbelief. "That's your reason?"

"One of them," Zack said. "Let's keep going, maybe we can find some more."

Cloud didn't look like he believed him, but he shrugged and they continued down the path. Up ahead, something rumbled violently and he heard a voice echoing through the vast space they were in. It took him a moment to make it out but he did manage to pick it up eventually.

"_Failed…"_

He heard a moan from the young teenager standing beside him and turned to see he'd crouched to the ground, clutching his head in pain. "Cloud!" he knelt down next to him trying to figure out what was wrong, and really wished he knew if there was something he could do about it. Did Cure spells work on someone's subconscious self?

"Don't bother…" the younger man said. The pain seemed to have been momentary, though it had clearly left him breathless.

"Why shouldn't I? We're friends right?"

"But I failed at so many things. I failed at getting into SOLDIER, I couldn't help anyone when it mattered…"

Zack stretched as they continued onward. "Hey, there's a lot of things I wish I could have done better, but you can't let that get to you. There's also a lot of things you've done pretty damn good. Like for one thing, Kunsel told me about what happened with that robot on the Midgar highway. That was no failure. You helped keep Aerith safe when I couldn't be there, I owe you big time for that... And then there was the Gold Saucer. You totally beasted with Joe's chocobo in the race, and you didn't do too shabby in Battle Square either. Tifa and Barret would both be dead if not for you, and let's not forget the biggest thing of all, at Nibelheim it was you who killed Sephiroth, not me…"

"What does it matter? He seems pretty alive to me, and even if saving Tifa was my idea, I didn't do it alone, and it was on the ideas of someone who isn't even alive." Cloud wasn't looking at him anymore.

Zack frowned again but upon looking ahead of him he saw what appeared to be an intersection of the path with two forks, and on the path to his right, he could see two people approaching. He couldn't quite see who they were yet, but when he saw that the taller of the two was wielding an ornate staff he felt he had a pretty good idea of at least one of their identities. "I don't know about that, but I think we're about to find Aerith. Maybe she's found something."

* * *

><p>Aerith had been walking for some time along the road through the mists when she saw what appeared to be a young boy standing at a gate up ahead. Upon coming closer, she realized it was the gate to Nibelheim, and the young boy in front of her was none other than Cloud. Though to her eye, he couldn't be much older than ten. Eleven at most. "Cloud?"<p>

The boy looked up. "Aerith? What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you of course. What else would we be doing here?"

The blue eyes that met her green ones looked far older than any child should have. "Why would you deceive yourselves?"

"Why would we?" Aerith repeated. "Would you walk with me?"

Cloud followed after her as they strolled through the empty village. When they reached the well however, Aerith heard the sounds of someone coming. She paused, listening before a familiar man appeared. She was about to call his name, when she saw he was desperately dragging a familiar young man with him in a SOLDIER uniform. Zack had appeared, looking around warily and dragging a comatose Cloud towards them.

"He's always been like that," Cloud murmured. "He didn't deserve what happened to him. What I've been putting him through. Especially not when I'm not even the one he wanted to… When I wasn't even worth… He'd have been better off if he'd left me..."

Aerith frowned at him. "You think you weren't worth saving?"

"How could I be when over and over again, I failed so horribly? I didn't make it into SOLDIER. I couldn't protect Tifa. I couldn't keep Sephiroth from destroying our home. I didn't even make a good enough experiment to be worth giving a number…" As he spoke, the Zack from the past continued to drag his charge out of the village and disappeared into the ether.

"Stop it," Aerith chided suddenly understanding something. "This is Nibelheim right?"

The boy nodded.

"Well, then take me to the reactor."

"Why?"

"Because I want to verify something," Aerith knew the story well. She just hoped Cloud's memory of it was more intact than his memories of the lab. The young boy nodded and they followed the path until up ahead, she saw the entrance to the reactor, at the top of a flight of stairs. Just ahead of them, she saw a trooper race through the door and knew it was Cloud's teenage self. They followed him through the door and along the catwalks until they saw him stop at a prone figure on the floor and tried to shake her awake. "Hey… Freya…"

The woman groaned but didn't move and Cloud tried again. "Freya! Come on, tell me you're alive! Get up!" Freya groaned again. "Just wait a little longer." He hurried through the door leading to the core, and as they passed the lady Turk to enter the room, Aerith saw an antechamber filled with pods and leading up a set of stairs to an open doorway underneath a plaque with the word JENOVA written upon it. The scene before her took her breath away. A younger version of Tifa lay injured nearby and the sound of clashing swords could be heard from the other room. After a particularly loud clang, a body flew through the door at the top of the stairs and Aerith gasped when she saw Zack land on his back at the top of the stairs before bouncing into the air from the force of the impact and landing face down on the stairs. An unenhanced man would have died from that and she resisted the urge to run to him knowing it was only a memory.

The young trooper climbed the stairs and Aerith and the child followed him to peer into the room where Jenova waited. Sephiroth had pulled her mask away to reveal the abomination within the tank, his attention only on her as the young trooper pulled the Buster Sword out of the soft metal it had cleaved into to stand upright when Zack had been knocked out of the room. He picked up the heavy weapon and climbed the tube leading to the tank. Grimly, he ran Sephiroth through the back with enough force to send a sharp crack through the glass. "You… who… who are you….?" Sephiroth growled, but the trooper ignored his question.

Instead he pushed the sword deeper. "Mom… Tifa… my town… give it back… I had so much respect for you… I admired you…"

The silver haired man collapsed on top of the pipe and after dislodging the Buster Sword, Cloud walked back out into the antechamber, and hurried down the stairs to check on Tifa. Aerith steeled herself for what she knew was coming next as Sephiroth limped out of Jenova's chamber, carrying her head and his eyes landed on the young trooper. "How dare you…!"

Zack attempted to pull himself up at that point, and she heard him grit out "Cloud… Finish Sephiroth off…"

Cloud looked at his friend and nodded before gently putting Tifa down, hefting the weapon once more and standing before the wounded general. With a loud battle cry, "Sephiroth!", he rushed up the stairs ready to strike. Leaping into the air, he came down hard on Sephiroth's blade, but the far more experienced fighter flicked the Masamune such that the younger man landed in Jenova's chamber, the Buster Sword flying askew.

Cloud had no time to pick himself up before the silver haired man impaled Masamune through his chest and lifted him up into the air. The general gave him a look of utter hatred as he growled malevolently "Don't… test me!"

Aerith brought her hand up to her mouth, forcing herself to look on, tears falling from her eyes. Ignoring the pain he was obviously in, the young trooper glared down at his tormentor, before gripping the blade and pulling himself to the ground, holding it solidly in his hands.

"No...! Impossible!" Sephiroth exclaimed. With a burst of strength that was almost inhuman, Cloud angrily lifted the general into the air and used the Masamune to throw him into a wall. The sword flew free as Sephiroth fell into the bowels of the reactor below and Cloud steadied himself. After a moment, the exhausted trooper dragged himself back into the antechamber to collapse down the stairs…

"I don't understand how you can say you don't have any worth, or how you could call that failing for that matter." Aerith turned to her small companion.

"What don't you understand about it?" The child asked. "I let the man who I thought was my hero destroy everything... The most I could do was attack him while his back was turned!"

"The fact you were even capable of fighting him at the time was amazing," Aerith said. "And none of this could have been helped. How would you have known it would happen?"

"I don't know… but…" Cloud stopped talking and he shut his eyes, doubling over, and grasping his head in his hands, moaning in pain.

Aerith knelt by him "What's wrong?" As soon as she asked, a wave of echoes rippled through the chamber. There was no mistaking the word cascading through the walls, causing them to fade and darken. The world around them seemed to be shattering from the sound.

"_Failed…"_

It was the status report she'd retrieved from him at the lab. She recognized it now as Zack and Tifa faded away, leaving them alone on the road she'd been traveling down. "How could you measure yourself by Hojo's opinion? Or limit yourself by it?"

Cloud didn't say anything.

Aerith put a hand on his shoulder. "We've all been really worried about you. I know it's been hard, and you're probably very confused, but the least you can do is not give up, and let us help, all right? Can you at least promise me that?"

"But what if I'm not who you think I am?" Cloud asked.

"Well then, we'll just have to keep looking. But I'm pretty sure you are. After all, you remembered who Tifa was right away when you saw her on the TV, how would a copy know that was her?"

"It was Freya…" Cloud said softly. "She didn't know what she was doing. She was trying to get Cloud's attention. She didn't know she was giving me information to use. To make me into a better copy…"

Aerith shook her head. "And how does that argument make any sense at all? If you don't think you are Cloud then why would his accomplishments or failures mean anything to you?"

Cloud looked up at her startled and she continued. "Memories are nothing without the feelings attached to them. Tell me, if you aren't the real Cloud, then what do you feel when you think of me? Or Zack? Or Tifa? If you were truly just a clone would you even have such thoughts?"

"I don't know…" Cloud admitted.

"Well, don't think for a second that you weren't worth saving. Zack believes you are, and so do I. He and Tifa are here looking for you right now too, so why don't we go find them, okay?"

"But won't I just hurt them?" he asked.

Aerith shook her head. "No you won't. If anything, staying here will just make them worry more," she reached out for his hand to pull him up. "Come on. Let's go."

After a moment, the boy stood. "All right."

Aerith smiled and as the two of them began walking again, she thought she spotted a crossroads up ahead intersecting three paths, with a platform in the center that could be reached by a set of bridges. Upon getting closer, she saw down the fork to her left that two other people were coming towards them. One of them was Zack.

* * *

><p>Tifa had been surprised to find herself standing in the middle of Seventh Heaven. The bar was to her left and just ahead of her she could see the old pinball machine with the secret door leading down into AVALANCHE's planning room. It felt warm and familiar and she was struck by the merriment that seemed to fill the place in spite of the fact that no one sat at the tables. After a moment of taking it in, she went to the swinging doors, thinking she would see the Sector Seven slums outside, however upon opening them and walking down the stairs, she found herself standing on a paved road leading into what looked like a green abyss. Since it was the only direction available to her at the moment, she decided to travel along it. After a while it became broken up and rocky, before turning completely to dirt.<p>

It wasn't long after this when she began to see large chunks of rock hanging in the mist. Some of it looked like it might have been part of a coherent space at some point, but she couldn't be sure. She had been walking for some time when up ahead she found herself looking at the old well in Nibelheim, and right in front of it, regarding it with a tired expression, was a familiar blond swordsman.

"Cloud!" she ran up to him as he turned to face her, and his eyes widened.

At that moment, something strange reverberated through the entire area in a rumble. An unearthly voice speaking a single word. _"Failed…" _Cloud seemed to crumple as though it physically hurt him and she hurried over.

"Tifa?" Upon her approach she was surprised to see him scramble away from her. "Don't!" he begged, standing again only so he could keep his distance. "Just let me go…"

"Don't be stupid!" she exclaimed. "I'm trying to help you."

"I don't know how you can…" he said softly. "Or why you'd want to…"

"What do you mean? Haven't we been friends since we were little? Why wouldn't I want to help?"

"You were friends with Cloud," the swordsman answered.

"But you are Cloud, aren't you? You remembered the promise and came to save me and Barret when Shinra would have killed us. That was you right? Zack said it was your idea."

Cloud shook his head. "I thought it was my idea, but…"

A strange sensation flowed through the empty space. It felt warm and wet, and in her thoughts she found herself experiencing the sensation of a bright light coming from somewhere and a familiar voice. _"Cloud, do you remember the promise you made to Tifa? About how when you made SOLDIER you would keep her safe? When everything happened at… When it happened, you were so worried. But it's all right… You did it. She made it out safely… and I know she's out there somewhere… So try to wake up for real, okay?"_

As the sensations, and Freya's voice faded, Cloud hung his head.

"That doesn't mean you aren't the real Cloud," Tifa argued. She walked up to the well and climbed up the ladder leading to the platform. Cloud appeared across from her as two familiar children appeared between them. "You remember don't you?" she indicated the blue dress her younger self was wearing. "This was my favorite dress," she gestured to the younger boy with a short rat tail, and spikes that even then had been impossible to tame. "And that's you, right there! You were so small then…" she sat down next to her younger self, turning a little pink as she looked away from him. "…And cute," she added as an afterthought, before moving on to her next argument.

"That sky up there…" She indicated the night sky awash with stars, brighter than they'd been in Cosmo Canyon. "Did you imagine it? No, you remembered it. How else could it be this vivid here? Don't you remember? It was just you and me… and we talked at the well." She turned to look hard at him. "When you and Zack rescued me in Midgar, I never doubted you were Cloud from Nibelheim. I still believe that's the truth, and so does everyone else…"

Cloud refused to look her in the eye, or even respond.

Tifa sighed. "You don't believe it yourself anymore, do you? Sephiroth's hurt you so much you don't even know what's real." She lowered herself down from the water tower and stood on the dirt path waiting for Cloud to join her. "I guess this memory isn't enough anymore."

She walked along the road a few more steps before a thought occurred to her. "Cloud, what about your other memories?" She paused to rethink the question as the man looked at her curiously. "Maybe not memories, exactly. A memory is something that has to be consciously recalled, right? That's why they can be confusing and not add up sometimes. But that's different from the feelings attached to them…"

"I don't know what you're talking about…" Cloud still wasn't looking at her but she walked around him and tried to meet his eyes.

"What about another memory that has to do with me? If we told you about it, then it might not be a memory, but if you tell me something and I remember it too, then we'll know for sure you're you, right?"

Cloud frowned, trying to think. "I don't know…" he repeated softly.

Tifa was almost pleading now. "Talk to me. About anything, some memory that's important to you…" When he didn't respond she brought her pointer finger up to her chin, trying to think of something. "Now that I think about it, why did you want to join SOLDIER in the first place? I always thought it was a sudden decision you made…"

The man standing in front of her spoke, but somehow a second, louder voice also echoed through the space they inhabited. _"…I was devastated. …I wanted to be noticed."_

Cloud continued the train of thought as naturally as if it were his own. "I thought if I got stronger I could get someone to notice…"

Tifa looked at him, surprised. "Someone to notice you…? …Who?"

"_Who…? …You know who! …You, that's who!" _The louder voice intoned.

Cloud seemed be horribly embarrassed when he spoke a single word. "You…"

Tifa looked surprised. "…Me? Why!?"

Cloud's eyes glazed over and he seemed to have been lost to somewhere they couldn't even reach in this dimension, but another, younger voice rang out ahead of them on the path. "Tifa…did you forget…about those days?"

She looked up to see a very small boy, not much older than five. In spite of the age difference, there was no way she could miss the spiky head of hair. This boy was also Cloud. "Look… I… I'm sorry…" She said, "But what are you talking about?"

The boy gestured that she come closer as he shook his head. "No…it's all right. You were having a hard time back then," he continued, "You were so busy with your own things, it's only natural you don't remember me."

"Back then?" she asked.

The boy nodded. "It's important to me… I hate to say it… But it's a very important memory…" He looked up at her gravely. "Do you want to see it?"

Another vibration racked its way through the area and the older Cloud seemed to sway, clutching his head in agony. While Tifa fought to keep her balance, the younger Cloud looked around worriedly. "We may not have a lot of time…" he walked over to the older Cloud and the water tower behind the swordsman disappeared to be replaced by a familiar window. "Come on!" the younger boy called.

The older Cloud stepped to the side, and when Tifa passed him to look through the window, she distinctly heard him muttering "…a sealed up secret… wish… tender memories… no one can ever know…"

The boy gestured to the scene before them. "Do you know where this window goes to, Tifa?"

Tifa looked around her as the scenery changed and the three of them no longer stood outside the scene but physically inside of the building to which the window was attached. "My room?" she asked.

The boy nodded again. "It was my first time there."

Tifa frowned, trying to remember. "Was…it?"

"I only used to look up at it from outside," the younger Cloud said.

Four figures appeared in the room. One of them, Tifa could see was her younger self, curled up at the foot of the bed in tears, while three other boys about her age were standing around her. One of them looked out the window and said "Hey, look! Cloud's coming! You think he wants to come in?"

Tifa's younger self looked up at the question before lowering her head again without a response.

"Was that the first day you came into my room?" Tifa asked. Then a new realization hit her. "...Wait, that's right. We lived next to each other, but I really didn't know you that well." She blinked as it came flooding back. "I've known you since we were children, and always thought we were close…" she walked closer to the group, still thinking. "Now that you mention it…I don't recall you ever being in my room…"

The younger Cloud spoke again. "You always used to be with this three-some."

Now that she looked, each of the boys did seem familiar. "…That's right," she confirmed.

The younger Cloud turned away from her and now he lowered his gaze to the floor. "I used to think…they were all stupid."

Tifa turned to face him in surprise. "What!?"

"You were all childish, laughing at every little stupid thing."

She frowned. "But we were children, back then."

The boy sighed. "…I know. I'm the one that was stupid. I really wanted to play with everyone, but I was never allowed into the group." He faced her with a shrug. "Then later… I began to think I was different. Different from those immature kids. And maybe…"

The older Cloud seemed to flicker as he took a step towards the children in the memory, but it was again the disembodied voice that spoke, completing the younger Cloud's thoughts. "_Just maybe, they would invite me in… I thought that might happen, so I hung around… I was so prejudiced, and… weak. The night I called Tifa out to the well_…" The older Cloud continued to flicker, but the expression of uncertainty, and the traces of hopelessness were impossible to miss. "_I thought to myself she would never come…that she hated me._"

Not knowing who else to address, Tifa nodded to Cloud's older self. "Yeah… it was so sudden. I was… a bit surprised. But… It's true that we weren't THAT close, but…" she turned back to the scene which seemed to have frozen by her bed. "After you left town, I really thought about you a lot. I used to wonder how you were doing. I wondered if you had gotten into SOLDIER. I started reading the newspapers, thinking that there might be an article about you. "

The younger boy smiled. "Thanks Tifa." He glanced over at the older Cloud. "Tell him what you told me, later. He'll probably be so happy."

"Okay," Tifa agreed.

The older Cloud looked pained again as another vibration rumbled through the area and for a moment the scene in the corner phased out before reappearing. The younger Cloud steadied himself, once again alerted to the fact they had a limited amount of time. "We need to hurry."

Tifa nodded grimly. "All right, so what happened on this day? Was it special?"

The younger Cloud looked at her sadly before glancing at his older self. "This was the day…"

"_Tifa's mother…"_ the voice supplied.

It suddenly made sense. "The day Mom died…?" Tifa asked, but she almost hadn't needed to as her younger self seemed to have become animated in the corner again and was speaking between sobs.

"I want… to see…Mom…" With that, she ran past the other children and Cloud's younger self. A new scene played through Tifa's mind, and she found she was watching herself walk towards Mt. Nibel, hearing the other children speak through Cloud's ears, punctuated by his breathing has he struggled to catch up to the group. "…I wonder if there's anything beyond that mountain?" she heard her younger self say.

"Mt. Nibel is scary. Many people have died there," one of the other boys said.

Another sounded worried as he said, "No one crosses that mountain alive…"

Her younger self glared at the last boy who had spoken. "How 'bout those that died? Did mama pass through the mountains?" Through Cloud's eyes, she saw herself walk further up the path, squaring her shoulders in determination. "I'm going."

Cloud had almost caught up and he passed one of the other boys who had turned around after deciding not to follow her. The other boy noticed him but didn't acknowledge him as he walked past. Cloud's younger self hurried onward, struggling to catch up to the rest of the group, though the scene changed at that point and she could see herself walking across a bridge. The other two boys had just turned back, and Cloud had gone past them to catch up to her.

"I don't remember the path I was on," she heard Cloud's older self say, "Tifa missed her step. …I ran to her…but didn't make it in time. Both of us fell off the cliff." She saw herself stumble and the bridge jostled in his vision as she could feel him running breathlessly closer, emotions running high as the boy tried vainly to catch the girl. She then felt the gut wrenching sensation of a long fall. When Cloud's vision cleared, he had looked over at Tifa to find her not moving. "Back then, I only scarred my knees but…"

A familiar, yet furious voice, her father she realized, entered her awareness through Cloud's senses and he looked up to see him looking down at him with angry disapproval. "Cloud! Why'd you bring Tifa to a place like this!"

Thoughts of explaining rushed through his mind in a torrent but for whatever reason, the words couldn't come and he sat there mutely, looking up at the man. "What the hell's the matter with you?!" her father thundered. "What if she dies!?" One of their neighbors had picked up Tifa's younger self and was already carrying her back towards the town, and her father followed after him, clearly much more worried about her than anything else. Cloud's younger self simply sat there, hanging his head. The emotions running through his thoughts in a torrent all too familiar now that Tifa recognized them for what they were. Failure… It was his fault she was like this.

His older self interrupted as the scene faded into the dark. "Tifa was in a coma for seven days. We all thought she wouldn't make it. If only I could have saved her… I was so angry… Angry at myself for my weakness. Ever since then, I felt Tifa blamed me… I got out of control… I'd get into fights, not even caring who it was... That was the first time I heard about Sephiroth. If I got stronger like Sephiroth then everyone might…" The light returned to her eyes and she found herself standing alone on the path facing Cloud's older self, and right next to him was a shadow, still speaking in his voice. "If I could just get stronger…Then even Tifa would have to notice me…"

Tifa's eyes widened in understanding. "So that was it…" She looked at his older self, hoping he would actually hear her. "Sorry Cloud. If I had only remembered what had happened, I could have helped you sooner."

The shadow was already starting to fade back into the Lifestream, but Cloud's older self remained and his eyes seemed to clear a little as he shook his head. "It's not your fault, Tifa."

"But now I do…" she smiled back at him in triumph as a new realization hit her. "Cloud, I think we've done it! You're memories weren't made up! This is our proof!"

Cloud looked at her in surprise. He seemed more aware than he had in a while as though he had only just truly woken up, and then as he looked at her, his face hardened in determination. "We need to find Zack and Aerith."

Another quake shook the road on which they stood, and Cloud barely kept his balance. Whatever it was had definitely hurt, but instead of curling in on himself, he gritted his teeth, forcing himself to keep his eyes open as he glared down the road in the direction Tifa assumed they needed to go. Whatever these vibrations were coming from, the epicenter seemed to lie that way. Once she had her balance she walked over to help steady him, and he breathed hard a few times before pulling himself fully upright again. He glanced back at her before reaching for the simple broadsword that Tifa now noticed in his sword harness and the Yoshiyuki materialized in his off hand out of nowhere. "Let's go." He started off at a run down the road and Tifa followed after him. Wherever he was leading her, it looked like they might be headed into a fight.

* * *

><p>"Zack!" Aerith called out to him when she approached and Zack now saw she was accompanied by what looked like a much younger version of Cloud. The kid couldn't be much older than ten, he figured.<p>

"Glad to see you made it all right," he said. Aerith seemed just as surprised to see Zack's companion.

"Are you also Cloud?" she asked.

"So he says." Cloud's teenage self gestured to Zack.

"Of course he is," Zack said. "How he was when I met him." He turned his attention to the kid. "So you're Cloud too? He'll probably kill me for saying so, but he was tiny as a kid."

The boy glared at him indignantly, but said nothing, and even under the circumstances, Zack couldn't help but chuckle. "Any sign of Tifa?" he asked.

"Not yet. I expect she's probably close by though. If we traveled down that road, we might find her," Aerith gestured to the third dirt path that led off through the Lifestream.

"Well then, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Zack said. He looked at the two Clouds. "Don't worry, we'll take care of this and then we'll go after Sephiroth together…"

He started across the circular platform marking the center of the fork, when Aerith suddenly got his attention. "Zack! Look out!"

He looked up and he barely had the chance to roll out of the way as a long sword sliced through the space he had only occupied just a moment ago. "Really? You're certain it'll be that simple?" The new arrival seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, looking at Aerith with hungry green eyes. Zack hurriedly put himself in front of her and the two Clouds, drawing the Buster Sword and pointing it at Sephiroth.

"And why won't it? All we have to do is kick you out of here, and then come and kill you… again…" he paused to think about that. "Come to think of it, how are you even alive to begin with? He threw you into a reactor!" He pointed at teenage Cloud.

Sephiroth chuckled. "Go ahead. I'll only come back. As confused as my puppet is now, it's only a matter of combining my influence and suggestions with a sufficiently powerful assault, and I could break him completely." He nonchalantly stabbed Masamune into the ground and everyone nearly lost their balance from the tremor flowing out from his sword in a wave. Behind him, Zack heard both Clouds whimpering in pain and an emotion he rarely felt burned through his arteries like fire. Pure unadulterated rage. He picked himself up and rushed at the silver haired man, aiming to stab him through the heart with the Buster Sword.

Sephiroth simply stepped out of the way, chuckling that he had gotten the dark-haired SOLDIER riled. "It's no use. From the moment Hojo had you in his clutches, there was no escaping from me. You ought to know that by now."

"Oh yeah? Then why is it you're only attacking Cloud? Too scared because you know I'll fight back?" He taunted angrily.

The former general smirked. "Who says I've only been attacking him?"

"What do you mean?" Zack demanded.

"Everything comes at a price, whether it be a few gil, or a few thousand lives. You decided to defy me and deny me what is rightfully mine, therefore I will deprive you of something precious to you. If I happen to gain a new loyal servant to help me get back what you stole… all the better." Sephiroth landed his gaze on Aerith. "You, Ancient, are not welcome here."

In an action Zack had no way of deflecting, Sephiroth raced forward with the Masamune again, but inexplicably, he saw his girlfriend raise her staff and bring it down to the ground below her feet. A barrier of energy from the Lifestream appeared between her and the former general, deflecting what might have been a killing strike in the real world away from her and the two boys behind her. "Neither are you," she said coldly, and Zack could see she was just as angry as he was.

He readied his sword and rushed at the silver-haired man, hoping to get him while he was off balance, but he only just grazed his leather coat when the man leapt out of his way. Zack slid across the dirt, whirling around again to face his opponent.

"Are you simply going to play? I thought you wanted to get rid of me," Sephiroth taunted, stabbing his sword into the ground again. A second rumble spread away from the sword, and he noticed several of the floating pieces of debris around them crumble into nothing.

"Playing?" Zack growled. "We're way beyond playing!" He swung again, and this time his aim was true. The gash he inflicted across Sephiroth's thigh looked like it was trickling blood when next he looked. However, it was a little disconcerting when he saw that the blood dripped down his leg and then vanished before it hit the ground.

The silver-haired man ignored the wound, but assumed a forward stance before rushing at Zack, apparently having decided he was serious now. Zack deflected with the Buster Sword just in time, but the power behind the thrust pushed him back towards the edge of the road. He didn't know what falling would do in this case, but he didn't care to find out, so instead, he pushed back with several strikes.

Sephiroth did back away a step, but he parried each one before unleashing another powerful blow. Zack blocked and then lunged, the Buster Sword singing in his hands from the vibrations. He wondered how this even worked in the Lifestream, but there was no time to reflect on this conundrum because he was already rushing in, trying to force the silver general to give more space between their fight and the edge of the road.

His opponent leapt into the air, coming down behind him and attempting to strike him from the rear. It was only a fraction of a second's decision to turn around and deflect with the Buster that kept the Masamune from piercing his heart… or at least, he guessed that was what it would do. Even then, the blade grazed his shoulder, leaving a cut to match the one he had just inflicted.

Zack attempted to press his advantage by kicking at the man to throw him off balance and then throwing the full weight of the Buster Sword in front of a shove intended to send him off the side of the road, but it didn't get nearly as far as he would like. Sephiroth retaliated by whirling away from the blade and trying to come in underneath the Buster with Masamune, attempting to slash at his chest.

Zack backed away to avoid the blow but found himself getting too close to the other edge of the road. This was definitely a better situation than when he had faced Sephiroth in the bowels of the mako reactor, and they'd only had that slender catwalk between them and the mako glowing below, but not by much. He rolled to avoid another strike before lunging up from the ground, trying to take advantage of the Masamune being too far out for defense to cut into Sephiroth from the side, but found the Buster inexplicably meeting steel again. The general had apparently seen his plan at the last minute and curled the sword so he held it with the blade parallel along his arm in a block.

The deflected sword ran sparks along the odachi, as the two stayed locked in parry for several fleeting moments. Finally, Sephiroth decided to end the stalemate by kicking at his opponent. Zack leapt into the air, gaining purchase on one of the rocks floating above the road, before diving back into the fray for another lunge, but Sephiroth parried again, throwing Zack to the ground and looking down at him with a scowl. "Do you need another demonstration of how helpless you really are? Very well." Zack's eyes widened as the man stabbed the ground one more time, sending out another tremor.

"Don't do that again!" the dark-haired swordsman growled, pulled himself upright and lunged once more, this time going for Sephiroth's head, but the man brought Masamune up in a block. Zack was beginning to realize that when it came to this kind of combat, Sephiroth still had the upper hand. He was sure he could hold his own for now, but eventually, he would get tired, while Sephiroth was acting as though he was still fresh and spoiling for a fight. He broke off his current attack and went for several more quick slashes attempting once again to try for the advantage but Sephiroth's defense remained solid. It was almost like trying to fight a wall.

"If you're so determined that I won't then why don't you give back what you stole and obey my orders like a good puppet?" Sephiroth taunted, "Oh yes, that's right, you gave it to the keeper of horrors. You brought this upon yourself." Taking advantage of a moment where Zack's sword was coming around for another swing, he lunged forward, striking with Masamune's hilt to Zack's chest, knocking him across the road.

Dirt crumbled under the toe of his boot and he felt it slide over the edge as he attempted to pick himself back up.

"Zack!"

It wasn't just Aerith who had called out, he realized. Two sets of footfalls were coming in his direction. Upon standing up again, he saw that Tifa was running down the road towards them, however, it was the man that was several steps ahead of her that caught his attention. It was Cloud as he was now, his broadsword and the Yoshiyuki in his hands.

Upon reaching the spot where Zack stood, Cloud angrily raised his broadsword and pointed it at Sephiroth. "Get out," he said coldly.

Tifa assumed a fighting stance next to Cloud, but the former general scoffed. "So now, just because of one little pep talk, you think you can kill me? When the only thing you accomplished last time was to make me more powerful than you can even comprehend?"

Zack shot him a look. "Where have you been?"

"I'm not exactly sure," Cloud answered, not taking his eyes off their opponent.

Zack looked back at Sephiroth, realizing that now was probably not the best time to be asking such things. "We'll take him together, and then we'll talk this out, got it?"

Cloud nodded and they stood with their swords at the ready. Sephiroth seemed to already sense their intentions but was waiting for them to move first. The two rushed in, each taking a flank, but Sephiroth jumped backwards to avoid their blows. Zack leapt after him with Cloud in hot pursuit and Tifa not far behind, and when Zack landed next to the man, he lunged for his heart once more. Sephiroth blocked it easily but had to dodge out of the way just as Cloud came at him from his left side. Tifa took advantage of his being off balance to land kick at the man's back, but it was only a glancing blow and she had to get out of the way as the two swordsmen both began slashing away at the silver general. Sephiroth jammed his sword into the ground once more, and Cloud's current self collapsed to the ground, panting hard from the pain he'd just been subjected to. Zack raced ahead of him, taking advantage of the general's momentarily having his sword locked in the ground to slice at this side again.

The blow connected, and Sephiroth backed up a step, clutching his chest.

"It's over!" Zack held the Buster Sword at the silver general's throat.

Sephiroth frowned at him, clearly annoyed. "You think you've won, traitor? This battle means nothing. He'll never escape me, and neither will you."

Zack scowled, not moving the sword. "Then consider this a warning from me Sephiroth. We're coming for you. If we can't escape you, then we'll kill you with our own hands, however many times it takes."

Sephiroth retreated into the green fog, as though he'd never been there in the first place. The last words he heard from the man's lips were "You are really getting to be a problem…"

Zack watched the spot he had disappeared from for a few seconds before lowering his sword. "Cloud!" Tifa and Aerith had knelt by Cloud's older self.

"Don't worry about me… I'm okay…" he said.

Zack frowned at him. "You sure? I mean, I could be wrong, but…" he glanced over at the other two Clouds as they stood silently nearby, apparently mute. "Is it really healthy to be all… fragmented… like this?"

"I doubt it…" Cloud murmured, pulling himself upright with some effort. "I should probably do something about that…"

"How?" Tifa asked.

"I… don't know…" Cloud walked past Aerith, frowning as he considered the issue and looked over his other selves.

"It's all right," everyone's attention was drawn by the sight of a younger spiky haired boy, no older than five that had appeared on the road down which Tifa had come with Cloud's older self. "I can take things from here."

Aerith looked over at the young boy in surprise, and then she seemed to realize what was going on and smiled at him. "Well then, we'll leave him in your capable hands."

"What do you mean, Aerith?" Zack asked.

"Trust me," she said, gesturing that they move out of the way to let him through. "We've done what we need to do."

Zack ran a hand through his dark spikes and stepped aside. "Then what's next?"

"You'll see," the younger boy answered him. With that he walked to the youngest of the various 'Clouds', and the slightly older boy seemed to almost walk into him, creating a full-sized shadow outside of the young boy's form. The boy inside the shadow closed his eyes and was soon enveloped by the teenage Cloud.

The last and oldest one looked back at them. "Thanks for coming after me…" he rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. "We'll definitely meet again…"

Tifa nodded. "Of course we will!"

"Hey Cloud!" Zack called after him. "If there's still time after you've pulled yourself together, I'm going to want to collect on that spar we had to break off!"

The older Cloud grinned. "You can count on it. Just remind me when we get out of here." His form dissolved into shadow to cloak itself around the boy who could barely be seen in the dark before the entire collection of fragments reformed itself into a whole and complete being.

As the shadows fell away, Cloud dropped to the ground. The world around them seemed to shimmer, and though when it returned, it definitely didn't look like it was back a hundred percent, the vast expanse wasn't completely green mist with floating rocks anymore. Instead, they found themselves standing in a familiar forest clearing. Though there were still chasms in places through which the Lifestream could be seen, and whole chunks still left to be filled in, not one of them could mistake the overarching feeling of safety and security this place held. Across one of the larger chunks they could make out a pathway of flagstones leading off into the woods towards what was probably an old, no longer abandoned hunting lodge. Zack realized too late, as the images began to fade, exactly why this feeling was so familiar. It was the feeling of home…

* * *

><p><em>Another very very long chapter. Hopefully we won't have another doozie like this one for a long while yet, but there was a lot that I wanted to happen here and I really didn't want to break it up. That was actually the main reason I didn't go into italics for Cloud's Lifestream Sequence, even though I did it for Zack. It would have meant a long continuous stream of them and that just felt like major overkill. ^^;<em>

_Ahem... in the original timeline, Cloud regained consciousness today, and Aerith left. Where we've ended, the party is probably still in Gongaga regrouping._

_Until next time everybody!_


	36. Back in Action?

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spin-offs That honor goes to Square-Enix.

**Part II: Reunion**

* * *

><p>Chapter 36, Back in Action?<p>

**December 30****th** **[ ν ] – εуλ 0007**

It had been quite a novel experience, keeping watch over Zack and the others. At first Kunsel hadn't quite been able to wrap his mind around what they were attempting. How were they supposed to go through the Lifestream without physically submerging in it? Any idiot knew better than to dive directly in.

But then after everyone had gotten situated, and Aerith had started doing whatever it was she had done, he'd noticed tendrils of the stuff starting to swirl a little more pervasively around the area, enveloping it and obscuring it from view. He'd ended up pulling Rayleigh back from it because she'd been tempted to try getting closer to analyze what was going on. After all, it was a phenomenon that had never been documented before.

She'd been rather disappointed but that was beside the point. Eventually, they retreated slightly further away to avoid the mists wrapped around the others like a blanket, and waited. At one point, Freya had gone back to the Tiny Bronco to retrieve a lunch basket Elmyra had prepared and quietly retrieved the sandwiches she had made for them.

On seeing them, Kunsel smiled sadly. "This brings back memories." He shot a glance over at Rayleigh. "Doesn't it?"

The doctor noticed what the lady Turk was doing. "Of the time we waited in the church?" she asked.

Kunsel nodded, collecting his own lunch. "I never thought I'd see a more subdued picnic than that one, but this one really takes the cake."

"Well, at least when we got back, you knew we'd won. I'm not sure if we can win here," Freya handed the doctor another one of the sandwiches.

"You mean what Zack said about how even if this works he might still have to deal with Sephiroth bothering him?" Kunsel said.

"This may push back a little, but I doubt they'll be truly free of him until we've made sure Sephiroth isn't coming back," Freya clarified.

"Probably true, assuming this is Sephiroth we're dealing with," Rayleigh commented.

"You can't think it isn't worth trying at least?" Kunsel asked.

"Of course not," the lady Turk said, and Kunsel noted she was wielding the wrapped sandwich in her hand through the air like a blade. "If this works, it'll give him a chance to fight for himself, which frankly, I think he needs. I'm just saying this isn't the end of the fight, and you know it."

Kunsel held up his hand in surrender. "Okay, I got it… though you might want to consider eating that rather than using it as a tool for emphasis."

Freya looked down at the food item, and laughed softly. "You're right, it would be a real shame to waste Elmyra's handiwork." She regarded it for a moment before casting a long glance in the direction of the group under the dumbapple tree, and in that moment, Kunsel could have sworn he saw a hint of the vulnerability she'd shown that night in the Gold Saucer. "They are okay in there, aren't they?"

The brown-haired SOLDIER sighed. "I wish I knew."

* * *

><p>Rufus was sitting in his Junon office listening to the reports coming in from his generals. They had opened up a direct channel into their radio network so he could hear everything that was happening live. The vast picture windows looking out on the seas around Junon stood in stark contrast to the dark and serious nature of the attack that was about to occur. The troops had landed near the center of the crater and were attempting to climb down into its center. There were several insertion points they were making use of, but already, several of the platoons were encountering resistance. Even if Sephiroth was not outright thwarting them, nature was not taking kindly to their presence either.<p>

"_Sir, this is SOLDIER squad seven, we're not seeing any planned resistance but we're taking a lot of situational casualties… Oh Gaia! What the hell is that thing?!... Minerva preserve us!... Ahh! The smell… tentacles! Get it off!"_

The radio went dead and he turned his attention to a different channel, this one belonging to one of Scalet's Airbuster detachment. "_Sir, we seem to have encountered a very large King Behemoth. He's trashed half our units! We've got to pull out!..."_ It died into static.

Next he went to one of the rear trooper detachments that were supposed to be backing up the SOLDIER divisions… _"Dragon!" *Fwoosh*_… The last thing he heard on that end was the sound of something burning.

Rufus found that for once, he was sweating, and he wiped his brow, which was furrowed in a prominent scowl. From channel to channel he turned, finding more and more signs of his military's failure to even make it to Sephiroth's barrier. Only one platoon had even gotten close, and they'd had a nasty run-in with what looked like a Tonberry before they'd been able to retreat. Even the Gelnika had not been of much use since the ballistics that had been installed upon it were insufficient to get deep enough. The Highwind had been kept with a skeleton crew on account of being needed in reserve, but he doubted even its limited firepower would have been much use up there. Having decided he couldn't stand anymore failure, he reached for his PHS and called his secretary.

"Denise," he said. "Tell Scarlet and Heidegger to get up here."

"_Yes sir_," The woman answered.

Rufus placed his PHS on his desk and glared out the window at the roaring ocean, clasping his hands behind his back and waiting patiently. Behind him the door opened and Heidegger entered, followed by Scarlet, clad in her usual red evening gown.

Rufus turned around calmly to face his subordinates.

"Sir, we can explain…" Heidegger bumbled.

"No need, I heard exactly what was going on."

"If we'd only used our more powerful prototypes, I'm sure we would have broken through…" Scarlet offered.

"That is of no consequence now," Rufus brushed his hand to the side as though sweeping their excuses out of his sight. "We absolutely must punch through that barrier, even if we have to kill every single monster in the Northern Caves! But I can see in spite of my giving you both a chance, this assault has been a total rout thanks to your bungling." His words were smooth, but the venom could be seen in his eyes. "How soon can we move the Mako Cannon to Midgar?"

"It'll be about two weeks sir," Scarlet supplied.

"Then get on it. You are dismissed." With that, he turned his back on the two of them and they walked out. It was only when he looked over to his left, towards the airport, that he saw smoke rising from the tarmac near the Highwind.

* * *

><p>Yuffie was waiting in the shadows next to Barret until Cid gave the all clear. They'd managed to sneak into the military airport after bluffing their way through the airport outside the city and bribing their way into Junon's upper reaches. There would be no relying on the other renegades for this, not that she minded.<p>

She had been absolutely miserable on the flight, but now that she was back on solid ground and recuperated from her motion sickness, she was ready for action. Unfortunately, the last of the action now lay at their feet unconscious after being subdued from behind.

"When are we going to go?" she moaned. "I'm so boooored!"

"Quit yer whinin' kid," Barret growled. "Yer the idiot who thought it'd be a good idea ta come."

Nanaki just rolled his eyes as she once again took refuge behind him. "I'm doing this for Cloud, not you…" she mumbled.

"Didn't ya hear him? He said shut up!" Cid growled at her, looking around the corner to check that the coast was clear.

"Sheesh, you'd think I was shouting at the top of my lungs."

They were hiding behind several supply crates near where the Highwind was tethered. Fortunately, Junon was thinly staffed at the moment thanks to the assault on the Northern Crater. The pilot played with a cigarette in his left hand while he considered the layout. "All right, I'm gonna sneak in through the main hatch." He pointed to Barret and Nanaki. "Follow me in after three counts, if there aren't any guards inside, I'll talk to the crew and see what we can get… he looked down at Yuffie. "You're our lookout kid. Stay by the ladder and sound the alarm if anything gets within running distance, got it?"

Yuffie nodded. "Got it."

The four of them stood wordlessly and crept to the access ladder that led up to the Highwind's main deck. Upon climbing to the deck, Cid checked the door and found it unlocked. As Yuffie took up a position by the rail, she tried to make herself not look down, knowing that would make things worse. Cloud had said it was better to look straight ahead if you wanted to avoid getting the disorienting effects… She heard Cid open the hatch and lunge down the gangplank, but he'd left the door open so that they could hear her if she spotted something. She could see the main city off in the distance with that giant cannon, the scourge of Wutai's navy the one time it had even tried to launch an offensive. It had been a total blood bath and even at the tender age of five, she'd known it. Her hand tightened around her shuriken. She hadn't forgotten her mission… and she already had at least one good materia in her possession. Titan had indeed proved useful. Hopefully she'd be able to find more…

But that would be after this situation was over. Right now, there was Sephiroth to contend with. Her face hardened. That big jerk, no, that didn't quite cut it. She found herself thinking of another word Barret was quite fond of using. "When I get my hands on him, I'll give him a little bit of this!" She punched the air forcefully with her hand. "And then some of this!" she landed an imaginary slash with the shuriken in her other hand. "And then I'll make him beg for my forgiveness!"

She assumed a rather arrogant pose as her imagination pictured for her the Demon of Wutai, groveling at her feet. "Oh please, great ninja princess! I promise I won't make any more trouble!" the imaginary Sephiroth begged in her mind.

Yuffie frowned down at her imaginary prisoner and pointed her finger at him dramatically. "No. As princess of Wutai, I Yuffie Kisaragi, the White Rose and savior of the planet cannot forgive you! For what you did to my friends, and what you threatened to do to the world, you will rot in my father's dungeons until you die! Enjoy the rats!" It was at that moment that it occurred to her Zack had said that he thought Sephiroth had already died once. Hadn't Cloud killed him? It was a question no one had answered. If a man had already died, could he die again? She pondered it for a moment before determining that if it were possible, she would find a way! For Cloud's sake! Yeah! And then he and Zack would reward her with their materia for saving his life, and Aerith and Elmyra would make a feast in her honor… she was nodding to herself in approval over her future plans for being revered, when suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she saw signs of movement and made the mistake of looking down at the ground. A wave of dizziness came over her and she fought the urge to throw up before angling her head so she was looking out over the distance.

Off towards the entrance to the airfield, she saw three familiar figures in dark suits and reached for her PHS. It rang and someone picked up. _"What'cha got Yuf?"_ Barret whispered.

"We got Turks at… um…" she checked the sun's position before continuing "…two o'clock. They're coming closer, I'll stall them 'till you get out here."

"_We're comin'."_ Barret said gruffly and then hung up.

Gathering her shuriken, Yuffie grabbed the rope ladder in one hand and slid down it, landing in a crouch on the tarmac, just as Reno, Rude, and Elena came to a stop in front of her.

"Whaddaya want Turks?" She growled. "Didn't we trounce you good enough last time?"

Reno snorted. "I seem to remember you all running away." He reached for his EMR rod as Rude slipped into a fighting stance and Elena went for something in her pockets.

"So did you!" Yuffie shot back.

"We had orders." Reno jumped forward attempting to catch Yuffie unprepared, but the Ninja flipped out of the way, landing on her feet just beyond his reach.

"Well so did we!" she said.

"Need a hand kid?" She looked up at that moment and saw Barret sliding down the rope. The Turks scattered a short distance away when he unloaded a clip from his gun arm on the way down. Nanaki had also jumped from the deck to land with catlike grace next to the ninja, poised for battle.

Barret landed heavily on the ground on Yuffie's opposite side and trained his gun arm at the three in dark suits.

"Well, what have we here?" Nanaki asked.

"Just some Turks who think they can eat us for breakfast," Yuffie quipped.

Barret was smiling malevolently. "Well guess what Turks? Ya came at a good time, 'cause I'm lookin to see ya get served!"

Elena only looked slightly intimidated by the giant man with the gun arm as she regarded him. "All right, let's go then!" she challenged.

Nanaki growled and raced towards Rude, attempting to knock him to the ground, but the martial artist landed a kick before sliding past. That was the last thing Yuffie noticed before she found herself engaging with Reno. The redhead grinned at her before lunging again and this time she flipped over top of his head, using it as a balance before slicing behind her with her shuriken. He barely avoided the blade before coming at her again with his EMR. She ducked and the rod flew by over her head before she moved to kick his leg out from under him.

Caught off balance, the redhead tripped and had to roll out of the way after falling to the ground, not because of Yuffie, but because Elena nearly stepped on him in her rush to avoid Barret, who had been in the processs of shooting a wave of machine gun bullets behind her. He only just barely avoided getting shot before pulling himself to his feet and facing the ninja once again, a playful and crazy grin on his face.

Yuffie threw her shuriken in his direction and he barely ducked before she noticed Nanaki unleashing a limit break on Rude and the area was suddenly pelted by a hurling mass of bright sparks that seemed to come out of nowhere.

She avoided another attack from Reno and then heard Elena cry out as Barret channeled another limit. She barely dodged out of the way as he rushed her like a freight train, ready to come down hard with a single downward strike. She returned by firing her gun at him, and it grazed his arm leaving a nasty gash.

Groaning, Yuffie called upon the power deep within herself to channel a limit break of her own, letting the wound heal, though it cost her a punch to the gut due to Reno having caught her off guard. "Ouch!" she growled, though as she flew away from him she felt something slide off his hand and into her own.

"I don't really like hitting kids, but we're on the clock!" Reno pulled back his fist about to strike again, but at the last moment something fast flew by just over his head, exploding as it collided with the deck. Everyone looked around in surprise before their gaze was drawn up. Standing on the deck of the Highwind, one foot on the guardrail, stood Cid, a lit cigarette clenched in his mouth and his spear balanced over one shoulder.

"Hey fellas, it seems me and my crew have reached a bit of an understanding."

"Highwind? That you?" Reno asked.

"You bet your ass, Red!" Cid shouted down to him.

"If you think you can just bust in here and steal this thing without any consequences, you're crazier than Zack!" Reno said. "The army's already going to be converging on this spot and if they don't find you here, they'll chase you wherever you go on the planet!"

"At this point, I don't give a $#!%. But let me tell ya somethin' about where we stand right now," he signaled behind him and the guns on the side of the ship started moving ominously. "I've got me a 1280 ton airship with light artillery and the gunner's got his sights set on you. Get the point?"

Reno looked over at Elena and then at Rude. Somehow, there seemed to be more conversation between them in spite of the tense silence. Finally he looked back at the pilot, still cool as a cucumber. "Yeah, we get it. Come on guys, I think it's time to go."

"But… Reno?" Elena looked at him with surprise.

"That's an order, we're going." With that, Reno and Rude retreated followed by a very bewildered Elena. Yuffie looked up at the pilot and grinned, before reaching into her pocket to put away the trinket she'd managed to palm off the red-headed Turk. She had almost gotten to the ladder, when off in the distance she heard someone yell "Damn kid stole my ring!"

She chuckled, before quickly climbing up to join Cid and reaching into her pocket for Cloud's airsickness medicine. She hoped it would be a short trip back to the Lodge, because she didn't want to be on this thing anymore than she had to.

* * *

><p>The first thing Cloud was aware of was that through the branches of the tree he seemed to be under, the afternoon sky was a brilliant blue. The next thing he was aware of was that someone was leaning over him from behind and a face partially obscured his vision. Dark brown hair tickled his ears and once his own eyes adjusted, they locked with a pair of wine red ones, wide with concern. He swallowed hard as he realized to whom they belonged. "Uh… T-Tifa?"<p>

Her eyes filled with tears and she reached down to put her arms around him, even as he tried to sit up. "You're back!" she sobbed. He stiffened slightly in surprise before allowing himself to relax and letting her cry into his shoulder. After all the trouble he'd caused, he wasn't about to deny her that.

"We meet again…" he said after a moment.

"You stupid jerk…" she said softly. "You had us all worried sick…"

He realized he had a bit of a headache and reached up to massage his brow with a groan. "Sorry…" he mumbled.

"You'd better be," he heard a familiar voice off to his left and saw Zack sitting nearby, looking pretty tired.

"Z-Zack?"

"Welcome back… though if you can help it, I think I speak for all of us when I say 'please don't do that again… ever?'"

"I'll try not to…" Cloud said, "Though I didn't exactly try to do it the first time." He winced as a sharp pain worked its way through the inside of his skull and he curled up, causing Tifa to let him go, but she leaned over him anyway.

"Cloud?" she tried to get his attention.

"Easy there, are you okay?" Zack had apparently decided to stop making light of things and get back to being serious.

"Ngh… No it's not him again… just a headache… what happened?" he asked.

"We went into the Lifestream after you," Aerith said, sitting down next to him. "I don't think we completely fought him off, but the way you were, you were in no state to fight back on your own."

"Oh…" It seemed incredible to him that he could simply accept that as an explanation, but right now, he was just grateful he wasn't in the condition he'd been in for the last… how long ago had they been at the chocobo farm? "It must've been pretty bad…"

Zack sighed. "Now that is the understatement of the year." He shifted his position like he was going to get a little closer, but he paused to stretch. Several muscles popped really loudly. "Whoa… how long were we in there?"

"About six hours," an older female voice cut in and Rayleigh appeared next to Zack, looking quite stern. "We were starting to worry you'd dragged them all in after you. Lifestream in a gaseous state may not cause mako poisoning in controlled doses but that doesn't mean that you should bathe in it as a general rule." She adjusted her glasses and looked around at the gathered crowd. "All right, give him some space." She then turned her attention back to him. "So how do you feel?"

"Tired…" he replied, and then he felt his stomach growl and added with a wry grin, "Maybe a little hungry too…"

"Perfectly understandable," Freya offered. "I'm sure Elmyra packed some nonperishable stuff in her basket for us. Hang on, I'll see if I can find something." She disappeared for a few minutes while Rayleigh went through the routine of checking to see he was completely responsive, which he was pretty sure he was. He just felt like Sephiroth had tried to use his head as a stress ball, which he had to admit was probably not that far from truth. While they waited, Zack and the others also took the opportunity to move the bedroll a little closer to the tree to take better advantage of the shade.

When the lady Turk returned he was happy to see that she had indeed found a small bag of salted nuts, which he gratefully accepted, along with Zack's water canteen. Rayleigh was finished by now and he ate in a comfortable silence under the tree while the others debated what the next move was.

It was Kunsel who broke the first piece of news. "Cid was able to get away from Junon, he says he'll be here early tomorrow."

Zack's brow furrowed. "Any word from Cissnei?"

"She's about halfway back. She'll probably get here late tomorrow night. There was a delay at the fueling station in Rocket Town, thanks to some troopers who had some questions about the airport's business arrangements," Kunsel supplied. "It was enough to set them off a few hours while they bluffed their way through paper work and stuff but they can refuel in Mideel next time."

"Damn," Zack muttered but when he looked up at Kunsel, his expression was calm. "Well, I guess it can't be helped."

As interested as Cloud was in what was going on, he soon felt his eyelids beginning to droop. Zack's bedroll was beginning to feel rather inviting underneath him. Almost without realizing it, he found himself leaning against the trunk of the dumbapple tree, and soon after that he descended into an exhausted slumber. Truly the best kind, in his opinion. No dreams, no nightmares, and best of all, no Sephiroth. Just peaceful, blissful emptiness…

* * *

><p><strong>December 31<strong>**st** **[ ν ] – εуλ 0007**

When Cloud woke up again, it was already after sunset, and since everyone was pretty much packed, Freya returned to the Tiny Bronco with Rayleigh and Kunsel while the others decided it should be all right for them to walk home. The walk was mostly uneventful, though it was close to midnight when they got to the lodge. Everyone was pretty worn out by the day's events so they'd decided they would deal with explaining what had happened in Banora in the morning. Out of respect for his privacy, when said explanation did come to a head after breakfast, Zack and the others had glossed over some of the more personal details, and in fact, Tifa hardly said anything about what had happened between them. Freya on the other hand, went really quiet for a while after learning that Sephiroth had used her words as the catalyst for what had happened over the last few days. She didn't seem to know what to do about it, or if there was anything she could do.

It was also after breakfast when Zack finally brought up the idea of picking up where they'd left off on that spar Sephiroth had prematurely aborted. It was this that brought them out to the helicopter landing once again, and while Aerith, Freya, and Tifa took up positions to observe from the shade nearby, the three men took a few minutes to get ready. However, there was a little something Cloud felt he needed to do first. While Zack and Kunsel were practicing a couple of sword drills, he walked over to where the girls were and stopped in front of Freya. "What's up?" she asked.

"Just letting you know, I don't blame you for what happened. You couldn't have known he would do that."

She shook her head. "It's okay. If anything, It just means we've got all the more reason to take him out, right?"

He nodded, and at that moment, he saw that Aerith and Tifa were watching him. "Good luck," Tifa said.

"Thanks." With that, he drew his broadsword and walked to the center of the clearing, deciding to go with a single blade this time.

When Zack saw him approach, he finished with the drill he was working on and waited for him to join him. Once Cloud was within a conversational distance, he called out "I think it's only fair that we go first since that was when we were interrupted. What do you think?"

"All right." He brought the broadsword to a ready position in front of him and Zack did the same with the Buster Sword. They circled for a few moments, watching each other, noting the slightest twitch of a muscle that might give away a move. Finally, Zack let loose a battle cry and charged.

Cloud brought up his sword to block in perfect sync. Zack broke off the attack before trying a side swipe. Cloud parried it out of the way before dodging Zack's attempt at a light punch that would have been a head shot if he'd been serious. He decided to counter with a series of strikes, forcing the pressure back on his friend. Zack defended against each of them and then managed to roll out of the way before attempting to get behind him, thinking he might have an opening there, but Cloud was able to defend before he even got close and they pushed each other away.

At that moment, he noticed Zack was grinning, and he couldn't help but return it. His friend wanted to take it up a notch.

Okay.

They circled again, and this time, Cloud took the initiative rushing in with a downward strike which Zack deflected with the Buster before coming back with several short strikes of his own. They went back and forth around the clearing a few times, and Cloud found he was in his element. There was just him and his opponent, and for every blow, he knew exactly how to counter, for every evasion, he knew exactly how to come around for the next swing. Their foot work was like an elegant dance across the clearing, and over the clash of swords, he could hear the girls cheering them on. At one point he caught sight of Kunsel nodding at their technique approvingly, and though the speed had gone up slightly, he still felt as fresh as when they'd started.

At last, Zack came at him with a heavy blow from the right, and his blade came up to meet it, clashing loudly between them. The two swordsmen locked eyes over the blades glistening in the morning sun and he saw a hungry excitement in his friend's gaze that he had rarely seen. It was an energy that radiated challenge, and he met him with equal strength pushing back on his own blade.

For what seemed like a miniature eternity, the two swordsman stayed eyes locked before Zack attempted to break of the stalemate with a kick and the two of them came at each other again at the same time.

As they had so long ago in Gongaga, sparks flew across the blades when they caught on each other, and at Zack's silent cue that he could easily take more, Cloud went at him again, this time with a set of harder strikes. Zack still managed to block each and every single one before pressing his own offensive and returning with a series of blows of his own. By now, they had worked their way across the clearing towards the woods on the opposite side from where Kunsel stood with the girls. While Cloud found he was having no trouble at all defending himself from Zack's blows he was starting to wonder why this was. He looked at him questioningly, asking him without words if they wanted to go faster.

The energy had not left Zack's expression and at his subtle nod, Cloud came at him with his hardest blow yet. To his complete surprise, though Zack managed to block, he heard the Buster Sword sing from the impact and he could have sworn… had Zack backed up a step on purpose? Was he still holding back?

He once again locked eyes with Zack as they started their dance once again across the clearing, blades whirling, but now he noticed not just excitement, but focus and concentration.

That was when he came around with another heavy blow from his broad sword and Zack brought the Buster up to block. To the shock of both of them, there was a resounding "CRACK!" The dark-haired SOLDIER barely had time to duck out of the way before a fast moving object barely missed his cheek.

Several pairs of eyes widened, as they watched a metal shard fly through the air and embed itself into the heart of a nearby tree. The two men stepped back from each other, and Cloud looked down at the blade in his hand. Half of it had been snapped clean off. He looked back up at his friend. "Are you okay?"

Zack nodded still not quite over the surprise. "Sure… Wow…"

Cloud looked back down at his sword; the one Zack had given him in this very clearing. "I'm sorry…"

Zack shook his head, apparently already detecting where Cloud's thoughts were headed and taking charge of the situation. "No harm done, it was an accident. Besides, you still have the Yoshiyuki and the Butterfly Edge, right? We can get this fixed later if it's important to you." He walked over to the tree where the shard had buried itself and pulled it out with a smooth motion. "But I'll say it again Cloud. Wow. We might want to try finding something a little stronger for you if you're gonna be making strikes like that."

He could already see the others coming over to investigate, but their conversation was interrupted when a shadow flew by over their heads. Cloud and Zack both looked up and were greeted by the sight of a familiar looking pilot, gunman, ninja, and Guardian of the Planet looking down at them from the forward deck of an airship. Their ride was finally here.

* * *

><p><em>As of today the party just got past Bone Village and the Sleeping Forest. They have arrived at the City of the Ancients and are waiting for nightfall...<em>

_Until next time!_


	37. Happy New Year, Cloud

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spin-offs That honor goes to Square-Enix.

**Part II: Reunion**

* * *

><p>Chapter 37, Happy New Year, Cloud<p>

**December 31****st** **[ ν ] – εуλ 0007**

Cid took hold of a rope and slid down to land in a crouch in front of them, and Barret and Nanaki landed behind him. Yuffie on the other hand seemed to have gone into a swan dive… "Cloud! You're okay!" and the blonde swordsman barely caught her in time.

"Yuffie?" he held her up like a cat that had just tried to claw his face.

"Is that any way to thank us after we went through all this trouble to help save you?!" She fussed at him.

He gave her a confused look and Zack laughed. "Cid thought if we got his ship back we could get to the North Crater in half the time. If you were still out of it when they got back we could at least get there quicker and get Sephiroth to stop messing with you."

"You were that worried about me?" Cloud asked, looking at Yuffie with raised eyebrows.

She pouted as he put her down. "I was just worried about where your materia would go, you idiot. If you weren't around to give them to me, then there was no way Zack would let me have'em," she grumbled. Zack watched her wander off a little, but as she walked a short distance away he could have sworn he caught the sound of a half concealed sniff.

Zack turned his attention back to the man in front of him. "Cid?"

The pilot lit his cigarette and puffed at it for a second before answering. "You've got yourself a ship. The crew's ready when you are."

"Great," Zack said.

"So how did you make out? Since the other kid's standing here, you must have pulled something off," Cid observed.

"Yeah, we can talk about it on the way there." Zack straightened up as he considered what the next course of action needed to be. After looking around, he realized that everyone who he thought would be going was present. That made it all the easier to issue orders. "Everyone needs to pack for snow. The Northern Crater is almost at the top of the Planet. A couple of us have run missions on the Northern Continent before, and we can tell you, the weather is bitter even if you're SOLDIER. We leave as soon as Cissnei gets here." With that, Zack gestured that everyone else follow him back to the lodge.

* * *

><p>The remainder of the day was spent making preparations, since no one wanted to even consider going into a fight against Sephiroth without have done so adequately. However, it was now just after eleven o'clock, and Cissnei was supposed to be here any time.<p>

"Zack!"

He was about to head out the back door with the Buster Sword on his back when he saw Cait Sith hurrying to catch him. 'What's up?"

The little cat reached behind him, revealing a small megaphone with a button on the handle. "It was the doctor's idea. She said that auditory stimulation seemed to have worked pretty well last time, so she asked Cid ta install this buzzer into me megaphone. What d'ya think?"

Zack smiled grimly. "I think it means we're still in the fight. Too bad you don't have one of those cattle prods too, just in case the sound doesn't carry. I know things can get a little heated out there and it might not be loud enough."

The cat laughed somewhat uncomfortably. "We considered that, but we fig'red if worst came ta worst, I could just jump off me mog and climb to yer ear. I don't have anythin' to do for Cloud though, if that doesn' work…"

"I'm hoping he'll be able to hold his own a little better this time," Zack said. "But if things do get bad, Rayleigh's given Tifa her Sleep materia, and made sure none of his equipment gives him immunity to it."

The cat nodded solemnly. "If it's what we have ta do lad." He heard an assenting grunt out of his speaker that indicated Reeve was in full agreement, and the mog waddled off, apparently so that Cait could assist Rayleigh with some of her equipment. She wasn't coming into the crater, but had insisted on being shipboard for the mission, given that if a lot of heavy fighting was involved, a Cure materia might not cut it for all possible injuries.

Zack turned and continued out the back door to find Tifa standing out on the porch by herself. "Where's Cloud?" he asked.

"He went off towards the spring," she answered. "He said he wanted to practice a little more before we left."

"Ah." He stepped off the porch and looked up at the starlit sky for a few moments. That had been an incredible spar this afternoon. If it had told him anything, it had been that Cloud was ready for this. At the end there, he'd almost gained the upper hand, and Zack had really had to work hard to keep meeting his strikes fast enough. If they'd been going at it for real and his sword hadn't snapped, Cloud probably would have won. They were quiet for a little while, and then he continued in the direction of the woods. "I'm gonna go out and get him, I'll be right back."

"Be careful!" Tifa called after him. He waved and then walked into the trees. He didn't need any more than the starlight to see by as he went, simply taking in the evening air. When he got closer to the spring, he could hear the trickle of water, and the sounds of someone moving around. Finally the trees parted, and he caught sight of his friend, continuing to practice, this time holding the Yoshiyuki in his hand.

"You know, if you keep this up, you'll wear yourself out before we even get there," he said.

"What else are we supposed to do?" Cloud asked.

"Well, we could just wait. Cissnei'll be here any minute." Zack watched him, his blue eyes lighting a faint pool of light underneath him as he worked. It was at that point when it finally dawned on him. The way he was practicing right now, it wasn't anticipation, it was nervousness, and if he were to venture a guess, he was pretty sure why. "You won't let him do it," he said at last. "Things are different now. You'll keep him out this time, I know it."

"How?" Cloud paused and looked at him.

Zack held out his sword in front of him. "I just do." He held the flat of the Buster to his forehead for a few moments, thinking about what he was about to say and then thrust the sword into the ground so it stood upright before the two of them. "You remember in Nibelheim when I told you that this sword represented my dreams and honor?"

He nodded.

"Well, that's not the only thing it represents. It was also a gift from the man who taught me everything about what it meant to be a SOLDIER. Angeal always told me 'Embrace your dreams and whatever happens, defend your honor. Never forget the pride of being a SOLDIER."

Cloud looked a little skeptical, not sure of what Zack was getting at.

"Okay, so you never made SOLDIER," he tapped his chest for emphasis, "but it's what's in here that counts." He gestured to the Buster Sword, "This sword was part of the legacy Angeal left me, along with everything he taught me, which I then turned around and taught you, and Cloud," he put a hand on his shoulder, "You're part of that legacy too. Whatever happens up there, I know, we're going to finish this, and we're going to defend our honor, as SOLDIERs."

"Yeah."

Cloud smiled sheepishly and Zack pulled him into a one-armed hug. "We're going to end this, and we're going to win for sure this time…"

"All right you two, you ready to go back or should I tell Aerith she has competition?" The two men backed away from each other awkwardly to see a young ninja leering at them.

"Yuffie? What are you doing out here?" Zack asked.

"Aerith wanted me to come get you." Even in the dark, Zack could tell she was already trying to think how she could turn this into blackmail material. He pretended to ignore it.

"We do need to get back anyway." He started towards Yuffie but suddenly, he heard a rustle in the bushes behind him.

"Leaving so soon?" He heard Cloud draw his sword, and they both took a defensive stance, their muscles tense at the sound of that familiar voice. Zack felt a chill run down his spine when he heard it. No, he couldn't be here. It had to be in his head, but it wasn't. Out of the bushes near the stream, a man strode into the open, silver pauldrons and grey hair nearly glowing under the light of the stars while his luminescent green cat's eyes shone malevolently in the shadow of his face. Zack took in a breath and let it out as he uttered the name of their enemy. "Sephiroth…"

* * *

><p>Cloud stood near Zack, the Yoshiyuki held at the ready as his friend spoke both their thoughts for them. "I thought you'd gone to the Northern Crater."<p>

"I told you, I am always by your side. Tonight, I am simply here to show you the truth you refuse to see."

"If you think we're going to fall for your lies, then you're dead wrong. Cloud's Cloud, I'm me, and we're all who we are. If anything, the only one here who isn't who he thinks he is, is you."

Sephiroth chuckled malevolently. "You always did fare better with simple ideas. Perhaps it would be best to speak to your level." For a moment, they were unsure of what the former general would do, but then his eyes began to reshape and change color, slowly going to a deeper shade of red as his body warped itself into the familiar shape of a winged woman formed of a mass of tentacles. Zack immediately cast a barrier over Yuffie and Cloud started to cast Firaga but he had to stop mid-cast to roll out of the way when Jenova beat him to the punch, sending a ball of fire in return. He saw Zack rush forward to land a hit on the thing.

A shuriken flew by overhead, and Cloud raced in, drawing the Butterfly Edge with his off-hand and going for a double-strike at Jenova's trunk. He dodged one of her larger tentacles on the way in before stabbing hard with the shorter blade and leaving a nasty gash with a slice from the katana. This creature was definitely a bit more powerful than the one he'd been conscious for in Junon, but he still felt he could probably hold his own.

Dodging out of the way of another tentacle, he saw Zack leap up into the branches of a nearby tree before propelling himself forward, swinging the Buster Sword to deflect a fireball like it was nothing, and landing a hard blow to one of Jenova's wings. The abomination took advantage of his inability to control himself in midair to whip him backwards. He caught himself on one of the higher branches of a nearby tree and Cloud felt a limit break channel. He raced out of the way of yet another tentacle just in time to see Zack leap in midair, holding his hand above him as waves of fire and lighting landed upon the enemy.

He'd never seen Zack do that one before, but somehow it felt familiar… he couldn't put his finger on it. But now was not the time to be thinking about this. Yuffie attacked again with her shuriken and he ran full tilt towards the center of the beast, before leaping into the air to slice a little higher than he'd gone the first time around. It looked like they had this under control… they were winning… he knew it…

He heard Zack cast Thundara as he landed nearby and leapt back behind him to avoid the blast. Thinking he'd go in again, he readied his blade, but it was at that moment when he suddenly became aware of a familiar throb working its way through his skull, not enough to make him pass out, but combined with the low buzz in his ears, it was enough to make him aware that something wasn't right… A voice echoed through his thoughts. "_Did you really think you'd escaped me that easily, 'Cloud?'_"

His eyes widened in horror as he realized the hand in which he held the Yoshiyuki was angling it for a deadly strike across his own friend's back…

* * *

><p>Shortly after Zack left Tifa on the porch, she was joined by a few of the others while they waited for Cissnei to arrive. Barret was enjoying the last few moment he had with Marlene a few feet away when Aerith walked up to Tifa. She'd just sent Yuffie to collect the guys a minute or two ago, and was beginning to wonder what was taking them. "I would have thought they'd be back by now," she said.<p>

"I don't know," Tifa said. "Do you think we ought to look for them?"

Aerith nodded. "Let's go." She stepped off the porch to walk into the woods when Tifa spotted something. Within the woods to their left, there were two pairs of eyes looking out at them, and they were a strange reptilian green. She lowered into a fighting stance putting herself between them and Marlene.

"Tifa?" Barret had sensed the change in her demeanor immediately, and upon seeing where her gaze was directed, he too stood up and raised his gun arm. "Aerith. Get Marlene inside. Now."

Aerith was confused for a moment, but then she saw it too. "Right." She hurried to where Marlene was sitting and gently took her to the door. At the same moment, the two pairs of eyes came closer and upon reaching the tree line, Tifa found herself faced with two more of the strange cloaked figures. The two Sephiroth clones seemed to be leering at them and she could see the taughtness in their muscles like twisted springs ready for release at the right signal. Their intentions were anything but peaceful.

"What's goin' on out here?" Tifa distantly heard Cait Sith's voice at the door, but Aerith pushed past him. He waddled out on the porch. "Have we got company? Well, I'll be helpin' with that if ye'll have me."

"Please do." Tifa tightened her gloves. She wasn't sure how tough these two would be, but she certainly didn't mind the backup.

She caught sight of something glinting in the hand of one of the clones. A rusty knife, not the best weapon he could have chosen but given the mental integrity these beings possessed, it was probably not surprising. The other one seemed to be unarmed, but she had no intention of being caught unawares. "The calamity will come… hehe… death… destruction… just as he said…" one of the clones wheezed.

"Yeh got one chance to back off! After that, I'm sendin' ya both on a one-way ticket ta Hell!" Barret said, aiming his gunarm in their direction. Without warning, something flew past Tifa's cheek. She looked towards the origin of the projectile and found that the other clone was carrying something in its hand. She couldn't tell what they were, but she raced forward, leaping from side to side to avoid being struck by them before attempting to land a hard punch to his gut. She heard Barret unloading his gunarm at the other clone as it too raced towards him, apparently not even trying to dodge.

She managed to strike home on her own target but even as the second object in the person's hand fell to the ground, he fell back a step before lunging at her, diving for her throat. She knocked him away but felt something sharp across her upper leg. She dived for him to put him in a lock but he wriggled free at the last second. Cait Sith was at her side and sent out a blast with his megaphone that temporarily seemed to have stunned the man, but he recovered quickly, crawling on the ground like a wounded animal ready to strike again. She beat him to it, landing a kick that sent the man flying across the clearing. Part of her felt a bit guilty though. It couldn't be helped but these people had once been normal, before Hojo had entered the picture.

"Ye all righ' lass?" Cait asked, and she spared a glance to see he had noticed the blood trickling down her leg.

"I'm fine, we'll worry about that later," she said, going for Rayleigh's Sleep materia. There were more important things to worry about right now.

* * *

><p>Kunsel was checking on some rope and other supplies that were sitting in front of the lodge waiting to be taken to the Highwind when Freya walked out of the house followed by Tanjuu. Both were carrying more boxes bound for the ship. "Do you need a hand with any of those?" he asked.<p>

"It's all right. There's a few ration boxes Elmyra's done with in the kitchen…" she paused, looking outside the dim circle of light from the lamp that glowed over the front door before dropping what she was carrying to reach for her shotgun.

Tanjuu already had his guns pointed at the woods and half a second later, Kunsel's own SOLDIER broadsword was out after seeing why. Two figures were approaching out of the trees, both with reptilian green eyes and both were clearly armed. One was shakily hefting a carving knife while the other was wielding what was unmistakably a harvesting scythe. Old fashioned as it was, it was no less dangerous. "Reunion… will come… death… end… kill…"

That was all the former gangster needed to hear before he unloaded four shots at the advancing clones. They both lunged at the same time and though two of the bullets had definitely struck home the one clone wielding the scythe didn't even flinch but just kept coming like he didn't even feel it. Freya fired a shotgun blast that definitely seemed to slow down the one wielding the knife but it too continued to advance. Kunsel blocked with his sword before punching the scythe's wielder with his off hand but he had to duck when the harvesting tool flew by overhead. Any slower and he might have been decapitated. Instead, he took advantage of his crouch to spring forward and stab his sword into the clone's shoulder.

He dodged back to avoid his opponent's attempt to claw at his face and heard several more shots going off. That was when he heard a lock click behind him and after tossing his own opponent off of him he stole a glance behind him to see Zack's father looking out at them from the window. He nodded to him and turned back to face their opponents. Just what in the hell was going on here?

* * *

><p>Nanaki was crouched on the weather deck of the Highwind, when he heard several loud bangs near the lodge. He stood just in time to spot Cid run out followed by Shera and Rayleigh, having apparently also heard the noise. "That sounded like a gun." Rayleigh observed.<p>

Cid nodded and moved towards the ladder. "I'll go check it out. Red, you stay here and keep an eye on things…" He was almost there when he paused. "Doc, you and Shera get back in there and tell the crew not to come out for a while, we've got company!" With that, he grabbed a rope for support and then jumped, clearly aiming his spear at something near the base of the ladder. Nanaki followed after him, leaping over the side, towards a nearby tree to slow his decent. He landed lightly on a branch before jumping the rest of the way to the ground. By then, Cid had reached the base of the ladder to find his attack being blocked by a Sephiroth clone, who had deflected it with a wooden staff.

Nanaki was running to help when he felt something wrap around his right back leg. He tripped and was knocked to the ground, but upon seeing that his attacker was another clone wielding a chain he focused on the materia in his bangle and sent a Demi spell out towards his enemy in a wave of crushing pressure. The chain loosened and he pulled himself free before lunging at this new opponent who dodged out of the way, attempting to swing the chain again.

As he rolled away from the attack, off to his right he heard something flying through the air and saw the other Sephiroth clone come to land in a crouch before running at Cid again. He could smell blood. The pilot had made contact apparently, and the fact he'd felt magic in the area seemed to suggest that he'd used a materia in order to do it… had Cid found a Deathblow materia somehow? Nanaki raced towards his own opponent, dodging and weaving the chain until he was right on top of him and leapt, just missing locking his teeth into his opponent's jaw before the clone held the chain taught to block him off. He was about to try again when he heard the sound of a helicopter.

The chain whipped past him and he jumped at his attacker, biting and clawing before backing away to avoid the clone trying to wrap the weapon around his neck. These beings were deceptively tough, he noted as he prowled around it, alert for the next attack, his tail lighting the clearing with a burning glow. The clone lashed out experimentally, and he leapt away before channeling a limit break and let loose with five powerful attacks. Several gashes opened in the earth as the clone was knocked back.

The helicopter had landed on the other side of the clearing now and he heard the hatch open before seeing a man approach to help Cid at a run while a fast moving and very familiar rekka flew towards his opponent, cutting deeply into them. With a last gasp, the clone with the chain collapsed and he saw a thin katana slice through the other clone's weapon, chopping it in half before Cid dealt the last fatal blow.

"Are you guys all right?" Cissnei asked.

"Don't worry about us. There's something going on at the house." Cid looked over at the newly arrived renegades, already taking charge. "Red? You stay here with the crew; we're going to take a look."

Nanaki growled in answer and took a spot next to the ladder. No one would take the ship if he had anything to say about it. Cid pulled a cigarette from the band holding his aviator goggles on his brow and lit it before running off towards the lodge, the two renegades in hot pursuit.

* * *

><p>Professor Hojo had already spent several days locked in this tiny cell. Not many people had particularly cared to see him with the exception of Tseng, and unfortunately when they had come to retrieve him they had divested him of the sample of S-cells he had intended to inject himself with when the time came. Even so, he had been very interested in the reports Tseng had privileged him to read. The two specimens the Turks said had gotten hold of the Black Materia were still failures beyond all doubt, but the fact that Sephiroth had even been able to manipulate them as much as he had was an interesting conundrum. If he could get hold of them again, he would definitely want to run some tests to determine why if he had time. There was still so much else he wanted to do… If he could just get out of here he could make a start on his plans to enable his observance of Sephiroth's victory. After all his hard work, it was only natural that he should want to see the results…<p>

There was a thumping noise outside the door and he looked up from his musings in curiosity and annoyance. What could that be at this hour?

As if in answer to his question he heard what sounded like several shots from an energy rifle and then the sound of a key-card being inserted into the lock. The door whooshed open and when he saw who stood on the other side, a malevolent smile spread across his face. "So _they_ sent you, eh?"

"You are too valuable to be left to rot," the armed man answered, his voice slightly muffled by the uniform he was wearing. It carried an insignia similar to SOLDIER, but was definitely not, and anyone could see the luminescent blue mako streaming through tubes sewn into the fabric. Without them, he would have been unable to function.

"Those cave dwellers never could solve anything on their own," Hojo grumbled, but as he left the cell, he was already chuckling. No one could touch him now, not even Rufus or Tseng. Once he was safely returned to Midgar, all he would have to do was finish his plans, and wait… After all, if there was one thing he knew about progress, it was that it could never be stopped, and even if Sephiroth failed, it was only one more step in the right direction.

* * *

><p>He could already feel himself being pulled into that strange half-aware state he'd experienced at the Temple, and yet, somehow this time around, he'd become very aware of his own heartbeat. For every throb, his arm raised higher and higher, getting ready to bring the Yoshiyuki down across Zack's back, and yet time itself seemed to have slowed so each inch his hand lifted took a lifetime. "<em>No…" <em>He wasn't going to let this happen. This was Zack. He knew he wasn't quite over what had happened to him, but he wasn't going to let this stand. He couldn't. As though it could sense he was trying to resist, his arm moved faster until it was almost at the apex of the strike. He could feel it shake as he fought it tooth and nail. "What… are you trying to make me do…?" His hand stopped, shaking in midair and that was when Zack turned around, his eyes widened as they met with his and he turned around fully.

Yuffie saw what was happening and moved to run interference while the dark haired SOLDIER approached him, his face hardened in determination, his expression firm. "That's right, you can do it…" he thrust the Buster Sword into the ground between them, taking Cloud's free hand and directing it to the hilt. "Come on… "

Behind them, Yuffie let out a cry and Zack turned to see what it was, but just as he was about to run to help, a tentacle swiped at him almost from behind, knocking him headfirst into a nearby boulder. It shattered from the impact. "Z-zack?!" He was silently begging his friend to get up even as he wanted to run over to help him, but he was still fighting desperately against the will that had nearly taken him over.

Zack wasn't getting up. He felt his eyes widen. No… no, no, no… He begged his body to move, but as though directed by someone who knew exactly what he was thinking, Jenova reached out and wrapped its tentacle around Zack's body. He watched in horror as his friend's prone form was dragged across the ground, blood trickling down from under his dark hair. He fought desperately against the force within him but somehow the shock of watching what had just happened had left him powerless, his thoughts scattered to a thousand directions. In that moment he felt a familiar presence and he renewed his efforts, his mind filling with rage.

"_If he really is so dear to you, come find us at the Northern Crater, and I will tear away every illusion of will either of you possess…"_

The laughter echoed in his ears and he saw Zack being coiled securely within Jenova's form. Yuffie was already running for him, trying to free him while dodging the fireballs. The anger was burning him as though it were a physical brand upon his soul now, but it wasn't until he saw Jenova begin to change, her wings growing wider in order to carry her large shape that he felt the hold on him dissipate.

He didn't realize he'd dropped the Yoshiyuki until he felt the weight of the Buster Sword in his hands, and that he was running. He could see Yuffie, still holding on tight to Jenova's form even as it had taken flight, trying vainly to use her Shuriken to cut Zack out of its embrace, but it was almost out over the sea now. The wind blew in his face as he raced after it, down the hill towards the small strip of beach. This could not be happening. No! He wasn't going to let it! Not after everything Zack had done for him!

Deep within him he felt an energy channel he had never felt before and as though he had known how to do it his entire life, he hefted the Buster Sword into the air and began swinging it. A wind picked up around him forming a small tornado which he used to rocket himself into the air. Tears in his eyes, he looked angrily out at the departing abomination and sent his sword into the strongest lunge he could while still in midair. Meteors rained out of the sky from a place that didn't exist and the limit break dispersed its furious energy into the ocean before him, breaking apart the rocks in the sea like they were so much rubble. He landed on the beach in a crouch, the pain and anger still burning within him in a way he hadn't felt since Nibelheim. Finally, unable to take it anymore, he glared at the stars and screamed his frustration at the unforgiving void. He'd failed… again…!

* * *

><p>The clone with the scythe fell shortly after the one with the dagger, but by that point, Kunsel had heard the report of Barret's gunarm. Where were Zack and Cloud? Did they know what was going on? He was almost to the side of the house when he heard Freya raise her shotgun behind him and glanced back to see she was aiming at the path towards the helicopter landing. "Cid? That better be you!" She called.<p>

"You just watch where you're pointin' that thing!" The pilot shouted back. Kunsel spotted Mao and Cissnei behind him before he ducked around the side of the lodge, headed towards the origin of the other gunshots.

Freya seemed to have noticed his disappearance because he heard her behind him. "Don't go off alone, what if you need backup?"

Kunsel looked around the next corner to find Barret, Tifa, and Cait Sith standing near another pair of bodies. "I think it's already over," he said. His senses alert for any further attacks, he passed the porch in order to join the three. By the time he had approached them Barret had curiously walked over to one of the bodies, which Kunsel could see was holding a rusty knife in one of its hands.

"Are you guys okay over here?" he asked.

Cait Sith was busy fussing over Tifa's leg. "Don't move it lass, let me cast a Cure first."

Tifa looked up at him and nodded. "Mostly."

That was when they heard Barret swearing as he backed away from the clone. "It was a kid…" Kunsel heard him rasp out.

"Hojo… If I ever find that man…" Tifa started angrily.

Kunsel grunted in agreement, but then something else caught his attention. The smell of something burning was emanating from the woods near the spring, and as he looked up, he thought he could see flames off in the distance. "Something's wrong." He point in the direction of the woods and the others saw the orange light.

"Zack, Cloud and Yuffie are out there!" Tifa said.

Nothing further needed to be said. The five of them raced down the forest path, very afraid of what they would find. They were halfway to the spring when back at the lodge, a clock that stood in the living room struck midnight. The new year had begun.

* * *

><p><strong>January 1<strong>**st** **[ ν ] – εуλ 0008**

Yuffie was really getting cold. For some reason, as soon as Jenova had gotten out over the water, it had stopped trying to pull her off. She had every reason not to try and fight the thing now though. If she cut Zack loose, he might go plummeting to his death in the ocean, and if she didn't hang on, she might do the same.

She was too scared right now to be motion sick, but she did her best to master herself and climbed shakily over to where Zack lay, eyes closed, blood still trickling from his forehead. "Please don't be dead…" she pleaded. It had always felt like an impossibility. He'd played along with her back when she was little and pretended to have been defeated by her, but deep down, part of her had half believed over their adventures together that he was almost invincible. To see him like this was… terrifying. After a moment's hesitation, she reached down to check him for a pulse, and to her immense relief, she found one. She sighed. Good.

She crawled next to him, shivering as she looked out over the endless ocean. She couldn't see land anymore, and the water under the starlight was not much more than a glittering expanse of emptiness, mirroring the sky above it. But at the very least, they had one thing going for them. Zack was alive…

* * *

><p><em>Happy belated Thanksgiving!<em>

_A few notes. First off, my sincerest apologies to my readers. Not only was I late, but I had the nerve to leave this chapter on a very evil cliff-hangar (not that I haven't before... but, this one was particularly mean and the next one will most likely be worse, since we're gearing up for the finale of part II pretty soon. ^^;) I make no excuses for the cliff-hangar, but my beta-reader was sick, so I had to wait a bit before I was ready to post. Fortunately he's feeling a lot better today._

_Second, special thanks to Irish-Brigid, for her brilliant suggestion about the cattle-prod._

_Finally, we have arrived at a critical moment in the main plot. Aerith would have died at the City of the Ancients and Jenova LIFE would have been dispatched there. Of course, LIFE got destroyed at the temple, so I wonder if anyone can guess which one made an appearance here..._

_Until next week._


	38. All That Ever Matters to Him

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spin-offs That honor goes to Square-Enix.

**Part II: Reunion**

* * *

><p>Chapter 38, All That Ever Matters to Him…<p>

**January 1****st** **[ ν ] – εуλ 0008**

Kunsel raced through the woods towards the smell of smoke and the hot glowing light to find several fires ablaze in the trees. Freya caught up with him and quickly began casting ice spells to put them out while Tifa hurried to the spring and started splashing water on the flames that were within range. Kunsel continued onward with Barret and Cait Sith, alert for any sign of the others. It didn't take long for him to find the Yoshiyuki on the ground, and he gathered it up, continuing his search. By the time he'd determined the direction the fight had gone, Tifa and Freya were already finished and they were headed towards the ocean together. It wasn't until they had reached the crest of the hill that they spotted a lone figure on the beach under the starlight, clutching a large sword in his hands like it would dissolve if he let it go.

"Cloud!" Tifa called out to him, not even minding the descent as she ran down to the beach. Kunsel followed after her, and he could hear the others behind him. That the martial artist reached the blonde swordsman before he did was an accomplishment in itself. "What happened?" she demanded. "Where's Zack and Yuffie?"

Cloud refused to tear his eyes away from the empty ocean, and Kunsel could tell he seemed to be in shock. "Sephiroth… We were attacked… it took him… I couldn't stop it…" The Buster Sword reflected the water on its surface, and Kunsel could see the blade was covered in blood.

Kunsel walked up to him. "Cloud, where did they go?" he kept his voice firm and calm. If someone didn't take charge here, things were going to spiral out of control in a heartbeat.

Cloud finally looked in their direction. "Sephiroth said he was taking them to the Northern Crater."

"Well what the hell are we waiting for?" Everyone looked behind them to see Cid standing at the base of the hill. "We should still be able to catch'em if we hurry!"

"He's right," Kunsel said. "We're going. Cid, as soon as everyone's aboard, I want you to fly at top speed, and someone try to reach Zack or Yuffie on their PHS's. They may still be in range and we may be able to get a bead on their location.

"I'm already on it," Freya said. "I'm ringing Zack's PHS now…"

"He won't pick up," Cloud murmured, hanging his head even as Tifa was guiding him back to the hill.

Kunsel gave him a hard look as a terrible thought entered his mind. Could Cloud have… Just what had happened out here? "Why?" he finally asked.

"Yuffie?" Freya seemed to have answered that question without trying. "Calm down! Are you all right?"

Kunsel joined her to listen to the call as they neared the crest of the hill. _"I'm okay, but this thing's taking us somewhere… I don't know where we're going but… it's really cold… and Zack won't…"_

"Is Zack with you?" Freya asked.

"_He's here, but he won't wake up… The thing took him after it knocked him out when he tried to help Cloud and I tried to cut him loose but before I knew it we were out over the water and it was too far to swim… and… and…" _

"Calm down," Freya instructed. "Stay on the line and we'll come find you, okay?"

"_What's that?... Sor… …eaking up…"_

"Yuffie? Yuffie!" Freya called into the receiver, but it was no use, the line had gone dead.

* * *

><p>The moon had risen out over the sea and Aerith found herself watching the waves from the bridge of the Highwind. Cloud stood a few yards away. Tifa stood next to him, though they both looked tired. They had tried searching for Jenova for a couple of hours, but once it was clear that it had left the area, Kunsel made the call that they should get going. There was still Vincent to consider, and there was a chance the thing could be intercepted at the Northern Crater if they got there fast enough. Things were quiet right now. Everyone else had gone to the cabins, or in Kunsel and Freya's case, the briefing room in order to try and make contact with Yuffie again. The word was they hadn't had any luck so far.<p>

Cloud hadn't let go of the Buster Sword since she'd seen him return with it from the beach, without Zack. He hadn't said much about that either. Up until just now, the focus had been on scanning the skies, but now that things had quieted down, the bridge felt decidedly empty. It was hardly the way she had imagined her first ride on an airship would be. She had hoped that when it happened, Zack would be with her. She heard someone coming up the walkway from the machine room and saw Dr. Rayleigh step into the bridge.

"Here you are," she said. "Kunsel told me you were all still up."

"Well of course Doc, why wouldn't I be?" Cid said from the pilot's station.

"You have an excuse. You're flying this thing," Rayleigh said dryly. She turned her attention to the others. "The rest of you should probably get some sleep. We won't get there until early tomorrow, and it won't do you or Zack any good if you're tired…"

Cloud turned his attention back to the window. "What if we catch up to them? We could still…"

"We could," Rayleigh agreed. "But in that case, I'm sure Cid will let you know. Right?" She shot a meaningful glance at the man who seemed to get the gist of her meaning right away.

"Uh… yeah…" Cid finally answered, "'Course I will."

Aerith sighed. There really wasn't much she could do, except try to listen for Zack, but things had been so turbulent when they were getting ready to leave, and now, so far away from the ground, it was very difficult to hear what the planet had to say on the matter. Maybe some sleep would do some good.

"Come on," she heard Tifa say to Cloud.

"You can. I'm staying here," he said.

"And what good will that do?" Rayleigh asked him, walking a little closer.

He frowned at her, stubbornly, daring her to challenge him even as she watched his hand clench around the hilt of the Buster Sword protectively. "…I have to do something. What else can I do?"

"You could figure out that it's not your fault," Aerith suggested.

"But it is," Cloud argued. "Sephiroth… he tried to control me again and Zack was trying to help me. If not for me, he wouldn't have been…"

Seeing that he was falling apart fast Aerith hurried over to him and put her arms around him. "Shhh…You didn't do anything wrong, and no one blames you, so stop doing this to yourself. He wouldn't want you to." She backed up a step and saw him looking down at her with those gentle blue eyes. Words alone probably wouldn't get through to him, she'd known him long enough to know that by now, but at the very least the gesture seemed to have gotten his attention. "I don't want to go either," she added. "But she's right." She cast a final look out the window at the moonlit ocean before walking past Rayleigh to leave the room.

Behind her, she heard Tifa try one more time. "Please Cloud. You look exhausted."

She paused listening and heard a sigh from the man and then a grudging "...All right. But if there's any sign of them…"

"Get outta here and get some sleep, #$%*&$$." She internally winced at Cid's response but continued walking until they reached the cabins.

Aerith bid everyone goodnight before going into the one she would be sharing with Tifa and after leaning her staff against the wall, she kicked off her boots and curled up on the bed, feeling very alone in spite of how many friends were here. "_Wherever you are Zack,"_ she pleaded silently, trying to fight back her tears. _"Please be all right. I don't want to lose you again._"

* * *

><p>It was almost afternoon and Freya was walking back to the cabins from the briefing room. She and Kunsel had been there through most of the morning attempting to get in contact with Yuffie or Zack again, but there hadn't been any luck. Cissnei had taken over for them and Kunsel said he would be coming to get some sleep himself in a few more minutes. She rubbed her eyes and was about to turn down the corridor to the cabin she was sharing with Cissnei when she saw the silhouette of a shadow peeking out from the crew lounge. Curious, she walked over and glanced inside to find Barret looking out of one of the portholes. Cait Sith was looking out one of the others. "I'm thinkin' that's Kalm down there," the little cat observed.<p>

"Yeah," Barret muttered. "Midgar's off that way. Can't miss that hell hole even from here."

The lady Turk stepped up to another one of the small windows that pointed westward and spotted the giant wheel off in the distance. Barret had a point. Even from this far away, if one was airborne it couldn't be missed. She wondered absently if, had Cid's mission to space succeeded, he would have been able to see it from up there too. She chuckled to herself. Perhaps it was her lack of sleep talking.

"From up here, you can't even see the slums," Barret went on.

"Yeh can kind o' see the Shinra Building tho', if ya squint." Cait Sith said.

"There's one place I'll never want ta see again, 'cept maybe as a pile o' rubble." Barret said, his voice becoming unusually quiet.

"I understand Shinra did a lot to ya," Cait Sith said. "But ya kno, I've been meanin' to talk to ya about that."

Freya held her breath. She could feel the explosion already coming. This couldn't go over well… but to her surprise, nothing happened. Instead, Barret just kept looking out at the giant plate. "It's about the reactors, ain't it?"

Cait Sith sighed. "Well, I just wanted to kno' what you were goin' ta do after this. Once Sephiroth's gone, ya can't be thinkin' o goin back to bein' a terrorist again, can ya?"

"I don't know ta tell the truth," Barret said. "It's been an interestin' ride. Seein' Gongaga, findin' what happened ta Dyne, seein' what Sephiroth and that crazy scientist did ta Zack and Cloud…" He sighed. "I don't think I'd ever been so afraid of losin' Marlene as that day we walked into the house and Cloud looked like he might be about ta come at us before Zack caught him, and not because he even wanted to. Even those clones we killed before we left. Ya know, one of em was a kid, not much older'n Yuffie." He paused for a moment, rubbing the back of his neck, awkwardly. "I'm not so good with this kinda thing, but after I heard what happened with Dyne, I got ta thinkin. He really wasn' all that different from what I was. Angry, blamin' Shinra, and after a while, he took it out on people who weren't even involved. He lost it so bad, he destroyed himself. It was kind of a wake-up call, I guess."

He glanced over at Freya. "After that, what you said in Gongaga about Zack's parents suddenly made a lot more sense." He turned back to Cait Sith, facing him fully. "After all, what might have been acceptable casualties for AVALANCHE would have been terrible to him if they'd died. It's cool ta say it's for the good of the Planet, but when we blew that reactor, a lot of people got killed, jus' because they got in our way. Lookin' back on it now, I can see that wasn't the right way to do things… First it was revenge, but I think, whatever I do now, I'm gonna really be doin' it for Marlene, and for her future. The one thing I won't do is take it out on them that's just trying to live their lives."

Freya smiled. She'd been really worried, but hearing Barret say that rather than go off into an anger-crazed shouting match had been a huge relief. Cait regarded the huge man thoughtfully and then nodded. "I'm glad."

"That still doesn't mean I'm gonna cut ya any slack for bein' Shinra," Barret said, turning his attention back to the window.

"I didn' think it would."

It was at that moment when the lady Turk yawned and decided to continue on to her bunk. She stepped out of the room and back to the main corridor, just in time to see Kunsel duck into the four-man cabin he and Cloud were sharing with Barret, and which they would all have been sharing with Zack if things had been different. He spotted her and acknowledged her with a tired smile before opening the door and walking inside. As she was about to go past she heard him say something to the other occupant. "Oh, Cloud. Did you just get up?"

She looked inside. Cloud was sitting at the small desk in the corner, and she realized he was working with his own cleaning kit, polishing the Buster Sword with diligent care. "Yeah… I thought I should at least have his sword in better shape when I give it back to him," he gestured to the half-cleaned blade on his lap.

"I know he'll appreciate that,"Kunsel said.

"I hope so…" He still looked rather dejected.

Kunsel sat down on his bunk. "I know we were kind of busy earlier, but I was meaning to ask, are you all right? I know things were pretty hectic and it had to be a bad shock…"

"What do you think?" Cloud looked like he was biting back a slight annoyance. "I almost killed my best friend, and then pretty much _let_ him get dragged off by Jenova, and our worst enemy told me we're headed to the Northern Crater because that's exactly what he wants us to do. Yeah, I'm doing great."

"Hang on… what?" Freya walked into the room. She had heard him talk about how Sephiroth had tried to control him but he hadn't said anything about how he had tried to make him kill Zack.

"I barely stopped it in time…" Cloud admitted. "It would have killed him. Instead of knocking me out, like he should have done, he decided to try and help me fight it instead… that was when Jenova got him…" He hung his head sadly. "I still don't get why he keeps bothering."

"Because he thought you could do it," Freya said.

"Why? What did he even see in me?" He was looking down at the floor now, having nearly forgotten what he was doing.

The uncertainty in his voice was painful to hear, even for her and it was clear that even after what had happened in the Lifestream, the man still had a long way to go, but at that moment, she was shaken out of her thoughts by the sound of Kunsel sighing exasperatedly. "You've known him long enough to know by now that when it comes to Zack, how useful you are never even entered the equation. The only thing that mattered to him was that he saw a friend in trouble. So he tried to help. That's what Zack does, and you probably couldn't have talked him out of it if you tried."

"Now that's the truth," Freya agreed. "Still, you need to stop thinking so much about what you weren't able to do, and try to think a little more about what you were able to do, and what you can do now. Living in regret isn't living at all."

Cloud looked back down at the sword, considering what she'd said.

Freya yawned. "Listen, I'd stick around, but I know Kunsel's tired and I kind of am too. Though I would like it if you'd at least try to think about what we said, all right?"

"I guess so," Cloud reached back behind him to retrieve his cleaning kit, apparently planning to go to the lounge so he wouldn't disturb his bunkmate and walked past her.

"Great, that's all we want to hear," she called after him. After he was gone, she noticed that Kunsel was looking at her.

"What?" she asked.

"Nothing, I was just wondering, if you learned that as a Turk."

"Turks don't have regrets," she answered, stifling a yawn. "If they did, they wouldn't be Turks, now would they?"

"I don't think that's true," Kunsel said. "If you didn't, would you be standing here?"

"I don't know if I can be called a Turk," the huntress said softly.

"But you never leave the Turks, right?" Kunsel replied.

"I'm… not entirely sure that's true… anymore…" she leaned against the door, not bothering to hide how tired she was.

She felt the man's hazel eyes watching her and then heard him sigh again, shaking his head. "Looks like this crew is having an epidemic of identity crises. Are we going to have to pull you back through the Lifestream too?"

She laughed. "I don't know about that, but I think I desperately need some sleep right now. I'll see you later."

Kunsel nodded, reaching for the door so he could close it when she turned to leave. "Yeah, later."

With that, she continued along the corridor, finally reaching her own cabin and going inside.

* * *

><p>Reno sat in the lounge at the Department of Administrative Research's Midgar office, and he was not pleased. Not only had Rufus pretty much taken them off the job but with Tseng still missing after the Northern Crater, not to mention their failure to secure the Highwind at the airport, things had taken a very sour turn. To add insult to injury, he was currently the ranking member of the Turks, and that made HIM responsible for all the paperwork around here as well as manning the phones! Not that they'd been particularly active with only the three of them and no missions since the Highwind.<p>

He sighed. Things had been eerily quiet in the Turks headquarters for a while now, even after Elena had been recruited. Now that Tseng was gone, he couldn't help but feel the place had lost something even Veld's absence hadn't quite erased.

His thoughts were interrupted by Rude and Elena walking into the room. The taciturn Turk walked to the window while Elena sat down at the table, a drink carrier in her hand. They'd apparently gone to the café down the street. "Hey," she said quietly.

"Yo," he answered.

"We brought you some coffee," the blond Turk offered one of the cups, and he accepted it with a small salute.

"Thanks."

"No problem." They sat in silence for a little bit and Reno considered the situation. "Too bad the director's not around, ya know?"

Rude nodded.

Reno leaned back on the couch, thinking. "Hope he's alive."

"He is," Rude said. "Tseng's just like the president. They're kind of like cats. Nine lives, you know?"

Reno grinned. "Ya got that right." He looked up at ceiling, throwing his hands carelessly behind his head. "Still, what a nightmare, huh?"

Rude nodded.

"If what he said was right, about Sephiroth… I don't know, do you think Rufus can handle him without the director?"

"Freya didn't think we could, even with him," Elena muttered.

Rude shrugged, and after acknowledging the response Reno looked back up at the ceiling, shaking his head. "It really sucks we're stuck here. No orders, nothing to do. Kinda makes me miss the good old days, when we had the others to back us up."

Rude nodded again before glancing out at the window nostalgically.

"I gotta admit, at this point, I'm halfway thinkin' about just headin' out for the day and seeing if we can find something out on our own."

The bald Turk looked back at him eyebrows raised and Reno nodded. "Yeah, I know, what Tseng pulled deciding Veld was crucial to the company was crazy, but at least that meant he was still acting in their interests the whole time without being an idiot. Gotta admire the guy for that, yo. I'm thinking that maybe he had the right idea."

By now, Elena was looking at him like he was totally crazy. "But he isn't saying anything."

"Are you kidding? If we let him, he could carry on a whole conversation without using his voice," Reno sat up and grinned at the younger Turk. "But I guess what I'm thinking is we're not accomplishing anything just sitting here. Tseng's kind of important to the company, isn't he?…"

Rude's eyebrows were creeping higher up his forehead when suddenly, Reno's PHS rang.

"Yeah?" The redheaded Turk answered the call. "What is it boss?"

There was silence in the room before he replied "It's no problem, we'll check it out." He hung up his PHS and grinned at his companions. "Well guys, looks like our unplanned vacation is officially over."

* * *

><p>The first thing Zack became aware of as consciousness slowly returned to him was that his head felt like it was about to split open. <em>What happened?... <em>Other sensations returned next, making him aware that his skin was registering a familiar burn, and that he felt tired, and wet… Mako? There was an acrid smell in his nose though it wasn't nearly as sharp as that from the tanks. This smelled more like natural Lifestream. What was he doing in a pool of that stuff? He had just opened his eyes to look around when suddenly the fluid he'd found himself drenched in splashed everywhere and he was lifted up by the front of his sweater. It took him a moment for his vision to clear, and he wondered absently why he wasn't surprised who it was at the other end of the arm that held him above the floor.

"Sephiroth…" he frowned and attempted to pry himself loose, but in his current state, his coordination had not adequately returned yet. He glanced down at the pool of green, the tendrils sprouting up into the air around them, lighting a chamber of what seemed to be walled with mako crystals. Something finally clicked in his mind as to why he had awakened the way he had. "I see what you did there… you didn't want me fighting you… So, are you going to kill me…?"

"Not yet." Before he could react, Sephiroth drew back his fist and punched, sending Zack flying across the room. He grunted as he felt his back connect with the wall behind him, and he caught a glimpse of the ceiling of the chamber overhead. Red tendrils of some strange substance spread across the ceiling like roots, centering around what looked like the remains of some sort of eggsack that hung in tatters. There looked like there might be some kind of hole to the surface from wherever they were, though he could see snow coming in through some places. Wherever they were, it was either at a very high altitude or very cold. His assessment was soon interrupted when he saw Sephiroth coming at him again. Normally, he would have been able to evade, but Sephiroth's intentionally dunking him in the Lifestream just minutes ago had slowed his reflexes, making him unable to even block as the former general grabbed him by the front of his shirt again, slamming him into the wall. Stars flashed before his eyes and he barely comprehended what his attacker was saying to him.

"First I'm going to show you what it truly means to defy my will." In his muddled thoughts he didn't register what Sephiroth held in his left hand until it was far too late. The man drew back what he carried and it was only when Zack felt the quite literally bone shattering crunch that he realized his right shoulder had just been impaled by along steel pole.

"Arrgghhh!" He felt his eyes water through the intense pain that was frying his nerves, breathing heavily and forcing himself not to black out again. It was all he could do keep his knees from going out from under him, and he knew hanging from his injury would only make it worse. He could already feel blood running down his arm. It wasn't in a gush. Ironically, he had the pole itself to thank for that, but it still flowed down his arm in a delicate trickle of red.

He glared at the man in front of him, no, the monster, and finally ground out, "And… what's that… supposed to… do…?"

Sephiroth sauntered across the cavern before glancing at him as though assessing a picture he'd just hung on a wall. That was when he noticed the other figure, lying nearly motionless across the cavern. It was hard to tell if he too was bleeding or not. It might have been camouflaged by the tattered red cloak, but as Sephiroth picked him up like he might a rag doll, Zack knew it was Vincent. He appeared to have suffered several broken bones, and his face was sporting many healed cuts and bruises. "As soon as I find the Black Materia's location, one of you will get it for me."

"I'll die… before I do anything for you…" Zack growled, still breathing hard from his recently inflicted injury. He could already feel himself going into shock. He was definitely aware of the sensation of the pole being there and the crushed bones and torn muscle were impossible to miss, but somehow, in the last few moments, the pain had faded to the point he was only dully aware of it.

"That can be arranged, as soon as Cloud gets here," Sephiroth turned his attention back to the man in red, attempting to shake him awake.

"What?" Zack blinked.

"I told him where we would be, and when he arrives, both of you will know how helpless you truly are."

Zack's eyes widened as it finally hit him. "Are you… going to make him do it?"

"You'll see, when the time is right," Sephiroth said, having decided not to spare any further time for his newest captive. At that moment Zack saw Vincent open a pair of dull red eyes and look up at his captor. "We have a visitor today," the former general said to the man. "I believe he is a mutual acquaintance."

Vincent's eyes tracked to where Zack hung on the wall though he didn't react in any discernable manner.

Sephiroth ignored his silence. "You should realize by now, there is no chance for you to win. Even if I don't find the Black Materia, Vincent, it will only make it worse for the rest of the planet. They will become one with me. It is simply a matter of whether they do so quickly, or in the most painful, torturous way imaginable." As if to emphasize his point, he threw the man across the room so he landed in a heap on the ground before reaching for Masamune and advanced on the limp ex-Turk.

"It may not be as efficient… but at least they have a chance to fight…" Vincent wheezed softly.

"It would be foolish." Zack winced as Sephiroth ran the blade delicately along the side of his victim, cutting a thin line through the man's jump suit and drawing blood with every inch.

That was when he heard something he never expected to hear. Instead of moans, he heard the sound of chuckling, which was quickly changing into peals of hysterical laughter. Sephiroth looked down at his captive in surprise before reaching down to pick him up by his collar. "Why do you find that funny?" he demanded.

Vincent continued laughing. "Poor Sephiroth… I don't think you understand the situation… in which you find yourself…"

"Oh?" Sephiroth narrowed his eyes at his captive.

"Cloud will not come alone…" The red cloaked man answered cryptically. "You underestimate the loyalty he and Zack inspire…"

"I have ways of dealing with that," Sephiroth walked the man over to the wall, slamming him against it, and Vincent seemed to have lost consciousness again. Dropping him at Zack's feet, Sephiroth stalked out of the chamber.

* * *

><p>Yuffie found herself inside a small chamber walled by Mako crystals and looked around. At least it was warmer than outside. Jenova had flown through most of the night and somehow, she had fallen asleep using Zack's prone form as warmth. The next thing she knew, they'd been floating down through an intricate cave system and at some point, she'd been tossed through a hole in the ground and landed here.<p>

She pulled herself to her feet and started exploring, amazed by the fact she still had her shuriken. That was when she heard something move across the chamber. "Who's there?" Holding her shuriken defensively in front of her she crept closer, until she caught sight of a man, lying on the floor, his eyes closed. It wasn't until she got closer that she realized who it was. "You're that Turk that came with us to the temple!" What was his name? Zack had called him Tseng.

He opened his eyes and looked up at her. "Princess Kisaragi?"

"What's it to you?" she did not lower her shuriken.

Tseng blinked as though he were having trouble clearing his head. "It is of no consequence at the moment." He pulled himself up to a sitting position and she noted he was moving gingerly. Obviously he'd suffered some severe injuries.

"What are you doing here?" Yuffie demanded.

The Turk massaged his temple as though he was having a hard time focusing his thoughts. "Sephiroth apparently left us to die in here… What's the date?"

"It's New Year's Day," she answered, continuing to search the chamber. She finally caught sight of a hole in the ceiling through which some water appeared to be trickling. At least now she knew how he'd survived this long. "Do you know where they would have taken Zack?" Tseng gestured to a tiny hole at the floor of the cave.

"Valentine's been down here for about as long as I have…"

It was at that moment when both of them heard a cry of pain echo through the area. "Zack?!" Yuffie called out. There was no response. Yuffie reached for her bangle, thinking she'd cast Titan to break through the wall, but to her surprise, she found the bangle empty. Someone had taken it. Even if she still had her weapon, her materia were all gone.

She uttered a curse in Wutaian and sat down on the ground. "There has to be a way out of here!"

"Perhaps the way you fell in?" Tseng suggested.

"Maybe…" She walked over to the spot and looked up. "I might be able to climb up there."

Tseng sounded slightly lightheaded as he spoke. "There seem to be some dangerous monsters living around here. I was almost certain I saw something with eyes beyond the walls."

"Well, I'm not afraid of them. Just watch me!" With that, Yuffie raced up the wall and attempted to grab the side of the hole. She missed and landed on her rear. Tseng didn't laugh, but instead watched silently as she tried again.

* * *

><p>A few minutes after Sephiroth had left Zack had finally worked up enough strength to look down at the rod that was pinning him to the wall. He was having a little trouble feeling his right arm, he noticed, and though the bleeding had stopped, he still felt pretty awful. He seemed to still be able to move it at least.<p>

Gritting his teeth, he reached over with his left hand and grabbed hold of the rod, trying to pry it loose. He grunted as he pulled, but even with his enhanced strength, it wouldn't budge. Pain shot through his mangled shoulder until he was forced to desist. He considered his options. Moving along the rod did not seem like a good idea. He was already gasping for breath from the effort to try and dislodge the thing, and that would undoubtedly cause him to injure himself further. He could tell that if he didn't do something, he might lose all sensation in his arm entirely.

After a moment, he forced himself to focus, bringing his hands up and clasping them in front of him, memories of Aerith flooding his thoughts. In places he felt the cool magic of the limit break knitting flesh back together, but around his shoulder… he felt tears stinging his eyes and he bit down on another cry of pain as the sensation renewed itself in even greater measure. His body was trying to heal itself around an object that was definitely not supposed to be there, and it hurt like hell.

Panting hard, he allowed his hands to drop to his sides and he caught his breath. That ought to at least take care of things in the short term, but he was still too weak to move, and barely keeping himself standing.

He leaned his head back against the wall of the cavern, and tried to focus on Aerith's smiling face, though he found himself also thinking about Cloud. Would he be able to overcome what Sephiroth had planned? "It'll be all right…" Zack tried to tell himself. "Somehow…" Still, even as optimistic as he liked to be about things, he couldn't help thinking that not counting the lab, there had been few situations he'd been in that could be considered worse than the one he was in right now.

* * *

><p><em>And with this, I have probably earned eternal hatred from the Zack fans in the audience because I let him get hurt really badly. I'm really sorry Zack fans, I hope you can find it in your hearts to forgive me, but I had to do it. The plot demanded it.<em>

_In the original timeline: Cloud has consigned Aerith's body to the waters outside the shell house in the City of the Ancients, and they are chasing Sephiroth towards Icicle Inn._

_By the way, last chapter, ironically, Zack was taken by Jenova DEATH, for those who couldn't guess. BIRTH died on the Junon docks, LIFE was killed at the Temple of the Ancients, and SYNTHESIS was the one chasing Vincent around. _

_Until next time..._


	39. Dawn of Judgment Day

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spin-offs That honor goes to Square-Enix.

**Part II: Reunion**

* * *

><p>Chapter 39, Dawn of Judgment Day<p>

**January 2nd [ ν ] – εуλ 0008**

Kunsel rubbed his eyes and yawned as he walked onto the bridge to see Cid manning his post. He'd come back onto the bridge after taking a rest not that long ago. "Mornin," Cid grunted.

"Where are we?" Kunsel asked.

"We're almost there," Cid pointed out over the horizon. It was early, though because they were so far north, the Sun was only casting a dim glow behind them, lighting the way in a twilight that cast long shadows over the snow covered wastes ahead of them, pointing the way towards the great Gaia's Cliffs that marked the crater. They were still a thousand miles away from the North Pole, but even here, the area was still capable of producing twenty four hour nights in places.

Kunsel gripped the papers he had in his hand subconsciously. They held the details Cissnei and Mao had gathered while up here, mapping out all the caves ahead of them, telling them the layout and what creatures to avoid in order to get to the small barrier they would come to. Somehow, they would find a way to punch through it. He didn't know how, but he was not going to let Zack languish in Sephiroth's clutches like he'd let him do in Hojo's. Cloud seemed to have decided he felt the same way after their talk the previous afternoon. When he'd gotten up a little while ago, he'd found the other swordsman practicing in the lounge. There was a drive in his movements, a quiet desperation that hadn't been there before.

Personally, he was glad. They needed that right now, if they wanted to get through the next few hours, or days, if it took that long. He ran through all the possible formations in his mind, thinking about the best way to position everyone. If they were going to fight more of Jenova's ilk, it would be best for the party to be at least somewhat close together…

It would probably be best if most of the distance fighters were in the back, with Aerith in the center. Someone should be guarding her since her abilities lent themselves best to healing…

"You look like you got a lot on your mind," Cid observed.

"Just thinking strategy," he said. "And hoping we'll still have somewhere to get back to once we're done."

It was true. Mao and Tanjuu had thought of coming along, but it had been decided they should stay behind, just in case Shinra thought they could make a raid on the lodge. Even if it had been only briefly and in the dead of night, they couldn't ignore the fact that fires and smoke had been visible over their hideout, and that might have alerted someone. It was something they had already planned for a long time ago, and they even had a shelter a certain distance away, but it never hurt to have the extra protection either. That didn't mean he wasn't worried about it.

Cid grunted and Kunsel ran a hand through his hair nervously. "There's just so much to consider. For all the information Cissnei was able to find about the layout, we still don't know just what is in the deepest caverns, and that's the most important part. Never mind what happens after this."

Cid laughed. "That's the best part. If I'da thought this was gonna be easy, I'da stayed in Rocket Town rather than mess with this $#%&. Besides, I think we all know that Sephiroth is somethin' we have to face."

Kunsel nodded. More than one on this ship had demons to face here. Cloud most of all, but it wasn't just him. Freya had her share, as did Tifa, and to a certain extent, he did too. Less than the others perhaps, but simply because it was the former general's madness that had set him on the path to try and find Zack in the aftermath of that fateful fight in the reactor. It wasn't just their fight anymore either. It was Barret's because of Marlene, Cait Sith and Reeve's because they felt the need to set something right in the aftermath of so much wrong done without their approval or consent by Shinra, Aerith's for what had happened to Zack, Cissnei's for her guilt, Nanaki's for the Planet, and Cid's because after so much had been taken from him, this ghost from the past was trying to destroy everything that remained.

"You're right," he said and then laughed. "You're a lot more perceptive than you let on. No wonder Freya has a soft spot for you."

"Maybe, maybe not," Cid the pilot let out a stream of smoke from his cigarette, "But I don't need to be perceptive to know she's got a soft spot for someone else too."

Kunsel looked away, pretending to be examining a small snow-covered bluff on the ground hundreds of feet below them. He hadn't quite known what to think about it when she'd first kissed him at the Gold Saucer, and maybe he'd felt a little awkward about it. At one time, she'd been charged with keeping Zack and Cloud prisoner, let them be taken by Hojo, held him at gunpoint, had even entertained the notion Shinra would take her back, but still, a lot had changed since then. She'd changed, and maybe… in spite of the harder feelings he'd felt against Shinra for what they had done to his friends, maybe he'd changed a little too…

Maybe… they could meet each other halfway. He felt a small smile spread across his face. Perhaps it would be all right, once this was over…

"Captain, we're picking something up on radar behind us. It looks like a Shinra Military Transport Helicopter." One of the crew looked up from the instruments on the left side of the bridge.

"Are there any others?" Kunsel asked before Cid could say anything.

"No sir… just the one."

Cid considered for a minute before saying "Keep an eye on them. If they do anything hostile, prepare for combat…"

"Well the thing is sir, they seem to be… hailing us."

"It's not ours?" Kunsel asked.

"No, it's a standard Shinra channel sir."

"Patch it through. Let's see who these crazy $%#*!$%# are." Cid ordered.

Almost immediately they heard a familiar voice crackling through the speakers. "…_Highwind?"_

Kunsel scowled at the window in front of him. What were the Turks doing here?

"In the flesh Red. What brings you to this hell hole? If you're looking for a fight, you've got one!"

"_That's not it at all!"_ Elena's voice sounded slightly frantic over the speakers. _"We just want to talk!_"

"And why should we believe you?" Kunsel asked.

"_Sephiroth…" _Elena was hesitant as she spoke the name. _"He got Tseng…"_

* * *

><p>Yuffie let out another cry as she raced up the wall again, this time attempting to push off a stalactite that hung near the hole. She almost managed it before falling back to the ground in a crouch.<p>

"Have you considered using your weapon?" Tseng asked.

She pulled the shuriken in front of her, eyeballing the width of the hole to see if it would fit. "It might work." She thought about it a little longer and then reached for the headband she wore with the forehead protector on it. After untying it, she knotted it around the shuriken so that the protector dangled off of one end as a weight. She sincerely hoped her knot-tying skills would be sufficient for this. Not long after, she positioned herself a little further away and aimed her weapon carefully before letting it fly up through the hole. It caught on the edge, before falling to the side, anchoring itself securely, the headband dangling slightly through the hole.

"Yeah!" Yuffie fist-pumped the air and then took a final run up the wall, grabbing onto the headband and reaching for the edge of the hole. Nothing seemed to be coming so she lifted herself out and looked around, staying crouched to the ground.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Tseng called up to her.

"What's that?" Yuffie asked.

"I know the way out. Without me, it'll take you a lot longer," Tseng said.

"That'll have to wait," Yuffie said.

"Then what do you intend to do?" The Turk asked.

"I want to find Zack…" Yuffie said uncertainly.

"Is that so?" She looked behind her and her eyes widened as she saw the menace that had hurt so many of her friends. The demon of Wutai, the Silver General, the mad man that refused to die, stood before her, and all she could think was that she really hoped her own life wasn't about to end. "If you think you can escape," he drawled. "Go ahead. Even with that child's toy, all that awaits you is the icy wastes. Take the Turk, but your friends stay here."

Yuffie stood, holding her Shuriken defensively and knowing she could not fight this man alone. No amount of confidence would have given her the gumption to try lightly. There was a difference between being confident in one's abilities and being suicidal after all. The man reached out with the Masamune, lifting her chin with the tip. "Do not fear child of Wutai, soon, all things will become a part of me, and the world will begin anew. So take your enemy and bring Cloud to me. I will be waiting."

She couldn't do anything but stare, for once at a loss for words. He smiled hungrily before lowering his sword and vanishing down a lightless tunnel.

After a moment, she reached back down into the hole and allowed Tseng to reach up and grab her headband. At last, she managed to get him up.

"Are you sure you remember the way out?" she asked.

He nodded. "If we can avoid fighting we'll have a chance."

"All right. As soon as we get out, I'm calling for help." Yuffie reattached her headband and checked the area one last time for any more surprises.

"The others are coming, I suppose."

Yuffie nodded, offering an arm. "Yeah… don't get too comfortable. I'm only helping you because you know the way out. If I get any feeling that you're trying to trick me, I'll throw you so hard you'll land on the other side of the Crater."

"I understand, Princess…" It might have been her imagination, but Yuffie could have sworn she heard a wry note of humor in the man's voice.

* * *

><p>The <em>Highwind<em> had come to a stop, sheltering an Arctic tent and a small civilian sky hopper. True to her word, Liz had been camped out at the top of the cliff, watching the cave entrance from a safe distance, and upon coming within range, they'd contacted her to set up a beacon so they could get in close. It was here that the party aboard Cid's airship now stood in the snow, opposite the three non-renegade Turks.

"This had better not be a trick," Kunsel said.

"It's not," Elena assured him before looking around surprised. At last, her eyes landed on Freya. "Where's Zack?" she asked.

"None o' your damn business," Barret growled. "Tell us what ya want, or get lost, Turks."

"Relax," Reno tapped his EMR rod carelessly over his shoulder, though the tone of his voice was still serious. "The only orders we've got here, are to see what happens, right Rude?"

"…Right." Rude adjusted his sunglasses.

"Anyway, we've got no orders to stop you, but we do need to see if we can locate the director." He shot a look over at Freya, Cissnei, and Liz and added, "Our acting director in his absence has made a decision that he's too valuable to leave here."

Freya nodded. "I see. This acting director, would he happen to be you, by any chance?"

"That's strictly on a need-to-know basis," Reno said, a sloppy grin on his face.

"Can't argue with the guy in charge," Liz said with a shrug.

"And what does Rufus think about this?" Kunsel asked.

"He said we could use our own discretion."

"That may be so." Kunsel folded his arms. "But we'll be keeping an eye on you." He looked around at the others. "I want us ready to move out within the hour…"

He was interrupted by the sound of a PHS buzzing and almost immediately after he saw Cloud open his handset, and check the caller ID before answering in surprise. "Hello?" He listened for a moment, holding the phone slightly away from his ear as the person on the other end was apparently shouting, and then said "Yuffie, slow down, where are you?"

* * *

><p>Cissnei looked through the door into the sickbay where Rayleigh was looking over her former boss. Yuffie had already passed inspection with a clean bill of health, aside from being very cold, and had been sent to the galley with Tifa and Aerith to get something warm to drink. They had found her very quickly, thanks to Liz's tracking device, but had been especially surprised to find Tseng with her. He looked very much the worse for wear, but considering he had apparently been down there a while, he'd gotten off lightly.<p>

Rayleigh had just finished with her sense materia and had placed it back in her doctor's bag. "You were right, you've got three cracked ribs and that ankle is definitely broken. That cut on the side of your face will probably scar too, since it wasn't healed quickly enough, but I'm also detecting very small traces of mako in your system."

"I'm not surprised. I was in that chamber for several days before Ms. Kisaragi joined me. Sephiroth left me in there on the assumption I would die. There was enough snowmelt dripping down into the cave to keep me alive but I knew it was also pulling loose sediments from the crystal formations that made up the cave walls. I decided mako poisoning was far more tolerable than death by dehydration, even with the possibility of negative side effects." Tseng was sitting up on the bed, though he did look unusually tired.

"At the very least, you don't seem to have ingested enough to make your eyes glow," Rayleigh said, offering him a glass of water from the sink.

"Something I am quite relieved about," the Turk director agreed, taking the glass in one hand.

The doctor went on. "Your ribs should mend just fine, but I'm afraid your ankle will have to be reset soon so it can heal properly. It would probably be best if you didn't move around too much for a while."

Tseng nodded and leaned back on the bed. "I'll try not to."

At that moment, someone's PHS buzzed and Reno answered it. "Mr. President…?"

Cissnei walked away from the room. Freya and Liz were also in there to keep an eye on their guests, so it should be all right. She walked past the crew cabins, looking into the galley to find Yuffie talking to Aerith. "The only thing I know is that he wants Cloud for something. He said he wanted me to bring him down there… And Zack… I think he hurt him, but I don't know how bad… "

She paused as Aerith put a hand on the girl's shoulder. "It'll be all right," the flower girl said. "We'll get him back."

Yuffie's expression hardened with determination. "Yeah… We'd better teach that monster a lesson. He stole my materia." She stood, reaching for her shuriken. "When are we leaving to take him out?"

"Soon," Aerith said. "Kunsel wanted to have a final meeting and then we'll go."

"All right, I brought some things onto the ship before I got carried off, I'm going to see what I have and then I'll go to the bridge."

Aerith nodded and watched the ninja leave the galley and spotted Cissnei when Yuffie passed her. She smiled and walked out into the hall to join her, pulling on a heavy jacket over her regular clothes. "How is Tseng?" she asked.

"He'll be all right," Cissnei said. The two of them walked along the hall together in silence for a little while before she spoke again. "How are you holding up?"

Aerith sighed. "I'm all right, but I wish I knew if Zack was. This is the second time he's disappeared…"

"I'm sure if he has his way, it'll be the last," the young Turk replied.

Aerith nodded looking out the window, her expression determined. "Then we'll work together to make it happen. I lost him once, I'm not going to lose him again."

Cissnei nodded and made to walk ahead of the Cetra. "I feel the same way…" she muttered, hoping she was out of earshot. "And I'll do everything I can to help bring him back to you…"

She was too far away to hear the Cetra whisper, "I know…"

* * *

><p>Cloud and Tifa were alone on the weather deck, waiting for the others, looking down at the snow-covered crater. It wouldn't be long now. They'd decide their formations and then they would go. He was ashamed to admit part of him was a little anxious, and he was more than a little uncertain about this plan, but at the same time, something told him he had to do this, even if it killed him.<p>

"Cloud?" To his left, he noticed Tifa, several feet away. "We'll get them back, I know it," she said, coming a little closer.

He nodded and looked back out the window. "We will, I just hope they're still all right. Sephiroth won't go easy on them. The only reason he let Yuffie and Tseng go was because he didn't care. He probably doesn't even care that we're all going to go together to stop him."

"Well then," Tifa said, "we'll just have to show him how much he underestimated us. We'll teach him a lesson, won't we?"

Cloud nodded, and at last, he reached over and picked up the Buster Sword from where it was leaning on the railing, securing it underneath the sheathed Yoshiyuki on a magnetic harness he'd found in a storage closet near the back of the ship. "Right. When we get there, we'll find Zack, and we'll take Sephiroth out together. Just like we said we would."

He turned around to face Tifa, feeling slightly stronger knowing she was going to back him up. Along with Zack, she'd been there for him throughout this ordeal, even when he couldn't be there for himself. As their eyes met, he struggled to find the words that would adequately match his thoughts. "Tifa… before we do this… I think there's some things I want to talk to you about… though I don't really know what to say… heh… I guess nothing's changed at all… kind of funny isn't it…" He rubbed the back of his neck and looked away frustrated. He'd messed up again, hadn't he.

Tifa smiled, and came a couple of steps closer, her breath fogging the air between them. "Cloud… Words aren't the only thing that tell people what you're thinking…" she was next to him now, putting one arm around him, the unspoken gesture clearly saying _'I think I already know.'_

Awkwardly at first, Cloud lifted his arm and returned the gesture, almost stopping halfway out of pure anxiety. Was he moving too fast? What if he screwed this up too? Slowly, but surely, he allowed himself to relax. Tifa still wasn't flinching away. If anything she was leaning into him, nuzzling into his shoulder as though seeking warmth. He tried again. "I don't remember much from when you went into the Lifestream, but… I think I remember hearing your voices, calling me back… If we survive this…"

"We will." Tifa whispered. "And when we do… We'll find what we're looking for…" They looked out at the darkened snow beginning to fall into the crater below. It wouldn't be long now.

"I hope so…"

At that moment, they heard the door swing open and parted as though they'd just burned each other. When Cloud looked over to see who it was, he saw Barret and Nanaki climbing up to join them on the deck. "You two ready ta go?" he asked.

"We were waiting for you," Cloud said.

"We didn't hear that much…" Nanaki began.

"… Were you listening?" Tifa asked, her tone purely mortified.

Barret glared at the planet's Guardian. "Leave'em alone," he growled.

Nanaki sat down near the railing. "My apologies."

At that moment, Kunsel emerged onto the deck followed by Freya and Aerith. "The others'll be here shortly," he said. "Rayleigh's almost done with Tseng, so the Turks'll be up soon too." True to his word, it was hardly another five minutes before everyone with the exception of the crew who were staying aboard, and Tseng who was in no condition to fight, were on deck waiting for the briefing. At first everyone was just talking among themselves, but finally, Kunsel cleared his throat, holding several pieces of paper in his hand.

All heads on deck turned to the brown-haired SOLDIER and he looked over each of of them in turn. "All right. We all know why we're here, so I'll cut to the chase. This is primarily a rescue mission, but secondarily, we're hoping it will also be seek and destroy. If we run into Sephiroth he will be eliminated. What I have here, are Cissnei, Liz and Mao's reports from their search of the caves. From this, and from what Yuffie and Tseng have told us, while there are a couple of ways to get to the main caverns, for the most part, our plan is to stick together. We're all competent fighters, we should be able to get by with our numbers. That being said, there are a few things we should keep in mind."

He looked over at Cloud. "Cloud, you and Tifa stay close to each other. I'll want you at the front with me and Cid, taking point." He looked to the others. "In general, at least a couple of us are going to stick close to Aerith, since she's our best healer. According to the intelligence, this cave is full of monsters. Don't get too far away for anyone else to help you. We want to make sure we don't lose anyone else on this."

At last he looked to where Reno, Rude, and Elena were standing. "What are your plans?"

Reno leaned against the railing as he spoke. "We've gotten the call from Rufus. If he can't be responsible for ending this himself, he'll at least have a hand in it. We're in."

Barret narrowed his eyes. "I don't trust'em."

"I'm not too keen either," Cid agreed.

Freya shook her head. "We need all the help we can get though."

"Not to mention, I think you've all heard it by now," Reno laughed. "No mission is impossible for the Turks. With us on your side, you can't lose!"

"I guess that settles that," Cloud said. He couldn't care less at the moment. More than anything, he just wanted to get going.

Kunsel nodded. "Okay. Let's go." One by one, everyone started climbing down the rope ladder until they were standing on the edge of the crater, leaving only Liz and Dr. Rayleigh on the weather deck. The martial artist had offered to stay with the doctor, not only to keep her safe, but also to ensure nothing happened to the Highwind in their absence.

Once everyone was on the ground, Cloud and Tifa hurried to get to the front where Kunsel was waiting with Yuffie, Freya, and Cissnei. "The hole I went through is at the base of the cliff. It shouldn't be that hard to get to. After that, we're going to need the rope," the curly-haired Turk said.

"We've got plenty. I took care of that with Barret and Cid," Kunsel gestured to the rope he was carrying over his shoulder.

With that they started picking their way down the slope into the crater. It was slow going. They had to be mindful of the snow and ice on their path, and it was narrow and steep. At some points, they even had to use the ropes to lower themselves down rather than climb. This wasn't a problem for the SOLDIERs in the group, or for Nanaki, but some of the other less physical party members like Aerith and Cait Sith definitely had points where they were running into trouble. It didn't help that in spite of how well they had equipped themselves for the weather, it was still bitterly cold.

They were about halfway down when Cloud lifted his gaze above the inside of the crater and found himself looking at a black sky, carpeted with more stars than he'd even seen back in Nibelheim. The dim twilight of the sun, shining up from the far south couldn't even reach them here. Without their flashlights, or advanced eyesight where applicable, they wouldn't have been able to see anything at all down here.

It wasn't until several hours later, when they approached the center of the crater that he began to see signs of a familiar green glow permeating from shafts coming up out of the ground. There was definitely a lot of Lifestream here.

"So much pain," Aerith muttered behind him. "Back in Banora, we were definitely at the sight of a wound, but that was like a clean cut that was already healing. Here, it's as though the Planet itself is in agony, even so long after it happened."

"It's not hurting you is it?" Nanaki asked in concern.

She shook her head. "No, but it's still so sad. Whatever is down there is like sand in a wound that's already infected. The Planet's really in pain."

Cloud turned his attention back to where Kunsel and the two renegade Turks were standing around a particular shaft through which the green glow was filtering. It lit the three of them in an eerie hue before disappearing into the night as the brown-haired SOLDIER pulled out a piton and reached for a hammer. With efficient strokes, he secured the metal spike into the ground and after Freya handed him her rope, he proceeded to tie it to the attached hook. Once that was finished, Freya let the other end drop into the hole.

"There's a tunnel below this," Cissnei said. "As long as there aren't any monsters around, we should be able to get in without any trouble."

Kunsel looked like he was considering who should go first and so Cloud stepped forward. "I'll go," he offered.

Kunsel offered him the rope. "Let us know if you need help down there," he said.

"Be careful," Tifa added. Cloud nodded and after taking hold of the rope, he lowered himself down the hole. It wasn't long before he was beyond the threshold of the cave ceiling and he found he was looking out at a vast cavern filled with deposits of mako crystals. Tendrils of Lifestream floated up into the air, fogging the area and making the cave seem to give off its own eerie glow. In the distance, a vast chasm split the stone, opening an abyss even further below as liquid Lifestream flowed into its depths. The area was silent as a tomb apart from the echoes of the green substance streaming into the gap and dripping water from a source he couldn't locate. He lowered himself at least twenty feet down before he finally felt solid rock under his boots, and at that point, he reached for his flashlight, shining it up the hole to signal he'd made it.

Soon afterward, he saw Tifa slide down, followed by Barret, with Nanaki, and then Kunsel, holding Aerith on one arm as he lowered both of them down. Yuffie followed soon after with the Turks and Cid bringing up the rear.

"This place is amazing…" Nanaki said, his quiet voice echoing over the cave's interior.

"We can gawk later," Cloud said. "We need to find Zack and Vincent."

"He's right," Cissnei agreed. She considered for a moment, and then gestured towards a tunnel that seemed to be headed downward. "We need to go that way to get to the barrier."

"I think I recognize this tunnel!" Yuffie said. "After Sephiroth let us go, we almost had a run-in with something really nasty right around here. We had to hide but I was really worried it'd smell the blood on that Turk."

"That Turk happens to be our director," Elena said coolly.

"And I saved his ass," Yuffie returned.

"Which I'm sure he's grateful for," Kunsel said, attempting to head off the argument. "Now Yuffie, what was it you almost ran into?"

Cloud could hear Elena grumbling a little in the back, but the ninja was clearly more interested in the attention directed at her. "I think it was a Behemoth or a dragon or something, I didn't get a good look since I was trying to stay out of sight. If I'd been on my own, I could have gotten away like it was nothing, but with that other guy, I had my hands tied, you know?"

"Whether it was a dragon or not could be kind of important," Freya said. "Do you remember anything about the way it moved? Or what kind of sound it made?"

Yuffie rubbed her chin as she considered the question. "I'm not sure exactly…" she hedged. "It seemed to make some kind of roaring noise, though I couldn't tell if it was furry or had scales…Kinda hard when you aren't looking…"

"Well that helps us a helluva lot," Cid grumbled. "What good are ya?"

"I do know it sounded big…" Yuffie said.

"Oh, for cryin' out loud," Reno said at last. "Was it a 'Roar' or more of a…"

"RAWWWRRRRRRR!" At that point, everyone who was not engaged in the current conversation drew their weapons.

"Yeah, it sounded exactly like that," Yuffie said, looking at Reno, clearly impressed.

"Shut it Yuf! I think we're about to fight your monster!" Barret was already unloading his gun at the source the noise which had actually been on the opposite side of the cavern. Cloud was already holding the Yoshiyuki at the ready, his eyes landing on the gigantic King Behemoth that had just walked into their path.

"Well, what do you know?" Yuffie brandished her shuriken after taking a position next to Cissnei. "It was a Behemoth after all."

* * *

><p><em>I'm so excited! Next few chapters are going to be big! Well Behemoths are generally big but we're talking bigger than that. I can hardly wait!<em>

_Ahem... anyway, on the original timeline: The party just made it to Icicle Inn. They head out snowboarding first thing tomorrow morning._

_Later!_


	40. Encounters We Wish We Could Avoid

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spin-offs That honor goes to Square-Enix.

**Part II: Reunion**

* * *

><p>Chapter 40, Encounters We Wish We Could Avoid<p>

**January 2nd [ ν ] – εуλ 0008**

Cloud and Kunsel raced forward, swords drawn to meet the Behemoth with Tifa and Cid close behind. Nanaki had catapulted himself off a nearby wall to go for the monster's throat. The Behemoth roared and made to beat the Guardian away with his claws, but Cloud covered for him just in time, striking at the approaching limb and causing the beast to back away.

"Clear!" Elena shouted from the back of the room, and everyone only just got out of the way in time to avoid a large explosion that erupted right on top of the beast.

"All right Elena!" Reno unleashed a ball of flaming energy from his rod at the thing as Rude struck the ground, the two attacks providing a pincer that the animal couldn't escape from above or below. The Behemoth growled. Apparently it hurt, but only enough to make the monster angry. It crouched to the ground and then sprang into a charge, creating the need for the entire party to scatter.

Barret snatched Aerith out of the way, unloading his gunarm as he carried her to the left, only just missing being trampled by a hair's breadth. Aerith unleashed Ifrit to rain fire as they passed while Yuffie and Cissnei dodged in opposite directions, both throwing their shurikens at the monster's head.

It roared again, coming around for another charge, but as soon as Ifrit's fires vanished, Cloud jumped up to grab a handful of the monster's golden fur and pulled himself the rest of the way onto its back. The animal was so distracted by the shurikens and the Ifrit summon it hadn't noticed yet, so he took the opportunity to slice the Yoshiyuki along its side, before leaping away to avoid being thrown into the wall.

As soon as he was clear, he heard the report of Freya's shotgun going off in unison with one of Cait Sith's megaphone blasts and Barret continuing to pepper the beast with gunfire. A blast of lightning caught everyone's attention as Tifa cast Ramuh, and the spell only just died down before Kunsel went in with a hard strike to the monster's throat where Nanaki had injured it.

After a moment's deliberation, Cloud raced under the distracted beast and drove the Yoshiyuki deep into the animal's chest. He was barely able to pull out in time and was still clipped by one of the the Behemoth's claws as he rolled out of the way. That was when he noticed it howl at the ceiling. Almost instantly, he felt magic wash through the area and saw that Freya was also casting. Given that the Behemoth was still roaring without making any noise, he could only assume she'd Silenced it.

Having been caught totally unawares by this, the Behemoth crouched down for another charge but Cid picked that moment to channel a limit break. The pilot had leapt into the air and struck the ground right at its feet. A second explosion echoed through the chamber. Taking a last gasp, the Behemoth fell to the ground, having finally succumbed to its injuries.

They waited until it started vanishing into the Lifestream to be sure it was really dead and then Aerith looked around, asking "Does anyone need a Cure?"

"I think we're okay over here," Cid said, a crazy grin on his face. He was obviously still feeling the adrenaline rush, even as he reached for a fresh cigarette.

No one else answered so Kunsel secured his sword on his back. "Okay then, let's go. We've still got several more tunnels to get through, right Cissnei?"

The younger Turk nodded and once again took the lead. The rest of the party gathered behind her, but Cloud pulled ahead to stand next to her and Kunsel. "How long?" he asked.

"It might be another hour or so before we reach the barrier. Longer if we have more fights like this."

Cloud nodded and after a moment, remembered to put the Yoshiyuki back in its sheath above the Buster Sword, before following the others further into the deep and away from the cavern where the monster they'd just fought had finally vanished.

* * *

><p>Reeve was working on paperwork in his office when his PHS buzzed. "Yes?"<p>

"I was hoping you would join us," It was Rufus's voice.

"For what?" Reeve asked.

"There is something on which I would I would like your input, regarding the current situation with Sephiroth at the Northern Crater." Reeve's heart caught in his throat. It probably wasn't so much of a stretch for Rufus to know that he had infiltrated Zack's group as a favor to Tseng, but… what did he want out of this?

"I am on the board Mr. President, but are you sure Urban Development is the appropriate department for this?"

"Tseng did ask you to spy on the group led by Zack Fair did he not? I simply wanted your opinion. As one who has infiltrated the ranks of the organization that is about to face Sephiroth, I thought you might have some insight that Scarlet and Heidegger lacked."

"Well sir, if that's the case, I would really prefer to continue monitoring the situation from my own office. My equipment for monitoring my Cait Sith unit is here, and it could be crucial for them to have access to me."

"I only require a few minutes of your time, you can be back well before the fireworks truly begin," Rufus said. His tone now clearly indicated this was not a request.

Reeve did his best to keep his tone calm as he answered, "Very well, I will be there shortly."

Carrying a pager with him, just in case Cait Sith needed his input on anything, he walked out of his office and towards the elevator, pushing the call button upon reaching it. Not long after, the elevator door opened and he stepped in, looking out on the darkened sky over the glowing green of the Mako reactors and the city lights that he had once equated with a glowing jewel of civilization.

His loyalty to Shinra had been lost over a long period of time, what with the drama over Veld, with whom he had once been a good friend, and now the information about what Hojo had been up to under the very noses of everyone else. By the time he'd been made aware of Zack and Cloud's predicament, and the truth behind Sephiroth, he'd only been staying with the company because he had felt his efforts were valued both by the people and by the President, and after because of the idea the people needed him. Would he even be able to help them anymore if Rufus turned on him? He doubted it.

The elevator opened onto the floor where the president's office waited, and walked through the big double doors leading to the plush carpeted stairs lining each side of the room and leading up to the President's desk on the floor above. Walking up the stairs to his left, he found Rufus standing at the window behind his desk, looking out over the city, but he turned around to face him. "There you are." The young man in white did not move from the window, but instead gestured that Reeve join him.

"What did you wish to speak to me about?" Reeve asked.

"I wanted to know what you make of Sephiroth's prospects against these people," Rufus said, walking to his desk and gesturing to a small computer. On it, he could see a live feed from a hidden camera, possibly on one of the Turks, if he had to guess. Probably Rude, given that Elena was walking with Reno just ahead of the person on which it was attached. Up ahead, he saw a familiar shock of blond hair that definitely belonged to Cloud, along with Tifa's long tresses and the dust brown that he knew to belong to Kunsel, the current acting leader in Zack's absence.

"Well, there are quite a few of us," Reeve answered. "I'd say between AVALANCHE, the renegade Turks, our Turks, the ex-SOLDIERs, and everyone else we are quite formidable, though Sephiroth also seems to be a force to be reckoned with, given that he was able to capture Zack Fair and Vincent Valentine, and sent the Turks running for it the first time they attempted to find out what was down there. From what I can see, it could go either way."

Rufus nodded and sat down. "Seems to be a reasonable assessment." He watched the screen for a few moments. "Tell me, which outcome do you think would benefit this company the most?"

"I would think the answer to that would be obvious," Reeve said. "Based on the intelligence I've gathered, Zack Fair and his companions were doing nothing but mercenary work prior to their attack on the Shinra building. The most Fair and Strife seem to want after what happened to them in Nibelheim is to simply be left alone and Kunsel, the 1st Class who defected seems willing to follow their lead. Tifa Lockhart and Barret Wallace probably won't be any more trouble unless you seek them out to make them pay for their crimes. Given Strife's feelings about Ms. Lockhart and the fact he's nearly as powerful if not more than Fair now, I doubt that would be a worthy endeavor. The renegade Turks among their number will probably disappear, Yuffie Kisaragi will go back to Materia hunting, Red XIII will no doubt return to his home and Cid Highwind simply wants to be able to fly. The only person I might think could possibly be a threat to anyone without being antagonized would be Vincent Valentine, as if he survives, he will no doubt seek out Professor Hojo, but Hojo is no longer in our employ. On the other hand, should Sephiroth win, he will stop at nothing to regain the Black Materia and bring about the end of the world. By far, it would be better for everyone involved if we won."

"A rosy prediction. Even though Zack Fair is known to have a hero complex and could potentially rally an army against us if word got out about him and Strife, and Mr. Wallace and Ms. Lockhart are known terrorists. Cid Highwind stole an airship from us. Yuffie Kisaragi is a thief. Red XIII is a dangerous specimen… the list goes on… with such glowing recommendations, I find myself wondering a little about you." The unspoken question was clear. _Where do you fall in this picture you've painted?_

Reeve thought about it for a moment. "I will be doing my best to make life better for the people of Midgar, I assume, as your head of Urban Development. That's always what I have done…"

Rufus smiled. "I wonder, how you will be able to do that. Considering that I don't plan on having a department of Urban Development much longer."

"I don't understand," Reeve said.

"It's simple. Urban development was primarily a source of winning over the people. It was money my father threw away for the sake of keeping them favorable towards him when it would have cost so much less to keep them in line with guns. That being said, you are an excellent engineer and architect and I'm sure I could find you something meaningful to do, possibly even with better pay, assuming I still have your allegiance."

Reeve was struggling to contain his shock at this development as Rufus continued, no longer looking at him. "I'll give you a little time to think it over, say, until the end of the final battle? You're no fool Reeve, and neither am I. You have your uses, but that bleeding heart of yours really has no business tearing itself to pieces over those bottom dwellers in the slums, and as an advisor to myself you have no business trying to tell me that these people are not a threat when they have every reason to be. It makes me doubt your sincerity. I fully agree that Sephiroth needs to be stopped, but after this is over, should you decide you are staying with me, you will meet my guards outside your office and tell them to bring you to me. Otherwise, you will be arrested on the spot for being a double agent. Those are your choices. Choose wisely."

"This is insane…" Reeve began but cut himself off when he noticed Rufus looking at him.

"You wish to tell me to arrest you now? When you may be needed to save the world? I can do that if you wish."

Reeve took a deep breath and looked out the window again. Even here, on the 70th floor, the lights of Midgar sparkled like diamonds lit on a green backdrop. He'd built this place to be a metropolis, but his intentions had been undermined from the start, leaving half the population destitute in the slums while the other half was bribed and placated with living on the plate. Now that he knew the truth about what Mako was and what it meant, he found himself wanting to look away in shame. How much damage had he truly done? "That won't be necessary," he said at last. "I will consider your offer and you will have my answer before we leave the Crater."

With that, he walked to the stairs, preparing to leave. As he began to descend, he heard the young president call after him, "I sincerely hope you will make the right choice Reeve. Keep in mind, it would not be wise to cross me."

* * *

><p>They had continued through the caves for quite a long time when up ahead, there was a turn off point and Cissnei paused. "What's up?" Kunsel asked.<p>

"Both of these paths lead to the same place," she said.

"Which one is quickest?" Cloud asked.

Cissnei considered and then pointed to the right. "That way."

Cloud started walking and the others followed. Part of him was terrified of where they were going. Terrified of Sephiroth and what the man could do to him. But the further along they went, the more focused he felt. Zack was this way. After everything his friend had done for him, he would follow him into the pits of hell if he had to… if it meant he could make up for all the trouble he'd caused.

His boots crunched on the rocky ground and he could hear the others behind him. They were getting closer. He could feel it. The walls of the tunnels had become much less rocky, and instead were transitioning into more mako crystals than he had ever seen, even in the Nibel mountains. Lifestream filtered through the air over their heads, and the sounds felt less like the echoes caused by rock and were more muted by the crystalline barriers.

"How deep do you think we are?" Tifa wondered.

"We're actually rather shallow in relation to the floor of the crater," Cissnei offered. "The center of the cave system is blocked by a small barrier but survey data I looked at before I left has it that this part of the cave system will actually go up at some point. A lot of the Lifestream apparently filled its way around the meteor when it hit. That's why we have all these crystals."

"Speaking of the crystals" Yuffie remarked. "I know that Tseng was mako poisoned, but he said something about seeing eyes in the walls."

"That's not so surprising, there are WEAPONs sleeping here," Aerith said.

"You mean, like the one we fought in Junon?" Freya asked.

Aerith nodded. "The Planet says it called on them to destroy Jenova in the beginning, but after the Cetra sealed it, they were placed in stasis here, in case another outbreak occurred. At least, that's what it seems to be saying. It's hard to make out through its pain…"

There was a heavy silence as they continued through the tunnel and then it opened out into another chamber. It was pretty dark, in spite of the Mako crystals, but in the middle of it, stood a gigantic figure. For a moment, Cloud was certain it was Jenova, but then his eyes adjusted and his nose caught the scent of something foul. Kunsel stood next to him and he heard the man curse in a low voice. "Damn it, a Malboro? Here?"

"A Malboro?" Cid pulled up from the rear and looked into the room, sniffing. "I don't smell anythin'."

"With the way you smoke, you're lucky you can breathe at all," Kunsel muttered.

"You say somethin'?" Cid growled.

"No," Kunsel replied calmly. "But there's no way we can get by it without getting its attention."

"Then how're we doin' this? Full frontal assault?"

"I'd prefer going at it from behind. At least that way we won't end up getting the full brunt of its Bad Breath. That stuff is toxic," Kunsel said. He turned around and gestured that everyone gather in a circle. "So here's how we'll do it. Cid, you'll go high, we'll go low with the others and we'll attack from the rear. Freya, you and Cissnei keep Aerith safe. Everyone who works best at range, distract it from the front. Hopefully we can get out of this without it doing too much damage."

Cid nodded and started creeping around the side of the room to get in position. The Malboro looked like it was fully focused on the carcass it seemed to be gnawing on and didn't appear to have noticed. Silently, the rest of the close-range fighters in the party crept after the pilot until they were almost exactly behind the beast and Kunsel gave the signal.

Cid raced forward with a battle cry, using the end of his spear to vault himself up into the air, flying towards the beast as the others raced in from the ground. Almost at the same time, the monster's attention was distracted by being pelted with a flurry of various bullets and projectiles from the front. It probably never knew what hit it. Unfortunately, the front line fighters found themselves faced with the same problem.

* * *

><p>"Ughh…" Elena pinched her nose trying to blot out the almost painful stench and several of the others in the party followed suit. The Malboro lay dead. By comparison to the King Behemoth, it had been a piece of cake, but that didn't mean it smelled like a bed of roses.<p>

Tifa had to admit, the odor was quite overwhelming, to say the least. She made her way over to Cloud. Aerith was working with Cissnei, Rude, and the others to help patch everyone up. Fortunately, she'd been kind enough to channel her limit break that cured most ailments like Silence and Confusion, though even afterwards, Kunsel looked like he was still a little bewildered from almost getting the full brunt of the monster's second attack, it's last before it had died. Sometimes, enhanced senses weren't all they were cracked up to be.

She approached Cloud and asked "Are you doing all right?"

"I'll live," he answered. Somehow, the hateful thing had managed to poison him and they'd been afraid he was going to be frogged, but it had just made him small instead. Aerith had taken care of it, but he still looked a little green. Fortunately, it was only the front line that had truly taken the brunt of the damage, so most of the people who had attacked at range had gotten out unscathed.

Tifa nodded and they waited for the others to finish regrouping before Kunsel called a continuation of the march. "We still have a little ways to go," he said.

"He's right," Yuffie agreed. "We still haven't gotten to the hole Sephiroth put us in."

"Then let's mosey," Cloud stood up and walked to the front of the group again. Tifa followed after him amid the giggles and snickers from the others.

"Come on kid, you can do better'n that!" Cid called after him. "Can't you say 'Move out' or somethin'?"

Cloud gave the pilot a withering look before following Cissnei down the tunnel.

* * *

><p>They had continued for a little longer, and Tifa was definitely beginning to see more evidence of Lifestream filtering through the caves. At one point, they'd found a place awash with strange moss and other plants giving off the impression of some kind of swamp, but they'd gotten through there fairly quickly. After a while, they'd stopped going down, and instead started climbing back up. But it wasn't until after they'd reentered the areas filled with mako crystals, that they came across what looked like a barrier of energy across their path. They found it splitting a huge cavern down the middle. The green crystals surrounding them had turned the whole area a dull green, and she was beginning to feel the cool air filtering down through holes in the ceiling above them, but the barrier blocked their path as though it were glass. Cissnei was the first to reach it. "As you can see," she said, reaching out and poking it with the end of her Rekka, "It's pretty solid."<p>

"That is a problem," Freya agreed.

Cid walked up, evaluating the thing and started going through his pockets. After a moment, he unearthed a stick of dynamite and Tifa saw the lady Turk's eyes, and those of all the other party members sane enough to realize what he was about to do, widen considerably. "We might want to back up a little bit," Freya said and Cloud apparently agreed, because he'd grabbed hold of Tifa and Aerith to pull them out of the blast radius. Kunsel and the renegades were also pushing the others away before Tifa saw sparks on the end of the stick the pilot had just lit before he tossed it in the direction of the wall. At that point, everyone ducked for cover.

An explosion rent its way through the cavern, echoing for what seemed like hours, but was probably only a few seconds. The barrier had not changed even a little. Cid had only backed up a couple of steps when it went off and now he was cursing heavily. "You were right, this thing's pretty solid," he said.

"So what do we do?" Aerith wondered.

"We could look around for an opening," Kunsel suggested.

"I don't think so," Cissnei said. "Mao and I already searched the area pretty thoroughly. It doesn't seem to have a weak point."

"Then what else is there?" Reno asked. "Thanks to captain crash over here, we'll probably be drawing every single critter within a mile to this location." Rude nodded in agreement.

"Test of durability," Cid countered. "And by the way, I'm not done lookin' this thing over, so shut yer hole before I decide Shera wants some revenge for the headache your friend gave her."

"I'd like to see you try," Reno drawled.

"Big talk seeing as how you keep running away," Cid narrowed his eyes at the challenge.

"Calm down, now's not the time, for fighting," Freya placed herself between the pilot and the Turk. "What we need to do now is find a way in, and hopefully before…" she paused in midsentence, listening.

Cloud and Kunsel had obviously heard whatever it was already, as had Nanaki, since all three of them were watching a tunnel that seemed to lead to another part of the caverns, on their side of the barrier. Now that Tifa was also listening, she could hear it too.

"…before we get some company," Freya finished, going for her shotgun. Cloud and Kunsel already had their weapons drawn, and Tifa took a defensive stance next to Cloud when the thing that was advancing on them pulled out of the shadows. At first, she thought it was a normal dragon, but when it came into the light, she saw that the wings were constructed of bone and the body itself was nothing but a skeleton covered in rotted flesh, in spite of the malevolent red eyes under hooded lids. She'd heard of zombies before, and she'd fought dragons, but she'd never fought a Dragon Zombie before. This could be a challenge…

That was when something else caught her attention. The buzz at her left that was coming from the barrier seemed to have changed in pitch. Glancing in that direction, she saw a black cloaked figure emerge through the barrier, before, in a blur too fast for her to see, it raced across the room and seemed to explode in a flash of light. The dragon let out an unearthly screech, spraying out in a thousand pieces raining dried sinew, bones and rotted gore across the cave floor. When the flash died, the figure was gone, only to be replaced by two very large beings. She hadn't seen either of them before, but Cloud definitely had because his expression hardened and he whispered the name they had all come to dread. "_Jenova_…"

One of the beings was the spitting image of the other two iterations they'd fought, a vaguely angelic form composed of tentacles, while the other bore the visage of a woman embedded across the front of a floating skull-like orb.

"So who wants to focus on what?" Kunsel asked.

"How about we make this fun?" Reno said. "We'll take the angel, you guys take the skull lady. First to kill their alien wins!"

"You're on!" Cid whooped.

"Everyone who shoots to the back!" Kunsel ordered. "If you heal or fight at a distance, you get free range of whatever you can hit!"

"Now that's what I'm talkin' about," Barret inserted a fresh clip in place on his gun arm and started unloading across the room. Tifa hurried to join Cloud and the others in getting into position. Freya had already fired off two shotgun blasts while Cissnei and Yuffie both deployed their shuriken again. Once the two of them were in position next to Kunsel, Cid, and Nanaki, the brown-haired SOLDIER called the charge, and everyone dived into the fray. Barret and the others had aimed high in order to avoid hitting them as they formed a semicircle around this strange new monster. Tifa rushed forward landing three hard punches just under the female figure's right side. Cloud was only a few feet away, slicing at it with the Yoshiyuki before both of them had to dodge out of the way to avoid being flung across the room by a rogue tentacle.

Everyone had to scatter for a moment as a Bio spell flashed across the room. Once the acid cleared, Tifa ran in again. Cloud and Kunsel had apparently both decided to follow Cid's lead as Kunsel leapt forward and Cloud used a nearby rock to propel himself into the air, both attacking slightly higher than ground level while Nanaki raced underneath the thing before clawing at it and retreating.

The form of Jenova they were fighting made an unearthly shriek and raised its tentacles in the air. Almost immediately, she noticed that Kunsel had frozen in place, stopped. Reaching into her pockets, she found the mastered Heal material Rayleigh had given her and cast Esuna. The SOLDIER shook himself out and they both jumped for cover just as Yuffie channeled a limit break, sending an explosion over the area their current target occupied.

Once they were clear, Cloud ran at the monster again with a powerful strike of his own. Jenova seemed unperturbed, and he had to duck to avoid a tentacle, however, he had been so busy focusing on doing so, he didn't have enough time to see the other one coming.

"Cloud!" Tifa called out to him.

It was too late. She saw him go flying across the room, straight towards the barrier. She looked away for a moment, expecting him to hit it, but nothing happened. Instead, the next time she looked she saw he had picked himself up on the other side and was testing the wall to see if he could get back out. She ran over to him. "Are you all right?"

He looked up at her as though he hadn't understood and she realized he couldn't hear her. He tried to get back through, but energy crackled off the barrier and he had to back away to avoid taking further damage. He was clearly frustrated that he couldn't come back through to help her, but then he looked away as though he had heard something else.

"Cloud? What is it?" Tifa asked.

He looked back at her, eyes wide with worry when his face suddenly went whiter than usual and he motioned that she look behind her. A hand grabbed hers and pulled her down. Kunsel had apparently spotted what was going on and just barely prevented her from being rendered a head shorter by another tentacle attack. Tifa pulled herself back up in a defensive position ready to fight, but stole a glance behind her anyway. Her blood ran cold at that moment. Cloud had disappeared…

* * *

><p><em>And I have nothing to report this chapter. See ya next time!<em>


	41. Battle of Wills

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spin-offs That honor goes to Square-Enix.

Please note: While not absolutely necessary, if you would like to enhance your reading experience, it is highly recommended that you have the Crisis Core track "The Price of Freedom" playing during the 5th segment starting at the 5th paragraph.

**Part II: Reunion**

* * *

><p>Chapter 41, Battle of Wills<p>

**January 2****nd**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008**

Tseng walked up the steps to the weather deck, only gingerly putting weight on his left ankle as he went, and found Liz looking out on the snow covered interior of the crater. He could see the line of multiple sets of footprints even from this high up, and they tracked all the way down to the large hole through which Cissnei had led the rest of the party. The area was silent as a grave. Fitting, considering how many of the people who had come here were supposed to be dead.

Liz noticed his arrival and peered out of the hood of her jacket at him. "Good to see you up and around," she said.

He nodded and leaned against the rail next to her. It had been several hours since everyone had left, and the doctor had only briefly put him under to re-break the injury before healing it properly with a full Cure, but she had warned him not to engage in too much activity for another day or so. He looked off to the west and saw what looked like a front on the approach. The chances were good it would be bringing more snow, unless he missed his guess.

"Has there been any word?" he asked.

"None," Liz answered as promptly as if she were still in uniform. "Last report from Freya, they had gone into the tunnels and then we lost the signal."

"I see," Tseng turned his attention back to scanning the terrain, reminding himself of details he'd seen on his last visit, and familiarizing himself with the differences between their last landing site with the helicopter and this one. They stood there in silence for a few more moments before he heard the main hatch open.

Turning to see who it was, he spotted the doctor approaching them. "You should really be resting," she said.

"My duties mandate that I keep an eye on the situation," he replied.

Rayleigh walked to the opposite side of where Liz was standing and joined them in looking out over the empty crater. In places, faint tendrils of Lifestream could be seen curling out of small crevices, some of them hundreds of yards away, even further than a couple of miles, in some cases.

At the same time, Liz's PHS rang and she answered. "Veld?... Yes, they've entered the crater, it's been quiet up here sir… Tseng? Yes, he's here. You want me to tell him?... I will sir. I'll report in again in a few hours." She hung up at that point and looked to her former director.

"What is it?" Tseng asked.

"Veld says he's glad to hear you're not dead sir."

Tseng nodded. His memory harkening back to how his hands had been shaking when, after the troopers had loaded Veld and his daughter into that truck, he'd reached for his Cure Materia and then put in a call to a Dr. Owen, so that, as Veld's personal physician, he could come to the Shinra building to 'write up the death certificate for records' as per the man's wishes. It had been the easiest deception he'd been able to come up with, the sloppiest too, and yet thanks to Rufus's influence, and the President being too focused on the return of his son, his indiscretion had been overlooked. After the doctor had left the building with the 'bodies' to take care of 'funeral arrangements' he had not set one foot near the Turk annex again until after the hearing with the board on the matter, nor had he seen or heard from Veld or Elfe again until now. "I appreciate the sentiment."

The three of them continued watching the weather in the uneasy silence, as snowflakes began to fall around them and he checked his watch. Midnight had passed five minutes ago, by Midgar Standard Time. A new day had arrived.

* * *

><p><strong>January 3<strong>**rd**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008**

Something was pulling him. Cloud knew it wasn't his own thoughts. If he'd made the decision, he would have stayed to make sure Tifa and the others were safe, but at the same time it was still he himself who now walked up through the tunnel he now traversed. An odd thing to think, but it wasn't so much that he was being controlled as he was being reeled in. An eerie green light gleamed at the top of the incline he was climbing. There were no stairs, but the path was clear and empty of monsters. He felt strangely calm, even as his mind was torn by the fact that Tifa lay behind him. Perhaps it was the fact that somehow, he knew Zack was close by. He wasn't sure how he knew, but he did.

Rocks and mako crystals crunched under his boots but he was only distantly aware of them, his gaze focused on the light at the other end of the tunnel as he climbed towards it. His pulse was quickening along with his pace until he was running, coming to a stop only when he'd burst forth into the light.

The first thing he saw, was the prone figure of a man, curled up on the floor in a tattered red cloak, his clothes riddled in cuts stained with dried blood while his face was a mess of healing bruises and fading scars.

Vincent. He couldn't tell if the man was still alive, but he was definitely not conscious.

Then his eyes were drawn upward and his breath caught in his throat.

Pinned to the wall by a steel rod, driven through the shoulder of his sword arm, and dried blood frozen in mid-drip down his arm, was his friend, his eyes closed and breathing hard. The man looked up, his expression oddly dazed and Cloud was almost certain his eyes were glowing a little more brightly than usual, but there was no way he could mistake him for anyone else.

"Zack!"

His friend looked up but even in his dazed state, he looked worried. "No… get out of here…"

Cloud ran over to him taking in the rod and moved to pull it loose, but Zack grabbed his hand with his uninjured one. "Behind you…"

He looked over his shoulder and his eyes widened. Out from behind a stalagmite, came the man who had been the focus of so many of his nightmares and terrors. He lowered his hand from the rod and instead went for the Yoshiyuki, taking a defensive stance in front of Zack and Vincent. "Sephiroth…"

"So good of you to join us, Cloud." Sephiroth padded towards him and Cloud's eyes narrowed.

"Don't come any closer!" he threatened, but judging from the smirk on the former general's face, he could smell his fear a mile away.

"You intend to kill me?" Sephiroth drawled. "You did so splendidly last time."

Cloud remained still, muscles tensed to block should his opponent come at him. "Doesn't matter," he returned.

"You think you've changed? That you can stand up on your own against me? Very well, let's test that theory, shall we?" The Masamune glittered in the light of the mako as Sephiroth readied his attack, and Cloud barely brought the Yoshiyuki up in time before steel met steel. The pure force of the blow knocked him back at least two feet, and he felt the gravel slide under his boots as he struggled to stay upright. But after a moment, he attempted to break the lock and drive his attacker back with several quick slashes, hoping the Yoshiyuki's much smaller and more manageable blade would give him an edge over the long and potentially unwieldy odachi. He quickly found this to be mind-bendingly untrue, as Sephiroth parried each one like he was bored, only lazily backing away with each strike.

"Your skill has improved," the Demon of Wutai purred, not missing a step. "But this is no place for amateurs." He parried the last swing before quickly stepping back to angle his blade and rushing forward in a brutal thrust that Cloud barely evaded.

Sephiroth didn't pause, but brought the Masamune around so fast for another swipe that Cloud was scrambling to keep himself from falling as he backed away before he ran out of room against one of the walls and only just brought his sword up to block again. He felt the Buster Sword digging into his back, the flat of the blade sandwiched between him and the wall Sephiroth was pushing him into.

Blue eyes locked with reptilian green over the two slender blades and Sephiroth's expression became hungry with anticipation. "I wonder, if you're having this much trouble, what's to keep me from defeating you right here and now?"

Cloud gritted his teeth, pushing back with the Yoshiyuki and finally succeeding in slipping around the other man to give himself some space. "I won't let you," he said.

Sephiroth simply smiled and came at him again, but to Cloud's surprise he stopped right in front of him, the Masamune at his throat, before speaking again "And how do you propose to do that, when there's nothing to keep me out?"

Almost immediately he became aware of that strange buzzing noise in his ears and a familiar ache between his eyes, making him want to shut them. His body shook as he suddenly found himself stiffening of his own accord, fear and terror running through him. Distantly he was aware of Zack calling his name, and that he'd dropped the Yoshiyuki, drawing the Buster Sword off his own back, and hefting it in his right hand. No… His hand froze as he struggled to reassert control. He wasn't going to let this happen again.

"Cloud!" Zack was calling him again. "Don't give up… Fight him…" He struggled for a moment, before fear took hold of him as he suddenly found himself standing in front of the dark-haired swordsman, the Buster Sword raised over his head…

* * *

><p>Kunsel pulled Tifa away from the barrier. "We can't get distracted. We'll find him when this is over, all right?"<p>

Tifa bit her lip but nodded, and resumed a fighting stance, casting Ramuh in the direction of their target. The form of Jenova let out a strange gurgling noise before unleashing Bio spell as soon as the old man and his lightning bolts had disappeared. The front line scattered for a bit to avoid the noxious fumes and slime, before Cid and Kunsel ran forward in tandem, both channeling limit breaks at the same time. Kunsel aimed a precision slash across the side of the creature, only just getting out of the way as Cid landed on top of the thing, plunging his spear deep into its innards and unleashing an explosion.

When the dust cleared, their Jenova looked significantly damaged, and Tifa spared a moment to glance over in the Turks' direction. Fires had broken out in several places from the other Jenova's attacks, but Reno, Rude, and Elena seemed to be holding their own, with the two male Turks double teaming their target with shocks and fireblasts while Elena was supplementing with grenades. They were benefitting greatly from Barret, and Freya's covering fire.

She turned her attention back to their own monster and prepared to summon Ramuh again, but that was when something else entered the equation. She felt a wave of energy from the Turks' Jenova, and then suddenly, the figure of a huge man appeared lifting up an illusory piece of earth and sending a quake around the surrounding environs. Everyone stopped to hang on, hoping that the attack would end soon.

Well, now they knew what had happened to Yuffie's materia… "How dare you!" The ninja shrieked from the back, running forward to where the Turks were and channeling a limit break of her own that was clearly earth-based. "I'll teach you to take my materia you… monster!" Another tremor rumbled through the cavern and Tifa began to be a little concerned about the cavern's integrity. That was when another terrible idea entered her thoughts. Oh Gaia, Zack and Tseng's materia! She looked up at the great beast they were fighting just in time to see a huge fireball emit from the beast, right in front of one of its eye sockets. But that wasn't the only thing. She'd only ducked in time to dodge the conflagration when in front of the other socket, an armored horseman appeared, riding an antlered steed with four front legs. It was aimed directly at Aerith.

"Take cover!" she cried out.

Aerith, Cissnei, and Freya saw Odin coming their way and Freya immediately channeled her Protection limit, shielding Aerith temporarily in a glowing orb of impregnable energy before diving out of the way. Cissnei meanwhile, fired off a Thundaga spell at Jenova once she was clear. Aerith summoned Ifrit in front of her to block the charge, and her own summon grabbed the horse by its antlers.

The two titans slid across the ground before Ifrit was bowled over the shield and Odin clattered over top of it, unable to correct his charge before dissipating into nothing. Freya looked angrily in the direction of the tentacle monster and fired off two shotgun blasts before Kunsel dived in for several more quick slashes. The angelic Jenova the Turks were fighting produced another red light before casting what looked an awful lot like Petrify.

Tifa let out a battle cry, channeling a limit break of her own and rushing forward, beating hard into the abomination with her fists. In motions most experienced fighters could hardly see, she went at it in a somersault before kicking the thing into the ground. After a strong uppercut, she let out another yell, using the force she had accumulated to pound Jenova once again into the floor of the cave.

"Whoo! All right, Tifa! Kick their motha-&%$^#* asses!" Barret called from the rear, unloading his gunarm at Jenova one more time. Tifa backed away to catch her breath and wait for the next opening, only just evading as their target cast a spell from Zack's Thundara materia. She was vaguely aware of Aerith using another limit break behind her to remove the status effects they'd accumulated, but she knew they still had a long battle ahead of them. _"It'll be okay guys," _she thought hoping Zack, Cloud, and Vincent were okay, wherever they had gone. "_Just hang on a little longer until we're done."_

* * *

><p>Mao looked out from his position on the roof of the lodge at the woods surrounding it. He hoped Cissnei was all right. The kid had insisted on going, and as much as he'd wanted to accompany her, saving Zack was her fight. It was just as important to play support while they were gone. His PHS rang and he answered. "<em>I just finished my patrol around the spring. All clear in this quadrant,<em>" Tanjuu reported.

"All clear from the crow's nest too. Stay sharp," he hung up and checked the sky with his binoculars.

"Mao!" Alice Fair called him from below and he lowered the instrument before climbing down to the part of the roof that covered the porch.

"What is it?" he asked. Apparently, Zack's mother had been unable to sleep.

"I just wanted to know if you'd like some tea? I can bring it up the ladder to you if you'd like!"

The Turk smiled at the woman, and nodded. "I'd love that, thank you."

Alice nodded and walked back into the house. Even as Mao turned his attention back to watching the sky, he couldn't help but feel a little nostalgic. He was actually from Gongaga, and in his youth, he had known her and her husband. They had been the ones to recognize him and it had been a bit of a surprise when, on waking up the morning after returning from Rocket Town, Alice had looked up at him in surprise and cried out "Oh Gaia, is that Yu Jin's boy? Mao, it's been forever, how are you?"

He'd been taken aback at first, much to the laughter of everyone else, and then it came back to him. It had been nearly eighteen years after all. He hadn't really had a lot of interaction with the Fairs beyond his early childhood, and Zack hadn't even been born then. With a Wutaian father who had trained him in the ways of the katana, he'd been much busier perfecting his skills to the point where he was almost legendary, and then, around the time he was sixteen, he and his friend had been out in the fields practicing when a group of ruffians had kidnapped his friend claiming he owed them a debt. Being the stubborn individual he was, he'd gone after them and defeated every single one. Unfortunately, it had resulted in a prison sentence because of how brutal his retribution had been, and because the thugs had been sending Shinra information about Wutai spies. Heritage hadn't helped there.

He didn't regret it though. It had put him in contact with the Turks, and after that… If he'd had a sister, he would have wanted Cissnei to be like her. They'd been partners from the time she'd joined. Even then she didn't use her real name, and had only told it to him after two years working together.

"Be careful…" his lips moved as he enunciated his partner's real name into the early morning air… "I'll be the rear guard for you, so come home safe for me, all right?" He looked over the edge as Mrs. Fair climbed up the ladder with his tea, which he accepted gratefully before scaling the roof back to his perch.

* * *

><p>Zack watched from the wall as Cloud tried to fend off Sephiroth's attacks, feeling totally helpless and hating it. He tried shouting encouragement every now and then, but any fool could see Cloud was afraid, and he wasn't at top form right now. This wasn't good. He tried again to pull himself loose and instead, felt something burning in a gush through his wound and something wet and sticky flowed across it. A familiar smell caught in his nostrils. Oh Gaia, had Sephiroth done to him what he thought, and pinned him to a wall that had a reservoir of Lifestream behind it? That certainly wouldn't do him any favors. He could already feel himself getting a little woozy again. He forced himself to keep his eyes open. And that was when Sephiroth had started controlling Cloud.<p>

"Cloud! Don't give up… Fight him…" It was getting harder and harder to focus, even as Cloud approached him, a razor's edge away from ending his life. This wasn't good… He looked up at his friend's face. The torment there… There had to be something he could do… That was when his vision became foggedfor a moment. He wasn't quite sure why he remembered this now, but he found himself thinking of something the doctor had said.

"_These… 'S-cells' as Hollander called them were much less concentrated in your sample. I think because they were so similar to the initial Jenova cells, your body didn't alter itself very much upon the introduction of the new cells."_

That was true… his body was also pretty saturated with Jenova cells. Sephiroth was using his own S-cells to do this but… He had at least a few of those too, right…? He looked up at his friend, struggling on the line in front of him and tried to think… that was when he remembered that odd hum he'd felt whenever Sephiroth's influence was taking effect… could he do that too?

After a moment, he reached out with his good hand, placing it on his friend's shoulder and looking him in the eye, trying to focus in on the familiar, distant hum, listening for it, trying to find its source and searching for Cloud within its grasp. At first he was a little unsure of what he was looking for, but then suddenly, there he was, impossible to miss, fighting desperately to make this stop, and losing his resolve with every attempt Sephiroth made to dominate him.

"_Cloud?"_

At first, he wasn't sure his friend had heard him, and he tried again. "_Cloud, can you hear me?"_

In reality, he saw his friend's mouth open in shock and his eyes widened, even as his arm continued to raise. "Z-zack?"

He grinned and focused in again. _"Listen man, I know this is hard, and by rights, you probably should have been let off the hook a long time ago… but with everything we've come up against so far, Hojo, mako poisoning, Sephiroth, Genesis, Jade WEAPON, every time we've been called on to do something, you've stepped up and you've done great." _

He felt his eyes fill with tears as he continued, even though it was incredibly hard to stay focused like this. The reception, if it could be called that, felt like it was getting weaker with every moment. "_You're stronger than you think you are, I know it. I've seen it. When we sparred that last time, I was having trouble even keeping up with you! It's not fair that I have to ask this of you. This should have ended at Nibelheim when you killed him, but it's the only way. So I ask you, one more time, like I did back then, Cloud, take my sword and end this. Finish Sephiroth off before he destroys everything we have left, for our pride… our dreams… our honor… our freedom… for all that we have to live for… I know you can do it. After all… I taught you everything I know… didn't I?"_

It was getting nearly impossible to focus, now. He could barely sense him through the static, but he hoped that would be enough as he allowed his hand to drop, and focused on breathing… and that was when he heard steel meet steel a short distance away… It might have been his imagination, or maybe he was just hallucinating, but he could have sworn he felt a presence nearby in the Lifestream that he'd not noticed since his escape from Nibelheim… _Angeal… Are you watching…?_

* * *

><p>Kunsel raced at their Jenova one final time, driving his sword deep into its innards and it let out an unearthly shriek before eroding away into the Lifestream. A little to his right, he spotted Reno and Rude go in with a deadly punch followed by a zap from the EMR rod against their own target and it ended almost at the same time. An eerie hush fell across the cavern as everyone looked around at each other, checking themselves and their comrades for injuries. "Does anyone need a cure?" Aerith asked.<p>

"Miraculously, I think we're mostly okay," Kunsel said. "Me and Tifa just got scratched up a little when it attacked us near the barrier, but…" Suddenly it occurred to him that something was different. There was a sound that was missing here… After listening for a moment or two, it finally hit him. The barrier! It was gone!

Tifa had apparently noticed it too because she walked to where it had been and looked up the exit through which he assumed Cloud had vanished. "Cloud?" she called. "Cloud!" She hurriedly began scaling the incline up the tunnel.

Kunsel glanced at Freya and Cissnei and then at Cait and Aerith and the others. "Let's go." He said. Without another word, everyone followed Tifa up the tunnel towards the light that lay at the end.

* * *

><p>It didn't get any easier to resist Sephiroth, but at Zack's words, Cloud hardened his will and tried harder to focus. He didn't know if what Zack said was true or not, but one thing was for sure, he wasn't about to let him down if he could help it. With a monumental effort, he forced the sword lower to the ground, and then, shakily, he turned his attention back to his true opponent. This was the man who had started the whole thing. And this was it. For all the marbles. For everything he had… and everything he stood to lose.<p>

Sephiroth didn't seem the least bit impressed but simply smirked at him, and he found himself longing to wipe that confidence off the man's face. He, who had once been Zack's friend, his own idol, that which he had aspired to for so long… Suddenly, his mind felt much clearer, the scene in this cavern so much sharper, and he lifted the Buster Sword into the air between them in challenge. "Let's end this," he said.

"If you insist," Sephiroth drew the Masamune and they ran at each other, the two blade's meeting in a metallic clash that sent echoes across the cavern. They glared at each other across steel, daring each other to make the next move, and Sephiroth obliged, pushing with his sword and throwing the younger man across the room, but unlike the time in the reactor, Cloud was ready now. He caught himself on the wall, and running along it, he pulled the Buster Sword down in a cleaving strike which Sephiroth only barely avoided. His opponent brought the Masamune around in an elegant slash aimed across Cloud's heart. Cloud blocked, countered, and struck, and then blocked again.

Over and over metal hit against metal as both opponents fought for an opening. Cloud felt like he was barely keeping up and then suddenly he felt the white hot kiss of Masamune on his arm and he backed away before coming back with a powerful strike, knocking the silver haired man back a single half step. He tried to press his advantage with the Buster Sword, but at that moment, Sephiroth came at him one more time, channeling his signature Octaslash. Cloud was only barely able to evade the eight slashes in time. But that was when he felt inspiration soar within him and he lifted the Buster Sword in the air. A light glittered at the tip before, out of nowhere, a swirling vortex entered the room, surrounding his opponent.

Sephiroth was caught by surprise but not enough that he couldn't react. If he hadn't speared Masamune into the ground when he did the cyclone would definitely have blown him clear into the ceiling. As it was, his body and clothing were sporting several severe cuts from swirling debris when the twister vanished.

"Cloud!" Their attention was momentarily distracted by the appearance of Tifa and the others running up into the chamber and taking defensive positions around Sephiroth, weapons at the ready.

When Aerith appeared, her eyes immediately fell on her boyfriend. "Zack!" She ran to him, putting a hand under his chin to lift his face and see if he was awake and then Cloud heard her say to him "Don't worry, we'll get you down soon and then we can all go home." As Cissnei moved to check on Vincent, Aerith's eyes landed on Sephiroth, ablaze with an anger Cloud had never seen. "Sephiroth, the planet can never forgive you for what you've done, and neither can I." She took a defensive stance in front of Zack while the others came closer to stand behind Cloud.

They may not all have been in agreement over everything they stood for, but for once, they stood united in front of an enemy of all that lived. One more time, Cloud lifted the Buster Sword at Sephiroth.

"It's over," he said.

Sephiroth, straightened, pulling his sword out of the ground and sheathing it while he leered at the assembled party. "Actually, I think it's time we made things a little more… interesting… shall we?"

Cloud was on his guard, not entirely sure what was going to happen next, but then, suddenly, the entire cavern was bathed in a blinding white light…

* * *

><p><em>And on that note... A little housekeeping. As a result of having acquired a paying job and needing a regular sleep schedule, chapters will now be released closer to Midnight EST rather than at the ungodly hours to which I was once accustomed (ergo 3:00 AM EST). Aside from getting you the chapters a few hours earlier, it will not impact the release schedule. I have a backlog that I have dutifully kept up to insure that updates will not fail to occur unless something really catastrophic happens.<em>

_See ya next time!_


	42. One Winged Angel

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spin-offs That honor goes to Square-Enix.

**Part II: Reunion**

* * *

><p>Chapter 42, One Winged Angel<p>

**January 3****rd**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008**

Tseng was watching the crater from his perch on the weather deck alongside Liz and Dr. Rayleigh when suddenly a great explosion wracked its way through the center of the crater. As he squinted, the female renegade reached for her binoculars and peered through them, straining to see what was going on. "Well, it looks like the party has started," she commented.

Tseng's eyes widened almost imperceptibly at what he was witnessing. There was something at the center of the crater, and it appeared to be getting bigger. He wasn't quite sure what he now saw. From this distance, it seemed to have nearly insectoid features, and yet it also bore a pair of winglike appendages. Could that be…?

"What on the planet is THAT thing?" Rayleigh exclaimed.

"I think it's Sephiroth."

As if to confirm Tseng's statement, several bright lights appeared around the giant being, telltale signs that some summons had been called on.

* * *

><p>Cloud shielded his eyes as the light permeated the room but then he distinctly heard the ceiling crack above them and was barely able to get to Tifa in time, using his body and the Buster Sword to protect her from the crumbling debris as Kunsel cast a Wall on someone nearby. On the ground, he noticed the Yoshiyuki, sitting where he had dropped it and as the first flakes of snow filtered in from the sky opened up above them, he picked it up and secured it on his back. Somehow, the Buster Sword seemed like the right weapon to use for this.<p>

Tremors wracked their way through the cave and he saw a shower of stars as Aerith channeled a limit break and suddenly he found himself impervious to the falling debris. He looked down at Tifa, "You all right?" he asked.

She nodded, her face hardened in determination. "Let's go get him!"

He pulled her up and, followed by the rest of the party, they started leaping up after the growing and mutating mass of flesh and sinew. It was a simple matter, to hop between the falling rocks and crystals until everyone but Aerith, Cissnei, and Cait Sith, who had stayed behind to tend to Zack and Vincent, had taken up positions around the newly opened hole at the floor of the crater.

In the dim light glowing up from the hole they'd just climbed out of, Cloud could see that Sephiroth had changed into a strange and nightmarish figure, having grown considerably larger, turned an eerie bluish color and had developed a couple of wing arms and a strange extra head with antennae. Gaia, he sure hoped his own enhancements wouldn't do anything like that.

Reno, Rude, Barret, and Freya had ended up a ways off to their right while Elena and Nanaki had ended up further on their left. Kunsel, Cid, Tifa, and Yuffie landed nearby and they regarded the monstrosity for only a second before Cloud lifted the Buster Sword and called out "Charge!"

As one, several of the group began casting while others raced forward to leap into the air and take a chunk out of him that way. Ramuh and Ifrit, Odin, Titan, Shiva, and Chocomog. All six summons deployed at the same time raining destruction down on the monster before Cloud and Kunsel raced in after the others to dig their swords into his flesh in unison while Yuffie and Cissnei let loose their shurikens and Barret and Freya unleashed a spread of devastation from a little further away.

As Cloud leapt back, his boots skidding on the ice-covered floor of the crater, he saw Tifa casting a Bio into the mix and Nanaki letting loose a Demi.

Sephiroth was already retaliating, reaching out with his winged appendages to swat away the melee fighters like flies. Kunsel rolled out of the way and into a crouch nearby, casting a Bolt spell while Reno and Rude both attacked with a series of fire blasts.

"Fire in the hole!" One of Elena's grenades flew by overhead and and everyone ducked as an explosion rang out from near Sephiroth's midsection. He let out an unearthly roar, and fire and ice spells peppered the ground.

Cloud managed to get out of the way, though by now, Aerith's limit break had apparently worn off, because some of the flames clipped his leg and he'd felt it burn him a little. He ignored it though, instead letting loose a powerful Fire spell of his own, and then leapt into the air again to take advantage of the burn he'd inflicted to try doing more damage. Unfortunately, he got sent flying by one of Sephiroth's flailing wing appendages and ended up rolling on the ground to avoid most of the damage. The chill of the ice under his gloved hands would have been painful had he not been enhanced, but he picked himself up and charged again.

Around him, he could see the others continuing their assault with weapons and spells. Cid leapt into the air for an assault with his spear, while Nanaki moved in from below to get at Spehiroth's flanks.

That was when an idea occurred to him. He reached into his pocket and equipped Bahamut. This had worked with Chocomog, right? If they could just get enough height on it, they might have an easier time getting at Sephiroth's more vulnerable parts for a more effective assault. Concentrating, he allowed the summon materia to tap into his energy and suddenly a rush of wind rose up around him.

When he looked up, he could see a silver-blue dragon before him with armored scales. As though it had sensed what he wanted, it stood there, waiting for him. Cloud raced forward, hopping up on the dragon's back, and before he noticed, Kunsel, Tifa, and Cid had joined him. The dragon hurtled into the air, just barely avoiding one of Sephiroth's wings and a horde of magic spells. It jostled them slightly as it pulled for altitude before opening its mouth, letting loose a powerful blue beam of energy. Since they could already tell Bahamut was starting to disappear, Cloud and the others leapt into the air, each one channeling a limit break as they fell to the ground. Cloud summoned a storm of meteors that pummeled the central body and Tifa landed a series of hardened blows to the left wing before jumping away to land in a crouch.

Kunsel dived for the other wing, letting loose five powerful strikes in a sequence almost too fast to see while Cid dove towards Sephiroth's upper head, unleashing a powerful explosion. All of them dived out of the way when Sephiroth cast another powerful wave of spells to try and fend them off. Cloud rolled away, a series of explosive bursts lighting up the sky above him before he looked up again, and his mouth fell open in surprise. Sephiroth was sinking to the ground, as though he were collapsing in on himself, but more importantly, as he fell towards the hole, Cloud could already see their enemy's body changing yet again. What the…?

The thing that stood before them now under the unforgiving northern sky appeared with Sephiroth's face and the upper body of a gigantic man whose lower half had been replaced by six great white wings while his right arm had been replaced by a single black one. Two golden glowing disks rotated behind him and Cloud could see him looking down upon them with pure disdain.

His eyes narrowed as they locked with the glowing reptilian green ones of the would-be god and destroyer of the planet, and then set to work on casting his highest level fire spell while Kunsel raced forward with his sword charged by his Bolt and Elemental materia.

The ex-SOLDIER leapt as high as he could go, using a rock ledge to pull for the most height he could manage and sliced at one of the wings while two shurikens and a shotgun blast rang out over the battle field. Off in the distance, he could hear Reno and Rude casting again while on the opposite side of the fight, a powerful beam of energy issued from the general direction of where he thought Nanaki was. His Fire spell deployed in a burst of flames around their enemy but just at that moment, Sephiroth called forth what seemed to be a ball of energy as dark and black as a void, hurling it through the falling snow directly at the hole in the ground as though he were going for Aerith, Vincent and Zack. He felt a limit channel, and almost as though he'd teleported, Kunsel appeared in the way of the attack. While he was well able to take the brunt of it, the dark energy swirled around him opening wounds as though a void was ripping them through the space-time continuum.

The others doubled down on their assault, spells flying in a torrent around the crater, even as Sephiroth reached out with his wing, knocking Tifa away when she leapt up to try and attack him once again. Cloud's eyes widened once he saw her go flying across the crater and ran to catch her.

He could already hear Barret letting loose a battle cry as he unloaded a burst of gunfire at their enemy, and Yuffie channeling another limit, her shuriken striking like a snake in her hand, as she let loose a powerful flurry of attacks from several angles,. He leapt underneath Tifa, catching her before she hit the ground, but could see the attack had left her Petrified. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a Remedy, taking cover by a rock as he did so, and popping the bottle open so its healing effects could be utilized.

As the fight went on around them, she stirred and blinked. "Cloud?"

He said nothing but gestured that they needed to get back to the fight. She nodded in understanding and ran back out into the fray, with him right behind her. Cait Sith attacked with his megaphone from near the hole in the ground just when they returned to the fray, but suddenly, Sephiroth flew higher into the air, and raised his left arm, calling on a gigantic blue beam of light. There wasn't time to run for cover, before it rocketed to the ground, straight for Cid. There was no way anyone could get to him, and suddenly, he looked a whole lot smaller and less energetic. Cissnei ran across the battlefield, another limit channeling as she threw her Rekka up at the flying creature, and Cid appeared to have been restored to his normal size, but he was still somewhat slower.

Cloud reached for Bahamut one more time, thinking that he might be able to use it to get up where he could get an attack in, when Sephiroth raised his hand again, calling forth a white orb of powerful energy. Somehow he knew this one was going to hurt, even as he raced forward, knocking Tifa to the ground behind a rock while Kunsel and the others were doing what they could to put walls and barriers in place and Freya let loose a barrage of shot gun bursts.

Sheltering behind the rock, he felt the energy whoosh around them in a wave, burning white hot as it flowed over the battlefield. When he looked out over the floor of the crater, the sight that met his eyes was terrifying. Reno and Rude had apparently also found shelter, but Barret had taken the brunt of the attack after having jumped in front of Yuffie, and Cid also looked very much the worse for wear. Freya had already rushed over to where Kunsel lay, a Cure spell playing at her fingertips and a Phoenix Down in her other hand. Cait Sith also was hurrying out onto the field with Elena, who threw another grenade as she went, along with unloading all the ammo in her gun.

Like a great bird of prey floating in to finish the kill, Sephiroth floated down, closer to the ground and Cloud could almost see a smirk on his face.

Tossing a Cure in Tifa's direction, Cloud raced out to meet his enemy, standing before him in the torrent of snow that was quickly becoming a blizzard, and once again, he reached for the energy deep within him, calling on the limit he'd channeled down in the mako cave below them. A whirlwind of snow and dust blotted out his view of the monstrosity, and he took that moment to once more reach for Bahamut, calling on its power to deploy once again.

The dragon flew up above him, looking down into the vortex and unleashing a powerful blast, clearing the snow away and leaving a fiery pit of ashen ground on the floor of the crater, just below where the smoke was clearing around Sephiroth's body.

The would-be god glared down at him and he felt a whisper at the back of his mind. _"Very well 'Cloud,' I accept your challenge."_

A wave of energy flowed through the area, and he could hear cries of pain around him and soon he realized one of them was his own as it ripped through his body, frying his nerves, burning his skin and muscle and tearing at the very fabric of his body until he fell to his knees. He could already hear the laughter in his mind as he struggled to stay conscious. _"In the end 'Cloud,' this will mean nothing and you will only fail, as you have, so many many times. Whether you die here or not, your friends are still down in that cave. I will have the Black Materia, the world's knowledge will become a part of me and I __**will**__ win…"_

He looked up at the winged being who had once been a great man, with a quiet fury in his eyes. It was coming closer, he realized. To kill him? Probably. It was this that made him drag himself to his feet once more, and he could feel his arms protesting as he hefted the Buster Sword up one more time.

"You're wrong," he said softly, gritting his teeth as he moved into stance. "You already lost a long time ago, when you lost yourself in the basement of Shinra Mansion." With a monumental effort, he raced forth, coming at the self-proclaimed 'god' and, leaping into the air with all his strength, channeled a final limit break, raining meteors down upon the general out of the air around them. They fell into the snow, tearing many great holes into the caves beneath the ground and carving a path down into a current of Lifestream below them. Perhaps the most frightening thing about it, was that as he landed on the ground and his knees collapsed from under him, he didn't hear the former General cry out once, as the abomination collapsed and dissolved into the currents below them. The ground beneath him rumbled ominously …

* * *

><p>On the floor of the Shinra building devoted to Urban Development, there was a small uproar near the director's office as a flurry of smoke poured out from under the door, and two small feline figures raced out distracting the guards. Thinking that someone was trying to escape, the guards all ran after the small pitter-patter of booted feet until they discovered an open ventilation shaft leading down into the bowels of the skyscraper.<p>

Meanwhile, back at the office, no one noticed the man in a business suit carrying several folders and a small hand gun creep out the door and hurry down the path to another elevator until he was already inside its confines. Reeve jammed the button on the panel that he knew would take him down to the executive parking lot near the main floor of the Shinra building. For several pulse-pounding moments, the elevator continued downward, until, quite suddenly, it stopped. It was way too soon for him to be at his floor and the top panel lifted off of the roof of the passenger compartment. "Reeve!" A Cait Sith popped his head through the whole. "Get ootta there! Me sensors're showin an entire squad on the way comin' to get you!"

Tossing his belongings up to the little cat, he jumped and grabbed the edge of the hole. He wasn't a strong man by any means, but with the little robot helping him, he managed to crawl up into the elevator shaft and shut the trap door behind him just as the door to the floor he'd stopped on slid open. Above him, he could see the door for the floor above where he'd stopped. "Cait 5, could you open those doors for me?" he asked.

"Right'o!" The little robot climbed up to the door with the grace of, well, a cat, and using the servos within his little body, he gently worked the two sides of the door open wide enough for Reeve to squeeze through.

Crawling up onto the landing, Reeve looked around and saw that he was on the floor with the giant tree. The area was deserted due to it still being the middle of the night, so he only need worry about the guards that he could already hear inspecting his escape route. Running for the main elevator on the opposite side of the floor, he and Cait 5 managed to get through and he hit the down button just as a group of SOLDIERs were beginning to advance towards the lift. He was already more than halfway down by the time they spotted him, but he knew he couldn't possible come in at the main floor. That place would be crawling with guards. After a moment's deliberation, he turned his gun on the glass, and averting his eyes, he shot several holes through the transparent wall before pushing with his hand to knock the shards away completely. He'd only have a moment to get from here to the roof of the main floor. Gathering up his belongings and letting Cait 5 climb onto his shoulder, he took a deep breath and waited for the right moment. As the roof of the main hall came into sight, he raced forward, and leapt out of the elevator. He was lucky the panel of glass on which he landed was tempered; otherwise, it might not have held his weight. Unfortunately, that was when he heard the click of an assault weapon nearby and saw a pair of Heligunners pointing their weaponry at him.

"Never let it be said that you aren't one for overkill Rufus," he muttered, putting his hands in the air.

* * *

><p>Zack opened his eyes for a moment as Aerith handed Vincent a water bottle she had carried with her. It had taken some time for the Phoenix down and the cure to work on the man but he seemed to be capable of walking under his own power now at least. Upon noticing he was awake, she walked over to him. "Zack?"<p>

"Aerith… I knew you guys would come…" he offered her a smile, and reached out with his good hand to gently brush her honey brown bangs behind her ear. "Where are the others? Cloud… Vincent… are they all right?"

Vincent stood and limped over, silently affirming that he was capable of moving.

"Cloud and the others are fighting," Aerith answered. "It'll be over soon."

"Good…" Zack's eyes seemed to glaze over a little from exhaustion and the Lifestream exposure, but that was when a tremor racked its way through the cavern and he grimaced, the steel rod still embedded in his arm. "S-Shiva… what was that…?" She could see he was starting to shiver a little from the snow filtering in from above them. Had he not been injured so badly, it probably wouldn't be affecting him, but with his shoulder the way it was… She reached into her pack and found a blanket, wrapping it over what parts she could reach.

"Just stay warm, all right?" she whispered.

He put his good arm around her, pulling her close. "I'll t-try."

That was when their attention was drawn by several scraping sounds overhead. The three of them looked up and Aerith smiled when she saw several of the others climbing their way down into the hole. Kunsel was the first, followed by Freya, Cid, Tifa, and Cloud, who was carrying Nanaki while Yuffie, Cissnei, Barret, Cait Sith, and Reno, Rude, and Elena brought up the rear. "Cloud…" Zack looked up at his friend with a tired grin. "You did it…"

Cloud let Nanaki down and nodded, walking a little closer to get a good look at Zack, wincing as he did so. "Sephiroth did that?"

Zack nodded.

Cid walked up and took an assessing look at the rod. "We can get him loose, but it might be best to cut him out from behind."

"You're right," Kunsel agreed. "It'd be best to cut the front of it off too and leave the parts in his shoulder until the doc can see it, otherwise it might start bleeding again, and if he crushed some bones they won't heal properly with just a Cure."

"Do what you have to do…" Zack said. "I can take it."

"Right," Cid reached for his PHS before looking at the others. "We need someone to go back and get my power tools. I need my reciprocal saw $%&#!^ yesterday!"

Kunsel looked down at Yuffie. "You're probably the quickest, do you think if you went from the floor of the crater, you could make it?"

"Yeah," Yuffie agreed. Taking a running leap, she climbed the rest of the way back out and was gone within seconds, even as Cid was already talking to the crew on the Highwind. Aerith watched, slightly on edge as the Turks approached.

Reno took a good look at what had happened to the SOLDIER and even he winced. "Damn, you really do look terrible, yo."

"Yeah… kinda hard not to with this thing…" Zack grinned and gestured to the pole.

"Does it hurt?" Cissnei asked.

"Not as much as you'd think anymore… It was a little scary when I couldn't feel my hand for a bit though… If I didn't have my healing limit I might have lost that for good…"

"That sounds like there was some nerve damage…" Freya said. "Can you move it?"

"I'd rather not…" Another tremor wracked its way through the cave and Zack grimaced again. "What's with the quakes around here?" he said, clenching his teeth.

Aerith listened to the planet for a little. "I don't think they're waking up, but that was definitely enough to make the WEAPONs stir a little. We should get out of here as soon as possible. We don't want them to get any more active."

"WEAPONs?" Elena asked.

"Powerful beings created by the planet to eradicate things that hurt it," Aerith explained. "Let's just say they're very dangerous."

They waited a little longer as the snow filtered in through the ceiling which was now open to the clouded sky and frigid air. Soon Yuffie returned and slid down the side, a large case in one hand and a small box in the other. "The doctor sent some medicine too. She said to give it to Zack so he wouldn't feel it while the saw's going, because otherwise it'll hurt. A lot. She also said to tell you it's already adjusted to his weight, and to give it five minutes before you get to work." She handed the large case to Cid and the little box to Freya.

The Turk looked up at Zack, holding the syringe she had just removed from the box. "Are you ready?"

"Bring it," Zack challenged.

Freya nodded, walked over and jabbed the needle into his arm, dispensing the contents. Soon after that, he was pretty woozy, and not totally coherent anymore.

"All right," Cid said. "I need a couple of volunteers to keep him leaned back while I go at the front piece." He was all set to crank up the power saw as he spoke.

"I'll do it," Cloud offered.

"Good man," Cid nodded. "Just be careful. It wouldn't' do to get a face full of this $#!&."

Kunsel also stepped forward to support Zack's injured side while Cloud pulled his head back, and then Cid cranked up the saw, sending a loud whirring noise echoing through the crystal walls. Once he was sure it was in working order, he approached and carefully lowered his saw to the metal. Light blazed around them as sparks flew up from the metal pipe before the blade began moving through steel. It took several seconds before, at last, the front end of the rod was gone.

Cid stopped the saw at that point and lifted up his goggles. "All right, now, I want ya to pull him forward, just a little so I can get to the back end. Be careful, we don't want any more blood than we gotta have. That'll just complicate things."

Aerith watched nervously as Cloud and Kunsel lifted up her boyfriend's form and pulled him forward along the rod just slightly. After a moment, Kunsel looked up at the onlookers. "Guys, we need some things to pad his lower back so there's a space for the saw to work."

Aerith quickly took off her jacket and offered it to them. After a moment or so, Barret also offered his vest. Wrapping the case for the saw between the two articles of clothing, they wedged it between the wall and Zack's body, but just as Cid was about to start the saw again, another tremor wracked its way through the cavern.

Everyone looked around nervously. At first, it looked like the tremors would stop, but then suddenly they rebounded with renewed force.

"I don't know what's going on here, but we need to get moving!" Reno said.

"Cid?" Kunsel looked over at the man.

Cid nodded and hurried forward. Better to clip the man a little than kill him by not acting quickly enough. As the blade began to whir again, Aerith's eyes rose up to the top of the wall of mako crystals and her eyes widened. "Look out!" she called. Cid backed away while Cloud pulled the Buster Sword over himself, Zack and Kunsel.

Cid moved to try again, but another tremor prevented him from taking another step. "$%#&! These tremors are makin' it too dangerous to do anything! Get everyone outta here!"

At that point, Barret walked up to Aerith and said "Leave it ta them, he'll be all right. If anythin' happened to you 'cause ya stayed, he'd never forgive us."

Aerith shook her head. "I want to stay! I'm not leaving him!"

Tifa seemed just as determined. "I'm not leaving the guys either, we'll protect each other."

Kunsel looked over at Freya. "Get them out of here! We'll be right behind you!"

The Turk nodded, and took charge. "This is an order! Everyone move it! No sense for this place to come down on all of us!"

Freya and the other Turks were already working with a set of ropes to make a path for everyone to escape as the tremors were getting worse when an especially violent quake rode through the place like a wave. To Aerith's horror, several points on the wall began eroding away like they were being eaten by acid, revealing the Lifestream flowing beneath. She raced forward, slipping past Barret's attempt to keep her from getting any closer, when suddenly the wall behind Zack fell away. She watched as his prone body dropped into the vortex below, even as Kunsel and the others tried to reach for solid ground and catch him at the same time.

Almost at the same moment she saw Cloud reach for a rope that Cid had coiled near his supplies before lassoing it to a rock nearby. Securing the other end around his waist as he went, he raced towards the hole gaping down into the Lifestream below and dived in after him, the rope uncoiling out behind him…

* * *

><p><em>I know I'm notorious for cliff-hangers, but I think I outdid myself this time. It wasn't just a cliff-hanger, it was literally a dive over the cliff head first! All joking aside though, for the first time in a long while, we actually have a couple of new limit breaks!<em>

_First we have Kunsel's: _Double Time, a third tier limit that strikes an opponent five times in quick succession.

_Cissnei also had one as well: _Fairy's Kiss, a third tier limit that heals HP and cures Frog, Small, and Confuse.

_Anyway, I hope everyone had a good Christmas (and where applicable, a good end-of-the-world party? Wasn't there something about that recently?) and that they have a Happy New Year_!

_See ya in 2013!_


	43. Repercussions

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spin-offs That honor goes to Square-Enix.

**Part II: Reunion**

* * *

><p>Chapter 43, Repercussions<p>

**January 3****rd**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008**

Reeve was watching the Heligunners with a wary eye as a couple of SOLDIER 2nds climbed out onto the building. They had their swords drawn.

"Director Tuesti, President Shinra has ordered your arrest and detainment. Do not try to resist or escape," one of the SOLDIERs called out as he drew within shouting distance.

Reeve smiled as he shrugged. "It would be foolish to fight you. I know my limitations." It was at that moment when something tugged at the leg of his trousers and he looked down. Cait 4 had apparently climbed here from the vent shaft.

"You know what to do," he whispered.

The little cat nodded and suddenly, smoke began to surround the two of them. It was a special compound designed to scramble targeting systems.

"Hey!" The SOLDIER rushed forward, but Reeve and the little cat were already sprinting through the smoke to a point where another ventilation tube peeked out from a solid part of the roof. He'd designed this building, at least the above-plate portions of it. He knew it like the back of his hand, and Rufus had given him all the warning he needed. He prepared for a rough landing as he hopped into the shaft and let it carry him down towards the building's central heating conduits. There would be a place very soon where he'd be able to stand and from there, he'd be able to get to a service hatch near the exit to the first floor basement.

He soon found his way and it wasn't long before he was strolling out the door, only to see a redhead with an EMR rod and a blonde woman with a hand gun standing ready with a small car. "How did he know?" Reeve asked, calmly placing his belongings in the back.

"It's his business to know," Lou answered crisply, eyeing Cait 5 as he appeared at the door, and hopped into the back with Cait 4.

Reeve sat next to his two creations as the two renegades took their positions in the front. "I should have guessed," he said with a wry smile. "He didn't have to do it."

"He called it helping a friend," Rod said. With that, he stepped on the gas and they were gone before anyone even noticed they were there.

* * *

><p>Cloud fell, deeper and deeper, forcing himself to be on alert for any sign of Zack. After several pulse pounding moments, he caught sight of his friend through the flowing green mist and reached out, to grab the wrist of his good arm, before grabbing the rope with his other arm. It came taught in his gloved hand and he winced at the jerking motion which jostled his friend's body, but Cloud wasn't about to let go, even if it killed him. Once he was sure the rope wasn't going to give, he lifted Zack up and balanced him on the arm he had secured it with, before hefting him over his shoulder. It wasn't easy to do; Zack was hardly light, and Cloud was already getting tired and dizzy under the soporific effects of the Lifestream, but he forced himself to keep it together. His life wasn't the only one that was at stake.<p>

He felt blood trickling down the back of his shirt. The pipe had apparently been knocked clear during the fall. He cursed before suddenly feeling the rope tighten in his hand. They were trying to pull him back up it seemed.

Making sure Zack was secure, he began the process of climbing higher up the rope even as he could hear shouts above him. Cid was apparently giving orders. His own arms were shaking from the effort, but he was determined. He wasn't going to fail again.

Not this time.

Little by little, the rope pulled them higher, and he inched higher along it until finally, the ledge he'd jumped off of pulled into sight, and not long after, he felt Zack's body being lifted off of him by several others, before he saw a hand in front of him. Tifa was moving to help him up.

He was about to reach out to her, when suddenly, he felt a familiar white hot stab of pain right between his eyes. Tifa caught his arm even as she saw him wince and quickly pulled him back onto solid ground. "Cloud?!"

"…I feel it…" he ground out, gripping his head in his hands.

"Cloud? What is it?" Kunsel was standing over them along with Freya.

"He's still… here… He's… laughing…"

_The last thing he was aware of was Tifa putting her arms around him and calling his name before he had the strange sensation that he was suddenly no longer there, as though some strange force had yanked him deep into the recesses of his own mind and yet, not, like some distant space that seemed full of life and energy but at the same time, empty and alien._

_He found himself flying along a tunnel of light constantly changing in a flux of colors, and vaguely wondered why he didn't feel motion-sick, even as the passage wound up and down and around. It seemed as though he was traveling for miles along this strange conduit through space, until finally, his eyes landed on the destination._

_Down in the depths of the Lifestream, under the glow of a central bright light his eyes locked with those of a familiar figure, and he beheld the leering form of his enemy. Divested of his coat and standing poised to do battle with the Masamune in his hand, was the inspiration for his dreams as a boy, and the deliverer of his suffering as a man… Sephiroth._

_Cloud felt strangely calm as he landed facing his opponent. He reached for the weapon on his back and found to his surprise, that it was the Buster Sword. Sephiroth's expression was mocking and disdainful as they regarded each other, watching to see who would make the first move._

_Almost before he was aware it had happened, Cloud felt a limit channel within him, and after raising the Buster Sword in the air, with wind and Lifestream flying around him in a vortex, he raced forward with a speed that was greater than any he'd ever attained. Blow after blow he rained down on the former general, and to Cloud's own astonishment, Sephiroth wasn't even moving quickly enough to block. The man simply stood there while wounds opened up on his body. Fourteen times, the Buster Sword connected with its target and Cloud raised it a final time, leaping in the air, and coming down for one more blow._

_Blood pooled at the silver general's feet as he backed away, and he looked up at Cloud without saying a word, his mouth open in shock that he had actually been defeated, before he dissolved into tendrils of light and faded into nothing. The Lifestream around him shimmered innocently before it too vanished…_

"Cloud!" He blinked and found himself lying in a tunnel, and Tifa was near him, eyes wide with worry.

He offered her a warm smile and let out a breath. "He's gone," he said.

She returned it. "Can you stand?"

Cloud picked himself up, checking that the swords were still on his back. "It seems like it." He leaned against the cave wall as another rumble wracked its way through. "Is Zack okay?"

"He's over here," Aerith called out to him.

Ignoring Kunsel's attempts to stop him, he walked over to where his friend lay, and put the man's good arm over his own shoulders, and pulled him up so he could carry him. "Come on, let's go."

"Are you sure you're all right?" Freya asked. "You just jumped into the Lifestream, not to mention what just happened afterward!"

"I can get him," Kunsel offered.

"No," Cloud said. "I've got this."

"_You carried me out the last time,"_ he thought as he gently lifted Zack towards the exit. _"Now it's my turn."_

"Come on, let's get outta here before those WEAPONs really decide to wake up!" Yuffie said.

Soon the others were in formation, prepared to fight off any monsters as they made their way out, and Aerith and Tifa did not leave Cloud's side the whole way through.

* * *

><p>The tremors had stopped a long time ago, though they had apparently frightened all the monsters away to parts unknown. By the time they got to the hole through which they'd rappelled down into the cave system, hardly an hour or so had passed. Zack was still out like a light, so they ended up fashioning a rope harness to lift him out before they were able to press on over the slope of the crater. Miraculously, Aerith had managed to retrieve the blanket she had covered him with before, so they were able to keep him relatively warm through the climb back to where the Highwind was tethered.<p>

Rayleigh was waiting for them when Cloud finally stood below the ladder. He was tired and aching from the exertions of the last few hours, but he did not put Zack down until, under Cid and Freya's direction, the group managed a pulley system to lift him up to the weather deck.

While the others worked to get the lift set up Rayleigh was already looking him over, examining the wound that was starting to heal now that the object which had previously obstructed it from doing so was gone. "Sephiroth really got him," she commented. "Did he say anything about it before he went under?"

"He said at one point he couldn't feel his hand," Freya supplied.

Rayleigh looked worried at that. "I'll need to take a better look once we're aboard. I don't know if I can do anything, since it's already shown some signs that he tried to heal it himself, but we'll see."

At that moment, Tseng appeared, looking his usual composed self, even as the snow continued to fall around them. "We'll be going. We have no orders to apprehend you right now, but the President will want a report." It might have been his imagination, but Cloud could have sworn he saw a hint of fondness glinting in Tseng's eye as he looked at Zack. The Director of the Turks walked towards the helicopter, only sparing a moment to call over his subordinates. "Reno, Rude, Elena. We're leaving."

Reno nodded. "Coming boss!" He looked around at the gathered crowd. "Later yo. Next time, it might be a whole different ball game."

"We'll be ready for it," Kunsel assured him, even as he adjusted one of the ropes. If everyone wasn't exhausted there might have been a few more threatening glances and hotheaded words exchanged, but as it was, they only wanted to get Zack inside and get themselves away from here.

Elena looked over at Freya, who smiled and then went back to work, and cast a worried look at Zack, before the three current Turks walked after Tseng and boarded the helicopter. Soon after, they had vanished into the snowfall leaving only the muffled echoes of whirling propellers in their wake.

Not long after that, Cid tested the pulley system and determined it to be sound, so Cloud carefully loaded Zack onto the stretcher they'd adapted and helped the others secure him before Barret and Kunsel started heaving him up. Once he was aboard, Cloud lifted him up again, and in spite of the others' protests, he carried him inside and headed towards the sick bay. He barely remembered the walk, as his mind still felt hazy and muddled, but before he knew it, his destination lay in front of him.

Upon walking into the cabin, he saw that Rayleigh was already ahead of him, and was waiting next to the examining table. He paused and she had obviously noticed the nervousness in his expression. "I know you're worried Cloud, but it's all right. I'll take good care of him."

Taking a moment to collect himself, Cloud gently lowered his friend onto the table and Rayleigh pulled on a pair of gloves before she sniffed the air and looked over at him. "Did you end up exposed to Mako when you rescued him? He's already showing symptoms of poisoning."

"I… jumped into the Lifestream after him…" Cloud admitted.

The doctor's eyes widened. "Then get out and get yourself cleaned up, now, and then report back immediately. After I'm done with him, you're next. The last thing we need is for you to go comatose again."

Cloud was vaguely aware of Tifa and Kunsel behind him even as he opened his mouth to protest.

The doctor shook her head, her expression stern as she cut him off before he could say a word, "No buts! Now!" Cloud found himself unable to articulate an argument, and so, he left the room. He barely heard Tifa walking behind him to make sure he didn't stumble as he walked to the showers.

* * *

><p>Aerith had been waiting outside the sickbay for while along with Freya, Cissnei, and Yuffie when Cloud returned, still somewhat damp, and he and Tifa sat down on the bench next to her. Kunsel followed after them, having gone with the two of them to assist if needed. "Any news?" Cloud mumbled.<p>

Aerith shook her head, looking down at her hands clasped together in her lap. "She hasn't said a thing. How are you doing?"

"I'm all right," Cloud said.

It was a lie. She could see the tired lines on his face and even though he looked a lot better now that he was no longer covered in residue from the Lifestream, she could tell he seemed to be having trouble focusing. It wouldn't do any good to say anything right now though. She understood. After all, she wasn't willing to rest until she'd heard something either.

The Planet seemed to have not actually awakened the WEAPONs after all, though it had definitely been a near miss. They had been lucky. She could feel the Highwind's engine humming through the bulkheads, carrying them south, towards home, but she was uneasy. The Planet didn't think it was over. That much she was certain of. Not to mention, she was really worried about what Zack had said earlier…

The door to the sickbay finally opened again, and Rayleigh walked out, regarding the waiting crowd. "He's resting now, though he probably won't wake up until well after we return."

"Why?" Kunsel asked.

The doctor removed her glasses, and cleaned them with a cloth as she answered "What happened at the Crater took a lot out of him, and getting exposed directly to the Lifestream in large amounts like that didn't help. It probably wasn't as serious as the Mako tanks in Nibelheim, but that's not the worst of it, I'm afraid."

Cloud looked up. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"When he said he couldn't feel his arm for a moment while he was pinned to that wall of Mako crystals…" Rayleigh paused, as though bracing for the torrent of questions she knew was coming. "It was because the nerves in his shoulder were severely damaged when Sephiroth injured him. He made the right decision to heal it when he did, but because the rod was still obstructing the wound, it wasn't able to heal properly..." She sighed and clasped her hands in front of her. "If he hadn't done what he did, he might have lost the ability to use his right hand at all. As it is, he'll probably never be able to wield the Buster Sword again. I honestly don't know what he'll be able to do with it. For that, we'll have to wait until he recovers."

"But that sword means the world to him…" Kunsel said, clearly shocked by the news. "How's he going to take this?"

Yuffie looked on the verge of tears. "How's he… going to fight Shinra if he can't use his sword?" she asked.

Freya put an arm around her to be comforting. "I guess we can worry about that later."

Aerith nodded and stood up, hearing Cloud behind her, though when she glanced in his direction, she saw he'd put out a hand to steady himself on the bulkhead as Tifa had also stood to try and help balance him.

"She's right," Rayleigh agreed. She then turned her attention to Cloud "For now, I want you under observation. I know you're tired, but you are not joining him in unconsciousness on my watch."

Cloud didn't answer her, but instead asked "Can we see him?"

Rayleigh nodded and walked to the door opening it so the others could enter. "I'll probably need a little help getting him to bed anyway."

Aerith walked past her into the sick bay and saw that Zack was resting where she'd seen him last on the examining table. A nasty scar now marked the place on his shoulder where the pole had gone through it, but Rayleigh had pulled a blanket over him so that his now bare chest wasn't exposed. She was glad to see he seemed to be resting peacefully though. She walked over to him, placing a hand on his arm, and leaned in to plant a small kiss on his forehead.

"Don't take as long as Cloud did…" she whispered. "Everyone's waiting for you."

As she stood again, she noticed the very man she was speaking of standing behind her. At first she was worried he'd taken offense but then she saw him smile before he sat down in a chair nearby, mumbling "Especially her."

* * *

><p><strong>January 4<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008**

Rufus stood in the president's office at the Shinra building, looking out at the sunrise. The Turks had arrived a short time ago and were due in his office any moment now. Tseng had delivered an interim report on the way, and in spite of still being slightly ill, he had assured him that he was still fit to brief him on the current situation. Though Rufus had at least allowed him time to be checked over by one of the company physicians, just in case the doctor with Zack Fair's party had done something devious. He'd learned from the original AVALANCHE that there was no such thing as being too careful, and Tseng was too useful to Rufus for him to be willing to take chances.

He squinted as the light filtered in through the windows of the office where his own father had been killed, and considered the possibilities. Everything that had been happening since his rise to the presidency had been in reaction to some sort of crisis or another, but now, with Sephiroth gone, it was time to begin acting on what he actually wanted to achieve.

He heard a door opening on the level below them and the sound of three pairs of patent leather shoes, and a pair of high-heeled boots. Turning to face the stairs on the right side, he saw Tseng walking towards him with his three subordinates. Good. Though he also noticed a fresh scar along the man's hairline. Apparently it hadn't been healed soon enough to disappear.

"I would like to congratulate everyone on a job well done out there," he began. "Not only were we able to neutralize the threat represented by Sephiroth, but we've had ample opportunity to assess the combat capabilities we will be up against when we locate Zack Fair's hideout."

Out of the four Turks, Elena was the only one who seemed surprised by this. "After everything he did, you still intend to go after him… sir?"

"Is that a problem?" Rufus asked.

"...No sir." Elena assured him.

"If you're certain. I was there during your altercation with the Professor." Rufus smirked.

"It won't happen again sir," Elena replied.

Rufus looked away from them. "I certainly hope not. But that brings us to our other problem. You may not have heard Tseng, since you've been away, but the Professor has escaped. We have no evidence as to who might be responsible aside from a security feed." He reached for the controls to a projector and an image appeared on the wall behind them of Hojo leaving his prison cell accompanied by a man with lines of glowing blue running through his clothes.

"Freaky," Reno commented.

"Our objectives for now are two-fold," Rufus continued, walking around his desk to stand next to Tseng. "First off, we can't allow Zack Fair to become a symbol the world can rally around. Therefore, and his companions must be neutralized. The same goes for any other resistance group that might stand in our way." He gestured to the figure by the professor in the picture. "Second, we must find where this man comes from and where he took the Professor. Hojo may be insane, but through Sephiroth he already almost destroyed the Planet once. He's too dangerous to be allowed to run free."

"We'll look into these matters immediately," Tseng said.

"Excellent. I have had a full briefing on the Professor's disappearance sent to your office. I will expect a full assessment of the situation as soon as possible. You are dismissed."

With that, he turned his attention back to watching the sunrise. He had much work still yet to be done, though he couldn't help but smile. One day, historians would look back on his rise to power as the dawning of a new age.

* * *

><p>The Highwind arrived at the lodge late in the afternoon, and the sun was still streaming beams of light through the forest even as it was lowering in the sky. Cid brought the ship in low so that they wouldn't have far to lower Zack since he still hadn't woken up. As they got the lift set up, Marlene and Jessie came into the clearing, along with Mao and Tanjuu. Zack's parents had naturally been very worried, but nobody really said much. Cloud and Kunsel simply picked up the stretcher and carried him upstairs.<p>

Miraculously, Cloud had managed to avoid going unconscious again, but there had been a moment or two where they'd been worried, as he'd definitely been woozy and Rayleigh had at one point been concerned enough to have a syringe of adrenaline prepped just in case he succumbed before they were sure he was out of danger. Cissnei walked into the living area after the others to see Mao waiting for her and offered him a small smile.

"I'm glad to see you made it," Mao said. "So Sephiroth is gone?"

"We think so," Cissnei said. "For all our sakes, I hope we're right."

Mao looked around at the others, Vincent was leaning against the wall, though Cissnei was almost certain he'd figured out some way to sleep standing up. Barret was with Jessie and Marlene, while Cid was waiting on Shera to brew some tea in the kitchen and Nanaki was curled up in the corner, though his good eye was open.

After a moment, she walked along the hall and up the stairs, finally coming to a stop at the room where the guys slept. Aerith was seated in a chair next to Zack's bed while Cloud was standing near his own bed. Kunsel had gone back out to the ship with Rayleigh to get her supplies. Tifa and Freya had left the room already to see about helping Alice and Elmyra with dinner. "How's he doing?" She asked.

"He stirred a little when we got him up here," Aerith said. "His mother was really something. She was in here until just a little while ago, and we couldn't get her to stop fussing over him."

Cissnei looked over at Zack. Now that Rayleigh had finished with her Cure materia, he definitely looked a lot better than he had, but more than anything, she was glad of how peaceful he looked. That was when she noticed Aerith's eyes on her. "To be honest, I'm just glad he's back, and that he's safe."

Cissnei nodded. "Me too."

* * *

><p><em>Not much to report this time around. The party is being held in Junon while Tifa sleeps off what happened at the Northern Crater and Cloud is... somewhere in the Lifestream? Hopefully being rescued in Mideel by now or in the very near future? Wherever he is, he's definitely still very much in the throes of one hell of a Heroic Blue Screen of Death.<em>

_Not much else to report. See you next time!_


	44. What Are We Now?

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spin-offs That honor goes to Square-Enix.

**Part II: Reunion**

* * *

><p>Chapter 44, What Are We Now?<p>

**? [ ν ] – εуλ ?**

_Zack felt like he'd been floating for a very long time, though he supposed it could have been anywhere from a few minutes to several years. It was hard to say exactly where he was in this space but something about it felt familiar… he found himself looking up at a vast beautiful sky. Wherever it was that he lay, the view was absolutely stunning. He stretched and tried to sit up to find he was in an open field. Now that he saw it for what it was, it looked an awful lot like his own inner space... and yet… off in the distance, he could have sworn he heard the trickling of water some distance away. Standing up, he decided to go see what it was. He soon caught sight of a lake, so still in the gentle light of the afternoon it reflected the clouds and blue emptiness of the sky like a mirror. _

_Without bothering to question it in his dream-like state, he stepped out onto the water, walking across the surface as though it were ground, until at last, up ahead, he caught sight of a familiar figure standing with a single white wing stretched behind him. Even though he carried no sword, there was no mistaking the identity of this man._

"_Angeal?" Zack called._

_The man looked up at him. "It's been a long time Zack… I saw what happened…"_

"_Yeah, I wish I could have helped, but Cloud did it. We won. Right?"_

_Angeal frowned, as though thinking. "I want to say that's what happened. Only time will tell…"_

_Zack looked around the area curiously and then asked. "So… did I die… or something?"_

_Angeal shook his head and then gestured towards a path leading away from the shore down which Zack could have sworn he heard voices._

_Zack looked down the path and then turned back to his mentor. "Listen, I've had a lot of things I've wanted to to say. About how I… how you died… how I've missed having you around. But I guess after what happened in Nibelheim, the only thing I think I really want to say is thank you. If you hadn't shown up, I might not have gotten us out. And even though you were gone, you helped keep Aerith safe all that time through your copy."_

_Angeal shook his head and smiled sadly. "Don't mention it." He looked up at the sky thoughtfully for a moment or two and then back at his protégé. "So Zack, do you still want to be a hero?"_

_Zack grinned sheepishly. "More than anything, though I don't think it's for the same reasons anymore. When I first joined SOLDIER, I just thought it'd be awesome to make something of myself… and maybe pick up a few girls on the way… but I guess it's not so much that now as it is being able to protect what matters… and doing the right thing… you know? Not even Shinra could give us that."_

_Angeal nodded. "It's funny how growing up can change your perception of things." He looked down the path he had indicated again. "You'd better get going. They're probably worried."_

"_Yeah..." Zack paused for a moment. "I guess this is goodbye?"_

"_Probably. Unless you're an idiot, I'll be one with the Planet long before you stop breathing." _

_Zack put out his left hand, perhaps unconsciously still aware that his right shoulder was injured. _

_Angeal took it. "Be careful out there Zack."_

"_I'll try." With that, he turned and walked to shore before turning down the path towards the origin of the voices, not looking back once…_

* * *

><p><strong>January 5<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008**

Tifa was sitting out on the porch, watching Yuffie play with Marlene and Jessie when Barret stepped outside, having just returned from his turn on patrol. Things had been really quiet since their return, though people had been going off in shifts to look around the area, just in case Shinra had discovered their location. Barret walked out onto the the grass just as the ball the three girls were throwing around went astray and he caught it in his left hand with a grin before tossing it to his little girl.

"No news?" he asked.

Tifa shook her head. Zack had stirred a little early this morning but he'd remained unconscious.

Barret sighed. "You don't think somethin' happened to 'im do ya? In the Lifestream?"

"I don't know, but Sephiroth did tear him up pretty badly before," she said.

Barret looked out over the clearing before taking a seat in a rocking chair on the porch. "I was wonderin', have ya had any thoughts on what you're gonna do now?"

Tifa leaned against one of the support beams as she looked at him. "I'm not sure. What about you?"

"I don' know," he said. "Still tryin' ta think about it."

Jessie had paused when they started talking and now that she'd listened for a while, she came over. "Here's an idea," she said. "Why don't we reopen Seventh Heaven?"

"What?" Tifa asked.

"You always seemed so happy running it in Midgar. I doubt we can go back, since Shinra's still after us, but down here in Mideel, if you used a fake name, I doubt anyone would notice."

"That's a great idea!" Barret agreed. "We can still fight o'course, but we're not blowin' people up. We gotta change minds and we gotta start somewhere!"

"Not to mention, I expect Tifa'll be even happier since she'll be able to stay close to a certain someone." Jessie glanced significantly towards a window that looked in on the kitchen where she could see Cloud had just gathered a tray with some mugs of tea from Elmyra before walking back towards the stairs. He'd probably be trading out with Aerith soon. They'd been watching over Zack since yesterday.

She had to admit, she really hoped whatever they did, she could stick around. Cloud was all she had left from Nibelheim. The closest thing to family she could claim, aside from Marlene and AVALANCHE, and she felt that there was still a lot to do, before they even considered moving on with their lives. Even with Sephiroth gone, Shinra still endured, and Rufus was still planning to take over the world completely.

"That doesn't sound like a bad idea," she agreed with a smile.

"It's settled. We'll see about findin' a place in town when we're ready, and we'll make it so people can come and get drunk together, and talk and forget for a while. We still need to fight, but havin' a safe place ta go when we ain't fightin' is important too."

Barret was grinning for once and Marlene noticed and walked over. "Did something good happen daddy?" she asked.

"I'd say so. We're gonna bring back Seventh Heaven again, and it'll be better than the one in Midgar!"

"Yay!" Marlene cheered.

At that moment, Tifa looked up and saw Cloud watching them. He had apparently come back down after delivering Aerith's tea and he was smiling shyly as he stood in the doorway. "I'll help," he offered. "If you want me to."

"Of course she does!" Jessie exclaimed. Tifa merely returned his smile with one of her own. She felt hopeful for the first time in a while, surrounded by friends, and yet, having their own private little moment just for them. Maybe it would work. She really hoped it would, not just so she could feel she was living again, but for those who had died when Mako Reactor 1 exploded too.

* * *

><p><strong>January 6<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008**

Kunsel was out training at the helicopter landing with Cloud when Dr. Rayleigh returned from work accompanied by a man he'd never met before. He was middle-aged, with dark hair and a neatly trimmed mustache and goatee, and he wore a blue business suit that looked as though it had seen better days. The two swordsmen stopped what they were doing and watched him warily for a moment before they saw the entourage of three cats walking behind him, one carrying a briefcase and papers.

Freya had been watching them from nearby, and upon seeing the man, her face lit up and she walked out to meet them. "Reeve. It's been a long time since I've seen you face to face."

That it has," he agreed. Seeing there was no danger, Kunsel walked over to join her along with Cloud and Reeve nodded in their direction. "Kunsel, Cloud Strife, it's a pleasure to finally meet the two of you in person," he held out his hand to the Ex-SOLDIER first in greeting and Kunsel took it, shaking it firmly.

"I wondered after Cait joined us, what I'd do if I ever did finally meet you," he admitted. "But a lot's changed since then." He gestured that they follow him to the lodge.

Reeve shook Cloud's hand and nodded in acknowledgement of the statement. "It certainly has. I've been out of the loop since Veld found me passage across the ocean. Has Zack shown any sign of improvement?"

"He's still out of it. It didn't help that he got dropped into the Lifestream while already unconscious. But we've been taking good care of him. Aerith said this morning that she thought she saw his hand move," Freya said over her shoulder. She had fallen into step next to the doctor as they walked along the path.

"That's a good sign," Reeve agreed. Upon reaching the lodge Kunsel saw their own Cait Sith unit sunning himself atop his robot mog, but upon seeing the other units behind Reeve, he hopped down and scampered over to them with a happy cry.

"Och! Me brothers! Yeh made it out I see!"

Marlene was helping Elmyra in the kitchen at the time and she glanced out the window curiously and upon seeing all the cats out there, she ran out to see what was going on. The little robots seemed to be talking among themselves animatedly while Reeve had collected his belongings and was in the process of introducing himself to the other members of the Lodge. A few minutes later he was seated at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee and Kunsel and the others had gathered for a meeting.

"The last Cait Sith I left in Midgar reported something to me while I was on the ship," Reeve said. "It seems that Rufus has decided he wants us all eliminated if he can find us. He's apparently concerned over what will happen if word gets out about our little insurrection."

"We won't let that happen," Cloud said. "If Rufus wants to come after us, we'll fight him every step of the way."

"Or take the fight to him," Cid added. "Seems to me, that if he doesn't give up tryin' to shoot us, we're perfectly justified fightin' back. Why not just go in and take him out?"

"If we do, it won't be immediately," Freya said. "But it is something we'll need to think about. One thing we need to remember is that if we go directly for Rufus and we fail, he will double his efforts to find anyone who survives. Plus we'll be fighting not only the Turks, but Shinra's army, SOLDIER, the navy, and the air force. If we decide to go for it, we'll need to be ready to anticipate everything he could throw at us."

"She's right," Kunsel agreed. "Not to mention, who knows what else might be out there?"

"Either way, losin' ain't somethin' we can do!" Barret said. "We fought too hard against Sephiroth to turn around and give up now."

"In that case," Cissnei said folding her arms as she considered the problem, "We'll probably be needing Veld, and the other renegades even more."

"You're right," Mao agreed. "We're fortunate he has a vested interest in keeping us alive."

Yuffie looked at him curiously. "What do you mean?"

Mao gave her a grim look. "His connections to us along with Reeve for one thing, and with Vincent. Not to mention, there's no love lost between him and Hojo, if you know what I mean."

"That's another thing," Reeve said, his expression becoming grim. "I probably should have said something earlier, but Hojo has escaped."

"What?!" Several voices in the room echoed the exclamation.

"Does anyone know where he could have gone?!" Cloud demanded.

Vincent, who had up until this moment been leaning against the wall on the far side of the room was suddenly standing at the table, his normal hand supporting him as he leaned in to the conversation. "How did it happen?" His expression was calm, but his voice carried an urgency it rarely held.

"All I know, is that a man in a strange uniform was seen letting him out of his cell," Reeve reached into his pocket to reveal a photograph. "As you can see, the uniform is very unusual. It's almost like a SOLDIER's except, he's much more armored. And those blue lines? They appear to be tubes."

"There seems to be some kind of symbol on the front too," Tifa said, reaching down to point at it. "But I can't make it out."

"The camera wasn't a high-end model," Reeve observed. "It wasn't advanced enough for us to get a clear look. Not only that, but Cait was looking through a ventilation shaft at Rufus's computer monitor when he saw this."

"So it's another dead end then," Kunsel groaned.

"Not exactly," Mao said.

"What do you mean?" Cissnei looked up at her partner.

"When we were still at Shinra, I ran a mission for a man in the Science Department who was developing a Mako powered suit, thinking that maybe it could help augment SOLDIERs in the field. I don't know what happened to him, but if I can find him, he might know something." He picked up his katana. "I think it's worth investigating at least, don't you?"

Tanjuu also stood at that moment. "I agree, and most likely, it will take us straight into Midgar. If anything so much as twitches, we'll know."

"Should I go with you?" Cissnei asked.

"You and Freya can stay here," Tanjuu said gruffly. "We both know that's what you'd rather do, and two Turks are more than enough."

Mao nodded in agreement. "Don't worry, we'll be fine." He ruffled Cissnei's hair as he walked past her, and before they knew it, he was gone. Tanjuu and Freya merely exchanged looks before the former gangster too disappeared out into the woods.

After a moment, Reeve cleared his throat. "Well, that's how things stand at the moment."

"I see," Vincent said. "Perhaps it is time I also left."

"Where are you going?" Kunsel asked.

"To check the Black Materia. It probably wouldn't be a bad idea to take stock of all the locations we can use for safe havens as well, just in case this one is actually found. I will return in three days." With that he too had walked out the door.

"Do people always come and go like that?" Reeve asked.

"Some more than others," Freya commented.

* * *

><p><strong>January 9<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008**

Cloud was sitting by Zack's bedside, and had been there since earlier in the morning. Aerith had been watching him through last night and had ducked out for a little while to get a little sleep. It was becoming a regular cycle now. Occasionally, Kunsel or Freya or Cissnei would take a turn, but for the most part, he and Aerith had been keeping things going. Perhaps he felt he now had an understanding of what Zack had gone through during the time he himself had been caught in the Mako's grip.

No, he hadn't waited four years yet, and he hoped he never would. Never mind that Zack had faced most of that alone. Right now, Cloud had Tifa, and Freya, and Aerith, and the others to help shoulder the burden. There was no way he could completely understand. But at least he could do this. He worked away in a sketchbook that he'd brought with him. It had been an idea he'd had after talking to Kunsel last time they'd trained. At some point, he needed a stronger sword, so he'd been working on a design for one. The Buster Sword was Zack's even if what the doctor said was true. He had simply borrowed it, and eventually, it would be best to construct one that was really and truly his. He'd done a little practicing with that move he'd used against Sephiroth, but he felt that if he had a blade that could match his strength and desire for versatility, maybe he could also truly master what in his mind he was now secretly calling the "Omnislash." Maybe, he could even take it further than he had when he struck the final blow.

"What'cha doing?" He looked over his shoulder to see Freya standing there, looking at his drawing with interest. He'd been trying to figure out how to design the sword to carry multiple blades, as he'd rather liked the freedom of that flexibility but didn't so much care for having to keep them all in his sword harness at the same time. As a result, he had been trying to design a mechanism that would adequately suit the purpose of detaching them when he wanted them detached while holding them secure when what he wanted was a larger single blade.

She stroked her chin as she looked over the picture. "Are you trying to come up with a replacement for the sword you broke?"

"I'm hoping it'll replace all of them actually," he admitted.

"Ah…" she walked over to another chair Kunsel had brought up from the kitchen. "Sounds interesting. Although I expect with all that metal, it'll probably be just as heavy as Zack's sword… or worse." She grimaced before giving their patient an affectionate glance. "Even so, I hope he'll be able to use it again, one day."

"If I know him, if he can't use it with his right, he'll probably try going at it with his left if we let him." Cloud shook his head with a small chuckle.

"I believe it," Freya agreed. As he watched, she flipped the chair around before she sat down, crossing her arms over top of the back of it, a gentle smile on her face. "You know, the day before you woke up, when Rayleigh came, it was just the three of us, and since you were still out of it, Zack was working on this crossword. He looked up at you and asked you like you were actually awake, if you knew a seven letter word for huge," she shook her head. "Of course you didn't answer, but because of that, we started playing a word game there in the hospital. We were both pretty bored. But weirdly enough, the very next day, you opened your eyes, and… do you remember what you said?"

"I still don't remember a lot from back then," Cloud admitted.

"Loveless…" Freya said. "It was the answer to the last round of the game."

Cloud shook his head. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Nothing. It was total nonsense out of context," she said. "It's just, Someone told me once, that if you talk to someone while they're in a coma or unconscious, it'll give them something to focus on, so they have something to try and come back to. It may not seem like they can hear you, but on some level, he can probably hear us right now. On some level, he's probably laughing too."

"He would," Cloud agreed, running a hand through his spikes. "He'd probably even be telling us to play the game again and see if it worked."

"Well, why not?"

"It's not like it's magic or anything," Cloud said.

"No, but you could think of it as a beacon for someone floundering around in the dark," Freya suggested. "Besides, he's probably bored out of his mind just lying there."

Cloud nodded. "Yeah," he considered for a moment. "All right, I've got one," he looked over at Zack, lying on the bed. "You hear that Zack? You can ask questions too, if you want."

Freya smiled though she had a faraway look in her eyes, as though still remembering something from a long time ago. "All right, yes or no questions… Hmm… Is it alive?"

"No."

"Okay… so is it a mineral?"

"Sort of."

"It's made of a mineral."

"Yes."

"Is it a structure or building of some kind?"

"No, and that's four," Cloud said, going back to his drawing.

Freya frowned, as she considered the next question. "Is it something you can carry?"

"Some can."

"But others can't?"

"Right, and that counts as a question. Six now."

"Is it a tool?"

"Sort of."

"A weapon?"

"Yes."

Freya suddenly looked over at the weapon leaning against the wall next to Zack's bed. Cloud had dutifully cleaned it again after the fight with Sephiroth and in spite of the fact the direct sun was on the opposite side of the house, it still seemed to glisten in the light coming in from the window. "I think I know," she said. "The Buster Sword. You can do better than that."

"You found me out," Cloud said though he didn't look up from his sketch pad.

Freya considered for a moment before speaking again. "Okay, here's one."

Cloud paused in his work and frowned thoughtfully. "Is it alive?"

"Yes."

"Is it a plant?"

"No."

"An animal then."

"Technically…" Freya hedged.

"Is it smart?"

"Oh yes, very much so."

"Human?"

"Yes, and that's five," Freya held her hand up cheerfully. "You have fifteen left."

"So it's someone in particular?"

"Yes."

Cloud looked up at the ceiling. "Is it a man or a woman?"

"She's definitely female," Freya said.

"Does she live here?"

"Yes."

Cloud considered all the girls who lived here, as there were now several. "Is she older than… Yuffie?"

"Definitely," Freya agreed.

"Is she older than you?"

She gave him a mock look of hurt before answering. "No. And that's ten. So far, I'm winning."

That definitely narrowed it down. Cloud considered. That left Cissnei, Tifa, and Aerith, but which one? He ran a hand through his hair, thinking. But then he saw Freya glance over at Zack…

"It's Aerith, isn't it." He guessed.

"How did you know I was coming?" He looked behind him to see the woman in question walking into the room, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"I didn't," he answered, rubbing the back of his neck, slightly embarrassed. "We were playing a game, and you… happened to be the answer."

"Is that so? What game?" Aerith walked over to check on Zack before taking a seat on Cloud's bed.

"Twenty questions," Freya said. "We thought he might be bored," she gestured to Zack's sleeping form.

"Well, do you mind if I join you?" Aerith asked.

"Not at all," Freya said. "You can go next."

"All right," Aerith thought for a moment and then a smile lit up on her face. "Okay, I have it."

"Is it alive?" Freya asked immediately.

"No," she said.

"All right, is it organic in any way?"

"No."

"Okay, so it's a mineral of some kind?"

"You could say that."

Cloud looked up from what he was doing. "Is it big?"

"Yes," Aerith nodded.

Freya thought for a second before asking "Is it a building?"

Aerith nodded again and her smile got a little wider. "Yes."

Cloud looked down at the sketchbook again but couldn't seem to keep his mind on it anymore. "Is it in a particular city?"

Aerith nodded.

"Junon?" Freya asked.

"No."

"Midgar," Cloud guessed.

Yes."

"When you said big," Freya mused, "did you mean like the Shinra building? Or just a building in general?"

"Just in general," Aerith said. "It's not terribly large, but compared to a person it would be big."

"I get it. So is it above plate?"

"No," Aerith said. "And that's ten."

"The… church… Fell through her roof…"

All three of them looked at the bed. "Zack?" Cloud stood up and walked over. What he saw made him feel like his heart had jumped into his throat. A pair of bleary violet eyes looked back up at him. Aerith was suddenly at his side just as he saw his friend blink and look up at them.

"Hey," his friend said softly, a small grin spreading across his face. "Did you… get the number… of the… thing that hit me…?"

"Not exactly. Sephiroth's gone though," Cloud answered.

"Good…" Zack reached out with his good arm and before Cloud knew what was happening, he'd grabbed his shoulder and pulled him down into a hug. "I knew you could do it," the Ex-SOLDIER whispered.

Any thought of arguing fled, as he felt Zack let go of him and he had to hurry to get out of the way so Aerith could get close enough to him to give him a gentle kiss and tell him how worried they'd been. It was all right though. As he saw Freya hurry off to go get the others, he felt himself relax. Things would be okay, eventually.

* * *

><p><strong>January 10<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008**

Later, Zack couldn't recall much of the next few hours, but thankfully, his mind was beginning to clear by the end of the next day, and he was able to come down and join everyone in the living room. It was a heartening sight when upon his triumphant walk down the stairs, supported by Cloud, everyone who was waiting in the kitchen cheered.

There had been a big dinner, courtesy of Elmyra and his mom while Cid and Barret brought out several bottles of vintage dumbapple wine they'd managed to find at the fishing village. He couldn't help but be touched when Aerith didn't want to leave his side. They spent a significant amount of time with him seated in a place of honor in a comfortable chair by the window, where the warm summer breeze could waft into the room while everyone compared notes with him about what had happened down in the caves. The most memorable part of the evening though, was when Kunsel walked up to him during a lull in the conversation where the others had gone to refill their drinks and pressed exactly ten gil into his palm.

"What's this for?" he asked.

Kunsel shook his head, and said simply "You won the bet. Congratulations, hero."

Zack cocked his head to the side for a moment, thinking about this, and then he remembered. "Oh… but Cloud did what he did on his own. He deserves the credit for that one."

Kunsel shook his head and looked over to see Cloud had stepped out for a moment. "Yeah, he was definitely a hero on that count. But you were what you needed to be for the guy who needed you, and you stood with him at the precipice and talked him back when he almost went over the edge. That's also pretty heroic if you ask me."

With that, he walked outside, leaving Zack alone with his thoughts. It had taken his own S-cells to do it, and he doubted that he'd ever be able to figure out exactly how he'd done it (not that he wanted to ever again), but at the very least, he'd done some good. For now, that was enough. He smiled and tucked the gil into his pocket.

* * *

><p><strong>January 11<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008**

Zack was out on the porch when Vincent returned from wherever it was he'd gone. When he spotted the man in red, he nodded in greeting. Vincent approached him, leaning against the wall of the lodge next to him.

"I'm glad to see you're doing better," Zack commented.

"Compared to Hojo, Sephiroth was a child with a letter opener," Vincent replied, looking out over the clearing. "Though it is good you are awake."

Zack looked up at him. "Listen, about what happened. I shouldn't have…"

Vincent shook his head. "You made the decision that seemed best at the time. I cannot fault you for that. Because you made that decision, the world will endure, Sephiroth will fade, and we will find Hojo another day. An apology isn't necessary."

Zack stood up, deciding it was time to go for a walk. "All right then. Don't disappear too soon. I've been brought up to speed on most of what's going on, but we need to make plans."

Vincent nodded though he remained where he was. Zack walked towards the path to the helicopter landing. Rayleigh hadn't exactly given him a clean bill of health yet, but he felt pretty good today, and to tell the truth, he felt too constrained just sitting around. Kunsel had gone off to carry out a monster exterminating job near one of the northern villages along with Freya, and Cid and Barret had left to go with Nanaki to visit Bugenhagen, so the place felt oddly quiet. Even the girls were busy since they'd gone off to get supplies. As he approached the landing, he could hear someone moving around in the grass, and when he stepped out into the sun, he saw that Cloud was working by himself. Training with the Yoshiyuki and the Butterfly edge. The Buster Sword was leaned against a tree nearby

"Nice form," he commented, as Cloud brought the two swords in front of him to block an imaginary opponent while stabbing at him at the same time.

Cloud stopped, lowering his blades. "Are you sure you should be out here?"

Zack grinned. "The doc'll probably throw a fit, but I figure if I hurry, I can be back before she notices I'm even gone."

Cloud chuckled at that. "I should have guessed."

Zack sauntered over to where the Buster Sword was and noted that it shone brilliantly in the afternoon light. There was a shadow at his feet as Cloud walked up behind him. "You cleaned it up?" he said, and looked back just in time to see Cloud nod. He returned his gaze to the blade, before flexing his sword arm. He knew something hadn't been right since he'd woken up. He could feel pain (a lot of it actually) and he could move it. But it was definitely not the same as before. His dexterity was definitely not what it was, for one, and his arm, which at one point had been able to bear the Buster Sword like it was nothing, now trembled under the weight of a dinner plate. He'd tried that last night and had been rather disconcerted by the result. It would probably be a while before he could even consider writing legibly either. However, part of him wanted to see what would happen, so he reached out to the grip and tried to pick up his weapon.

It wouldn't budge. He just didn't have the strength anymore and even that effort caused him to gasp from the strain of the effort. Finally, he reached out with his left, lifted the blade, and very carefully, let gravity sink it into the ground. "I guess what she said was right," he said after a moment, but then his face hardened. "But I don't care. Maybe I can't right now, but one of these days, I will fight with the Buster Sword again."

"Yeah," Cloud agreed.

Zack glanced around the clearing as though to see if there were any onlookers daring to disagree with him, but then his eyes landed on a sketchpad sitting next to where the sword had been. He picked it up, looking at the top drawing and realized it was of a series of swords. "What's this?"

"You said I should find a better sword. I thought why not just make one?"

Zack perused his work a little longer, flipping through the filled in pages and he nodded appreciatively. "That's a really neat design you got there. Any ideas on how you're going to build it?"

"I haven't figured that part out yet, but I thought we could find someone."

"Oh we will," Zack was grinning as he put his good hand on Cloud's shoulder. His right hand was shaking a little under the weight of the sketchbook but he determinedly tried to ignore it. "This is going to be one hell of a sword, but it suits you perfect!"

He looked over at the Buster Sword. "I tell you what. Until you find a way to build this thing, you can hang onto mine a little while longer. I know you'll take good care of it."

Cloud's eyes widened slightly. "Are you sure?"

"Of course I am! Though I guess one other thing we need is to decide what we're doing from here on out."

"What do you think that is?" Cloud asked.

Zack frowned, deep in thought as he felt a cool breeze waft across the clearing, noting only the faint hint of salt in the air as it blew in from the ocean. "Rufus seems like he's going to keep coming after us, but…" He paused before giving up on that thought, and starting a completely new one, a new inspiration in his eyes. "Just taking down Shinra isn't really good enough without some idea of what happens next. We could do that, but it doesn't solve everything in the long run, and if we don't do this right, it could make things worse. If anything, I think what we want should be bigger."

"So what are we fighting for?"

Zack knelt down in front of the Buster Sword, pressing his forehead against the flat of the blade where the two materia slots were placed before straightening his posture to answer. "We should fight for a better future. One that doesn't involve mako, or labs. One where the weak don't live in fear of the strong. And we should fight to help those who need us."

"What are we then?" Cloud asked. "We're not Shinra, or the Turks, or SOLDIER, and we're definitely not AVALANCHE."

"GUARDIAN," Zack said decisively, getting back to his feet, his left hand still on the hilt of the Buster Sword. "We'll call ourselves GUARDIAN. I don't want people to hear it and think of blown up bodies, or SOLDIER, or Mako, or fear. I want them to think of heroes, and hope, and safety, and I want them to think of freedom. Freedom that we'll all have one day." He lifted the Buster Sword one more time with his left hand, and as it reflected the light of the sun throughout the clearing, he held the grip out to Cloud.

His friend looked at it for a moment, and then solemnly reached out to accept it. In that instant, both men held onto the grip of the sword, in an unspoken promise, and then Zack let go. Cloud backed up a step, swinging the blade around in a circle before securing it on his back.

**End of Part II**

* * *

><p><em>And now, we have hit another major milestone. As of now, Part II is officially over. Sure took us long enough. <em>

_Oh, and in the original game, Tifa only just regained consciousness, and Cloud's still missing. We're a bit more than a week early. Meteor fell on the 21st. And, yeah... about that Meteor... *looks around* Where is it? No WEAPONs either! Things can't possibly work out this well can they? Well, over the next few weeks we're going into interlude mode as we follow the aftermath in "On the Way to a New Future" before moving on to Part III. It will be exciting! I just know it! _

_See ya next time!_


	45. Aid and Acts of War, Begin Interlude 1

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spin-offs That honor goes to Square-Enix.

Ramius is an original character, as are Drake, and Wyatt the Town Mayor. ^^

**On the Way to a New Future (Interlude)**

* * *

><p>Chapter 45, Aid and Acts of War (Case of Cloud)<p>

**January 14****th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008**

The last couple of days had been mostly quiet at the Lodge, and that was something Cloud was grateful for. Zack was more or less on the mend by now, and most of the residents in the area had been coming and going pretty much at will. The main event that had been notable, was that on the evening Zack had decided on the name for their new organization, he'd called a meeting.

Thanks to the renegades, practically every person who had ever been involved with them managed to be present in some capacity, making it quite the affair, with people tuning in from Cosmo Canyon aboard the Highwind, through Veld's safe house in Midgar, the renegade safe house in Junon, and several single connections from various PHSes across the globe. There was no video connection, but it was still an impressive conference call. When Zack had outlined his ideas for what GUARDIAN was and what it would stand for, many of the renegades had been somewhat skeptical. Veld was quiet through most of it, but Elfe, Shears, and Shalua had definitely liked the idea, and by the core members, the new name had been met with almost unanimous approval.

Not much else had been discussed, however, Zack was already tossing around plans to expand their settlement at the lodge, since the building itself had gotten rather crowded. Even now, Cid and Shera had set up their permanent quarters aboard the Highwind, and Vincent had joined them (when he was in the area), simply so that the already cramped sleeping conditions hadn't gotten worse. Several people were already sleeping on the floor as it was. The Highwind was also increasingly inconvenient for staying in one place, given that it was basically a beacon to anyone who cared to find where they were, meaning that a lot of the time, Cid would have it and the crew on standby a few miles away, and get to and from there with the Tiny Bronco. If there was any sign of another aircraft or water craft, the crew were under orders to fly her out into the ocean and out of radar range in order to avoid detection.

This morning had so far been no different than the last two. The Highwind was still away, though Cid and those who had traveled with him were on their way back. Cloud was eating breakfast with Zack on the porch, listening to his friend talk as usual.

"So I was thinking, if we go back in the woods a little near the front of the lodge, there's some space where we could probably build a couple of extra cabins. It's not too close to the fall-back shelter, and it's close enough to here that we could probably put up some more people."

Cloud nodded and then murmured "I guess that means we'll be doing more woodwork, huh."

"Yeah. We should probably talk to Cid and see if he's interested in rigging the wiring and plumbing and stuff. We were able to bluff our way through the first time, but that was already installed here. We just had to make sure it wasn't leaking or not insulated enough anywhere," Zack took a bite out of his toast upon finishing the thought. "What we really need to do…"

He was continuing on but that was when Cloud noticed something very strange about his coffee. He had set it down a moment or two ago so the brown liquid should have stopped moving around, but instead, as he watched it, it began to slosh around very violently in the mug, almost as though some strange force was acting on it. Then he heard a noise behind him and jerked his head back towards the door. A plate in the kitchen had smashed to the ground. Both men were ready to run inside to make sure everyone was all right, but then they heard Freya calling "What are you standing around here for? Get out!"

Not long after, Elmyra and Aerith hurried out with with Tifa, Reeve, Jessie, and Kunsel who was carrying Marlene in his arms. Zack's parents and Freya were the last ones out. They stood out in the clearing for a little while in an uncomfortable silence, before Elmyra murmured "Did we just have an… earthquake?"

Freya nodded. "They happen around here from time to time."

They waited a little longer to be on the safe side and when it didn't seem like there would be another one, they trooped back inside and Freya walked over to the television while Alice walked to a radio that stood in the kitchen. Almost immediately, the reporter appeared on the screen. _"…ceiving reports of an earthquake near the town of Mideel. Residents of the main island are advised not to go back into their homes until it has been established that no further aftershocks will occur. Further, even just half an hour after the event occurred, we are already receiving reports of considerable property damage and loss of life, and we have just received word that a large flow of Mako below the surface burst out of the ground at the center of town, increasing the difficulty of rescue efforts. We shall continue providing updates throughout the afternoon, but for now, back to your regularly scheduled program."_

Freya drew a breath and let it out. "I've got to go," she said after a moment.

"What's the matter?" Kunsel asked.

The huntress was walking towards the front hall. "My parents live in Mideel," she said before walking out of sight.

"Hang on a second!" Kunsel called after her. "Are you sure it's a good idea? I mean, isn't Shinra going to be sending emergency response teams to deal with it?"

"That might have been the procedure when you were in SOLDIER." Reeve was sitting on the couch as he spoke, his hands clasped on his knees as he spoke. "But I doubt Rufus plans on doing so, given the fact that Mideel has no value to him."

"But the clinics down there…" Zack said. While not exactly the most advanced, Mideel was known not just for its hot springs, but also for the expertise the local clinics had. Thanks to the many mako vents around the area, the doctors there had a lot of experience dealing with mako poisoning. Rayleigh herself had done some training there during her college years. They had also run a couple of monster exterminating missions along the coastline, because it was a common place for people to go to study how the vents affected the local ecosystem.

"Compared to Midgar, they are a small country hospital," Reeve said. "I doubt Public Safety will do anything either. That's Heidegger, and that means the army. They have more important things to do right now, especially with Fort Condor in open revolt."

Zack frowned after a moment as he considered the situation. "I would guess there'd be a lot of people who need help there," he mused. After a moment, he reached for his PHS and plugged in a number, though he fumbled with the handset since he wasn't quite used to using his left hand for such things. It rang on the other side for a few moments and then Cloud heard Cid on the other end. "_What do ya need kid?_"

"How close are you to the Lodge?" Zack asked, walking to the window as he asked the question.

"_I'm about, an hour from our main tether point. Why?_"

* * *

><p>A little while later, Cloud was flying south aboard the Highwind with Tifa next to him, along with Freya, Kunsel, and most of the rest of the group. Rayleigh had requested that Zack and Aerith remain behind to help set up shelters in the village and get things ready, because there would be people who would need more than just Cures. With broken bones that had to be reset and exposure to Mako, not to mention people who'd been crushed by buildings, they… well… Rayleigh had warned them that if they wanted to help, they would have to be prepared for the worst. Regardless, they would need somewhere safe where the victims could be airlifted.<p>

Zack had really wanted to come with them, but Rayleigh had put her foot down. "You just got over being Mako Poisoned! Being in close proximity to all of that Lifestream could very well cause a relapse."

"But you're fine with Cloud going," Zack had interjected.

"He didn't just wake up after being unconscious for just shy of a week," Rayleigh had retorted. "And we need people on this end to help get things organized. We need someone to talk to the mayor, as well as get the villagers moving, and you're perfect for the job. Let the others handle the ground operations, they'll be fine."

Aerith had also been understandably reluctant to let him go, so in the end, he had relented.

Cloud watched the ground fly below them from the bridge. It hadn't been that long ago, he and Zack had been running mercenary jobs, hunting hippogriffs and making life easier for the people around here. It had been so simple. For a while, he'd felt like life could go on again. But it seemed like every time they turned around there was some new crisis to deal with.

They drew closer to the town, and soon he saw the devastation that lay across the planet's surface. A great gash rent through the earth ahead of them before ending in what was clearly a sinkhole where the center of the settlement used to be. Now it was a mess of debris scattered about, floating in liquid Lifestream, or collapsed to splinters on the shore. On the far outskirts, there had been a few homes that hadn't been utterly destroyed, but that didn't mean they were habitable. A few fires had broken out and he could already see that some people were working to douse the flames. Tifa was standing next to him and she brought a hand up to her mouth. "It's terrible…" she said.

Freya was reaching for her PHS. She had tried calling ahead earlier, but now she punched the redial button with renewed vigor. Up until now, she hadn't made contact with her family because, just like Zack's family before, she had known she might put them in more danger if they had to lie to Shinra about her whereabouts, but times were different now. This was an emergency.

Soon after, Cid brought the Highwind in for a landing, and they disembarked, taking in the scene from the ground before Kunsel started walking and Cloud and the others followed them towards an older man, whom he knew to be the town mayor. He looked up and recognized Kunsel immediately. "Oh, it's you. I hope you're not here for supplies, because we don't have any."

Kunsel shook his head. "No, we came to lend a hand."

Old man nodded appreciatively. "That's the first good news I've had all day. We need people everywhere. There's fire crews all over, and there are still people trapped under rubble in places and who knows how many of them survived. It's been a nightmare," his words were calm, but the way he spoke had a deadened quality to it as though he was already exhausted. Soon after, the party dispersed in order to take care of what they did best. Cloud soon found himself working with Kunsel and several of the strongest men in town as they dug through rubble, checking for bodies.

* * *

><p>It was several hours later, and thankfully (in the case of those who had come aboard the Highwind) there had been no sign of Shinra. Right now, he was working his way through the remains of what had been a house near the remains of a clinic that had been on the edge of town. He could see Cissnei and Tifa helping the doctor who ran the place treat the injured who weren't in critical condition and determine who should be on the next flight to their fishing village. Cid had been making runs between here and the clinic where Rayleigh worked, air-lifting those who were in critical condition for most of the day.<p>

He wiped the sweat from his brow before kneeling down to lift a larger piece of debris the rest of the work crew had not been able to clear yet and tossed it to the side.

Wow, that's incredible!" One of the more recent arrivals to the search crew watched with amazement before Cloud turned around and the man recognized the tell-tale mako glow in his eyes. "Are you a SOLDIER?" he asked. "Did Shinra come to help after all?"

"No," Cloud said simply before getting back to work. "We came on our own." He had run into several people already who had seen his appearance and immediately jumped to that conclusion. It would have been a godsend to them, given the resources they had that could have helped with the relief effort, but Cloud couldn't help but feel uncomfortable about it. He was worried that any minute, the army would show up, or something might happen that could allow the company to find them again. He didn't want to talk about this right now, especially not when he could hear something moving underneath them before one of the women on the team hurried over to a hole that had just been discovered.

After a moment, she looked up "Someone's down there!"

The team redoubled their efforts and before long, a stretcher was lifted out with a young woman on it. She was covered in bruises and her leg was definitely broken. Fortunately, they'd been able to get her out before mako from the Lifestream had seeped too deep into the rubble, but there was still more to do. The collection of shrouds near the remains of the clinic stood as a testament to the toll this catastrophe had already taken.

* * *

><p>It was getting later that afternoon, he was standing near another site, taking a break and drinking water from a water bottle when a shadow fell over the town that wasn't the Highwind. His eyes narrowed as an unfamiliar helicopter came lower to the ground. After a moment, he could see a small detachment of five SOLDIERs disembarking and his eyes narrowed before he saw Kunsel walking over to join him. He was glad Tifa had gone back with Cid to help him and Freya with the wounded that were bound for their own village. Barret was still here, but he hoped the gunman had enough sense not to do anything crazy…<p>

Like he was one to talk.

"What do you think?" he asked warily.

"I think we should just act natural. If they want a fight, we can give it, but here isn't the place," Kunsel said under his breath.

Cloud nodded, but he checked that the Butterfly Edge was still secure on his back, just in case. The Buster Sword just didn't lend itself well to digging through debris, so he'd left it aboard the Highwind. The two of them waited as the leader, a 1st Class SOLDIER spotted them and walked over, his expression grim. "SOLDIER 1st Class Kunsel, Cloud Strife, we have been ordered to apprehend you both dead or alive for multiple charges against you."

Kunsel raised an eyebrow. "Really? And I thought Rufus sent you guys to help with clean up. As you can see there are a lot of people here that could use a hand, SOLDIER 1st Class Ramius."

The SOLDIER let out a breath. "I'm sorry we're meeting again under these circumstances Kunsel, but we have orders."

Kunsel shook his head. "I'm sorry too. But look around. The only reason we're out here at all is because we wanted to help. At least let us take care of these people and then we'll discuss this."

"Sentiment isn't going to help here. Rufus wants you in a cell in Midgar. I wish I had leeway on this, but I have my orders." The man brandished a blade and Cloud realized it wasn't a regular sword. It had a barrel and a trigger, like a gun.

He went for his own weapon as did Kunsel. "At the very least," Kunsel said. "Let's take this out of town. The last thing we need is for this place to have more casualties because we're here."

Ramius nodded. "I understand." He seemed to be mostly an honorable man at the very least.

Cloud looked behind him and was relieved to see that Barret was still nowhere to be seen. Good. The fewer that got caught up in this, the better. They walked deeper into the woods, away from the remains of the town until it was out of sight in its entirety and then Kunsel shook his head, an uncharacteristically Zack-like grin on his face.

"I have to admit, I'm almost disappointed," he said. "After the Turks helped us fight Sephiroth, I would have thought Rufus'd know better than to just send one unit."

Ramius did not seem to be impressed, "Before you defected, I would have asked you if the rumors were true. I hoped they weren't when you disappeared, but I guess you always were too loyal to Zack."

"Not that Shinra really cares that much about loyalty," Cloud murmured. "Are we going to do this or not. The crew I was working with was going to start up again soon."

Ramius lifted his gunblade, and pointed it at the two swordsmen. "You have ten seconds to surrender. I'd rather not be forced to kill you."

Kunsel took half a step towards Cloud, gesturing at the other SOLDIERs. "Do you think you can take em?"

Cloud didn't bother answering but lifted his sword again as Kunsel looked at Ramius. "We trained together once. I know you're no idiot, but if you think we're going down easy, you've got another thing coming." With that, Kunsel lifted his own sword and dove forward. Two 2nd Class SOLDIERs tried to get into the fray to help their commander, but Cloud was there before they had even moved two paces, his sword in one hand, a fire spell flaring to life in the other. After Sephiroth, four 2nd Classes against him was a joke, maybe even if he took them all at once. As he let off the fire ball, strategically aiming it towards a tree behind them, he hoped the show of force would be enough to put them off of fighting him. He'd rather not hurt them too badly if he could help it. He heard several bullets ricochet off a blade behind him before he heard the familiar song of Kunsel's SOLDIER blade striking metal.

Apparently his own opponents hadn't gotten the message, because the next thing he knew, all four of the other SOLDIERs were coming his way, and he weaved around them, parrying their attacks. He was already amazed at himself. After weeks of training with Zack, his footwork was flawless compared to these guys. He moved with the grace of Leviathan, catching their blades with his own and sending them flying. His own speed and agility were such that they simply could not match him. They shouldn't even bother trying.

He stepped fluidly to the side as one of the SOLDIERs swung then brought his blade around, striking like a snake before the man could even block. He could already see him backing away to cast a cure as the other three tried to rush him but he took a running leap into the air, flipping effortless over top of them before landing behind them and casting Zack's Stop materia. His friend had lent it to him before they'd left this morning, just in case they ran into trouble. Thanks to the fact he'd paired it with an All, the three opponents froze in place and he turned his attention to his newly healed remaining opponent. One glare was all that was needed before the 2nd secured his sword to his back.

Smart man.

He turned his attention back to Kunsel and saw that Ramius seemed to be slowing down a bit. Kunsel had a graze on his cheek where a bullet had whizzed by far too close, but other than that, he seemed to be doing fine. A third level bolt spell scorched the ground in front of Ramius as Kunsel charged again, and the two locked swords. Hazel eyes met a pair shielded by a helmet for a moment before Cloud walked over with the Butterfly Edge and assumed a defensive position, ready to jump in as soon as the stalemate ended, but at that moment, Ramius broke away and sheathed his gunblade. "I guess the rumors were true after all." He walked over to his men and cast an Esuna on them.

"He would have sent more if we weren't already spread thin," he admitted. After a moment, he reached out and cast a Blizzaga on the tree Cloud had set alight. "This won't be the last that you see of us. Wherever you show your face, you can count on us hunting you."

"You'd just better hope you don't actually corner us," Cloud said. "Because if that ever happens, what you saw here will be nothing."

"As one SOLDIER to another, I hope that day never comes," Ramius said. With that, he turned and led his squad away through the trees.

Kunsel let out a sigh of relief and then looked at Cloud. "You ready to head back?"

He nodded and they returned through the trees to find Barret and Tifa waiting for them. "What happened?" Tifa asked.

"We'll talk about it later," Kunsel answered. "When there aren't people buried in debris."

* * *

><p>It was evening when the Highwind left with the last of the wounded and those who had come to help, and as a result it was getting really dark by the time they reached the fishing village near the lodge. The village of Widblain was small, and before Rayleigh had come, the local doctor had been the only one in town. Their shared facilities were on the north end of town, near a few of the shops while at the southwest end, lay a wide harbor where the fishermen would come in with their catch at the end of the day, and then go home to their houses and shacks scattered along the coastline. Once everyone had disembarked, Cloud found Zack and Aerith with Rayleigh and the town mayor standing in front of the clinic. All four of them looked tired.<p>

Zack nodded in his direction in greeting and offered him a tired wave. "Glad to see you're back, you won't believe what happened while you were gone!"

"We could say the same thing," Cloud answered him. By now, he had returned the Buster Sword to his back since they would be walking home to avoid the Highwind being noticed near the lodge. "What happened?"

Zack let out a breath. "It was kind of embarrassing. Apparently a reporter tried to catch Cid when they realized he was getting people out of Mideel and though he had some choice words for them, it still got back to Rufus. He sent a party here to investigate."

Cloud felt his pulse quicken as Zack continued. "It was a SOLDIER squad," he looked over at Kunsel significantly.

Kunsel's expression darkened with concern. "How did you get out of it? I know Rayleigh hasn't cleared you to for combat yet."

Zack rubbed the back of his neck, rather embarrased. "I didn't know until it was already over. Cid was in the area at the time, along with Freya and Ciss, and they chased'em off, with the help of some angry villagers I might add..."

He shot a grateful look at the mayor, an older fellow by the name of Wyatt. The man stroked his greying beard and shook his head. It had once been a full black, but age had started to tell on him. "You folks really helped out our village when you started huntin' them monsters. It's a lot safer round here at night thanks to you. And after what happened in Mideel? Shinra's not protectin' anyone anymore. We have ta look out for our own now."

Zack nodded. "Well, I'm definitely relieved about that." He turned his attention back to the others. "I told Elmyra and my folks to keep an eye on the woods in case anyone comes looking around, but it seems they haven't seen any sign of anything, and I've been checking in to be on the safe side. It doesn't look like Shinra figured out where we're hiding aside from that we move openly around here."

Kunsel shook his head. "At this rate, it probably won't be for long before we lose even that."

"We're not losing it," Zack said determinedly.

The mayor glanced around at the others as he spoke. "I've actually called a town meeting tonight. If all of you could be there, we would appreciate it."

Zack nodded. "We will."

Wyatt gave a slight bow and then walked away, leaving them alone. Zack turned his attention back to Cloud. "So what happened in Mideel? From what I saw when I was helping the doc, there were a lot of people hurt."

"It was awful," Cloud answered. "And Shinra tried to get us there too."

"What?"

Cloud let Kunsel relate the story and Zack swore. "Seems like we just can't go anywhere."

"No kidding," Kunsel agreed.

* * *

><p>Later that night, everyone gathered at the Mayor's house to discuss the situation. All of the able bodied villagers who weren't tending to the injured were there, as were everyone from the newly anointed GUARDIAN, with the exception of Vincent who had left to do some traveling of his own. There was no way everyone could fit inside, so a bonfire was built in the town square and once the meeting was called to order, Wyatt stood and looked around at the people gathered here. There were a lot more than there had been this morning, as refugees had also started leaving Mideel when they heard that Widblain was a safe place to go.<p>

"Friends," the mayor began. "We find ourselves in a crisis. Not only has our neighbor down south been struck by a terrible disaster, and Shinra turned their backs on us, but they have the gall then, to expect us to turn over a group of kids when they've done nothin' but make our lives easier and put themselves at risk trying to help. While Shinra didn't say they intend to destroy us, I find myself remembering a village to the north that used to be in their good graces, and that didn't stop them from blowin' it sky high! I say, I've had it with this abuse!"

There were angry mutters of assent from every corner of the town square. "I say to hell with Mako! We've been burnin' wood fires for years!" Someone called out of the crowd, and this was met with cheers.

"Anythin's better'n bein' beholdin' to that Rufus Shinra!" Someone else added.

To Cloud's surprise, it was Cid who took the floor. "You say that now, but you gotta remember what that means. According to Reeve, even though we don't have a reactor in the immediate area, the power grid runs through cables under the water to a reactor on the main land. They cut the cables, we're back in the dark unless we try to take it for ourselves."

"I think… I may have an alternative," Reeve suggested.

"What's that?" Nanaki asked.

Reeve looked through some papers he'd laid out in front of where he was sitting. "There's some research I gathered out of Shinra's databases detailing some old facilities near here that we may be able to use. They were originally built for coal, however, in the early years of Shinra's exploration into power, they attempted to adjust this particular facility for a different type of fuel."

"Oh?" Zack looked at Reeve quizzically.

"Oil," Reeve finished. "Granted, we'll need to find a place to get it, but if we can gain control of the facility, it should be enough to power Mideel as a continent for a while."

"You mean that useless goop that comes out of the ground?" Barret asked.

Wyatt considered this for a while before turning to Zack. "That is something to think about."

In the end, it was decided that messengers would be sent up and down the coast of Mideel to the others villages to get their opinions on what was to be done about Shinra, and with the promise that if any other SOLDIERs showed up, Wyatt would tell them they'd left, GUARDIAN returned to the lodge to await the results.

* * *

><p><strong>January 16<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008**

It was two days later when they did find out what the answer was, and it was stunning. Once the story of Banora and of Mideel had been passed through the entire continent, not only had the other villages unequivocally aligned themselves with the plan, but a number of ambitious young men had begun gathering in Widblain, demanding to take part in the plan to take the power station.

"It's like we have our own little army!" Zack murmured when Kunsel told him the news that morning.

"Are you surprised?" Reeve asked. "As much as Shinra has done to this continent, or not done as the case may be, in the last few years? They have every right to be angry, and now they have a direction to fuel their anger."

"Well Zack? What are we going to do?" Kunsel asked.

"We'll give them what they want. But we'll have to make sure they're up to it. How about we run them through some combat basics and then we'll make a team."

"It'll probably have to be me and Cloud and the others, right?" Kunsel observed.

Zack nodded sadly. "I'm afraid so. I actually started practicing a little with a lighter sword I picked up in town yesterday, but until I'm back a hundred percent, I won't be good for much aside from offering suggestions until I've had a little more time to work at it." He looked over at Cloud. "Think you can handle a bunch of farmers and fishermen?"

"Me?" Cloud looked at him in surprised.

"Yes you," Zack agreed.

Cloud considered the question for a moment and then his hand clenched into a fist as he realized how important this could be. Not just to them, but to the future of their home. "All right, I'll do it."

* * *

><p><strong>January 19<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008**

A few days later, Cloud, Kunsel, and Zack found themselves standing in front of a group of men and boys near the mayor's house taking in the crew that stood before them with some trepidation. These guys were obviously not trained SOLDIERs, nor were they even normal foot soldiers. They didn't look anywhere near the professional army required.

After a while, Zack walked to the front and whistled. "Okay you guys, listen up!" They stopped talking and looked at him. "Thank you. What you're here for is something important, and time's a'wasting so I won't keep you from your training long. In three weeks, you need to do what most Shinra troopers can't do in six. You'll need to be tough enough that you can fight down a normal SOLDIER. It's not easy. I know. But I know you can do it. Why? Because you guys aren't soldiers for hire. It's not your pay that's riding on this. It's your freedom. In three weeks we fly out to Tanis Island to take that power station and make it work. If you listen to these guys," he pointed to Cloud and Kunsel. "Then I promise you, you'll have what you need to not only take it, but defend it and come back alive."

With that he looked at his friends. "Well?"

Kunsel gestured that Cloud follow him to the floor, which he did, reluctantly as the other swordsman looked around at their recruits. "Let's get down to it," Kunsel looked around. "Some of you, are going to break off at some point to train with rifles and handguns, with Vincent and and Freya. But for now, we're doing basic training exercises." That was when Cloud suddenly recognized the expression on his teaching partner's face. That was a dangerous look. It meant doom was on the horizon, and he felt a pang of pity for these guys. It was the smirk of a drill instructor knowing exactly what he was doing. "First, this is the saddest lineup I've ever seen, so we're going straight to the basics! Ten hut!"

All the men stood at attention, and Kunsel looked over the ranks. "That's much better. Next, I want you to give me thirty squats and fifty pushups!"

"That's ridiculous!" Someone said from the back. "I thought we were learning how to fight not exercise!"

Uh oh… Cloud resisted the urge to facepalm. That poor idiot…

"All right then, looks like we have a volunteer for a demonstration!" Kunsel said, looking around that was when Cloud realized Tifa was watching them from nearby. "Oh Tifa!" Kunsel called. "Would you mind coming here for a second?"

Tifa sauntered over looking a little perplexed as the would-be soldier came to the front. "If you would," Kunsel said to the 'volunteer,' I want you to try and take down the lady."

The soldier did not look impressed. "I'm supposed to fight a girl?"

Kunsel nodded and Tifa took a fighting stance. After a moment, the kid, who he now noticed was really more of a young man, took a weak fighting stance and halfheartedly made a few jabs. Tifa easily dodged before whipping to the side and taking him down in a grapple. A few of the men applauded.

"I don't know how much of the story you've heard," Kunsel said. "But Tifa here is easily capable of going toe to toe with Sephiroth if she wants to. She's a normal human, just like you. If she can do it, you can. That being said, if you want to fight a SOLDIER, you need discipline and training. If I say jump, you don't stop to ask how high, you do it! And if I give you an order, you follow it!" As Tifa backed away, trying not to laugh, and the man scurried away to rejoin the ranks, Kunsel signaled to Cloud with one hand and Cloud's eyes widened a little. Did he really want him to do that now?

Well… all right, but it would probably, scare the other men… how would Cid put it? Probably best not to say. "After all, if you want to be quick enough to fight the real thing…" Cloud moved bringing the Buster Sword to bear just inches from Kunsel's head and the other SOLDIER brought his own blade out to block it amid gasps. "You'd better know they train just as hard, are physically enhanced, and fighting one of us as a normal trooper, is like trying to fight a meat grinder. The power station probably won't be heavily guarded, but Shinra will send people to take it back and that'll be where this comes in."

Kunsel lowered his blade and looked at the ranks. "If he'd come at any of you with that blow, you would have died instantly, does anyone have any questions? No? Then get to work! You're mine for the rest of the day! Is that clear?"

"Sir, yes sir!"

"I can't hear you!"

"Sir, yes sir!"

* * *

><p><strong>February 2nd [ ν ] – εуλ 0008<strong>

The last two weeks had been brutal and there had already been several washouts. Most of them had gone to the rifle and sniper teams Freya was organizing with Vincent's help when he was around, but even so, Cloud had begun to wonder if they would have enough swordsmen at all. The first week had been the worst, since no one knew anything about how to keep the camps clean, or even how to patrol properly (an absolute necessity since fortifying the area was not possible). Still, things had improved a lot. At least everyone could march in a straight line now, and Kunsel had even begun the guerilla portion of training. There was no way they could stand fighting even a trooper battalion on equal ground, so they were going for the less direct approach, teaching their squads how to take advantage of ground cover, drawing on everything Zack could remember of Wutai's ninjas, and what he himself had learned on the run with Cloud.

Tonight, he was running a patrol with one of the trainees. Since his display on the first day, they'd become quite respectful of him, especially once they knew that physically, he was tougher than Kunsel and Zack before he'd been injured and quicker. He'd kept his distance at first, but slowly he'd started assisting with techniques and as a result the recruits considered him the 'good guy' when it came to training. People went to Zack when there was a problem, but if they needed to know something, for some reason, they started coming to him. Further, Kunsel had divided the swordsmen into three squads, one of which he now led. It was kind of an odd feeling, being in charge.

Planning sessions had been interesting too. Vincent had been monitoring the power station for about a week and it looked like Shinra didn't have a clue about their plans. Not only that, but the other day, another SOLDIER detachment had come and thanks to their patrol system, he'd been called on to meet and effectively deter them before they even got close to the village. As a result, the man he was currently with ended up witnessing him use the Buster Sword in combat.

Drake, his partner for this run was now watching him as they made their way through the woods, silently as a pair of ghosts. He was an older man possibly about Sephiroth's age if he had lived. At first, Cloud thought things would proceed without incident, but then the recruit spoke. "Commander, by any chance, did you know Angeal Hewley?"

"Not personally," he answered, checking the area for any sign of footprints, just as Freya had shown him how to do.

The man was quiet for a bit. "You sure? I would have been certain by that sword you were carrying. I'd know it anywhere."

"It's actually Fair's," Cloud admitted. "Angeal gave it to him when he passed away. He just let me borrow it."

"I see," the recruit considered for a moment before continuing "It's a shame, his family were all very proud of that sword. It was a gift from a renowned Wutai smith back in the day, to his grandfather you know, before Shinra got into reactors…"

"How do you know that?"

"I used to live in Banora when he and Genesis were boys. They didn't have much to do with me, but his mother was a really nice woman. Does he know if she was there when Banora was destroyed?"

Cloud tried not to look him in the eye. He knew that story all too well, but he didn't feel it was his place to tell it. After a while they had nearly completed the circuit, and were almost back to the village when he decided to speak. "This smith you're talking about, you don't know if he's still around do you?"

"No, I can't say that I do, but, I do know they said his family name was Okazaki."

Cloud considered that. Perhaps, when he had some time, it wouldn't be a bad idea to seek some more information about this man. If he could commission the sword he desired, then he could finally return the Buster Sword to whom it really belonged.

* * *

><p><strong>February 11<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008**

Cloud knelt in a clump of bushes somewhat beyond the shore of Tanis Island with his small squad of rookies, ready for the signal from Zack during the early morning hours. His friend was aboard the Highwind, at the com station. Kunsel had not been able to take part. A call for help had been sent from Fort Condor, as the place was on the verge of falling to Rufus's forces. Losing Fort Condor, it had been determined, would mean providing Rufus an easy corridor to get down to the western straights, and that would mean making it harder to get supplies. The fishermen along that coast had already had some times when they'd been caught and imprisoned for blockade running, so making that an even bigger issue was not something anyone wanted. Food was not a problem. It was things like steel, and other supplies that came that way. They would need them for the power station and forging new weapons.

Yuffie had also left to request assistance from Wutai, but they hadn't heard from her in the last couple of weeks.

Cloud waited, Drake standing next to him, the man having been named his noncommissioned officer in the time they'd been preparing for this. It would be a simple operation. The power station itself was loosely guarded, but Rufus would no doubt try to destroy it if he thought it was being used against him, as Kunsel had said on the first day of training their small force. Tanis Island was not particularly large, and was easily defensible, but he only hoped they'd done enough to prepare. His communicator buzzed at his ear and he pressed the button. "Zack?"

"_Vincent and the snipers are in position,"_ Zack said. _"Move as soon as the outer guards drop."_

"Got it," Cloud looked around at his squad and motioned that they get ready. They watched for a few more seconds and then, he saw the two guards pacing the outside of the entrance to the power station fall. At that, he lifted the Buster Sword and called the advance. The men hurried forward, silently as ghosts and through the main entrance and Cloud followed them in. The sight that met his eyes when they entered the place was one of slight chaos. There was indeed a small squad of troopers stationed here, he'd known that already, and now they were causing some resistance as they fought to defend their post.

Cloud charged forward cutting down one that had been about to fire on one of his other squad leaders in the blink of an eye and the man fell before him. Almost immediately, someone tried to shoot from his left, and he deflected the bullet on the side of the Buster Sword before rushing in and ending him too. The rest of the fight passed in a blur until he saw the enemy captain call a surrender. One small victory, but it could lead to so many others.

* * *

><p><em>I can't help but think I've gone back to my fanfiction roots a little bit in the interludes. My very first fanfics (that I look back on now and hang my head in shame because they were so poorly written that those which are not lost in the interwebs somewhere will most likely never see the light of day), were for the "Sonic the Hedgehog" universe (Archie Comics and SatAM continuity). Not sure how it happened, but it feels an awful lot like I went and created Knothole in the FFVII universe to Midgar's Robotropolis. Funny ain't it? ^^<em>

_See ya next time!_


	46. The Fall of Fort Condor

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spin-offs That honor goes to Square-Enix.

Soldier 1st Class Ramius is an original character.

**On the Way to a New Future (Interlude)**

* * *

><p>Chapter 46, The Fall of Fort Condor (Case of Kunsel)<p>

**February 21****st**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008**

Lightning flashed over the summit of Fort Condor as the last of its defenses were breached and the Shinra army began rushing over the barricades. Kunsel stood at the ready by the remains of the nest where the Huge Materia had been. The Condor had already passed a long time ago, but he'd come up here not that long after to discover a Phoenix materia within its ashes. He now gripped his sword tightly in his hands as the rain poured down around him. He and the volunteers that had come with him had done their best to stop this from happening, but now that he and his squad stood at the ready to meet the onslaught, he knew they would only be holding off the inevitable until Cid could get here.

"_Sir!_" One of his squad leaders had just buzzed in on his radio. They'd taken to using the less advanced equipment since Shinra's communication grid had been shut off throughout Mideel as soon as the power station had been knocked out. _"We're holding the trooper detachment at bay for now, but we're acquiring heavy casualties on our western flank. It's a 1__st__ Class SOLDIER!"_

"I'm on my way." With the combined might of his swordsmen and Freya's riflemen, which had been combined into his unit for this mission while she'd been away hunting a spy, the normal troops would be able to hold their own for the moment. He'd done everything he could to ensure that. But leaving them alone with a 1st was asking for a massacre. He alerted his acting second in command where he was going and raced towards the source of the disturbance.

Upon reaching the edge of the cliff, he saw down on a ledge that a couple of the riflemen were covering a position on the cliff side while three of their swordsmen were fighting for their lives against a 2nd Class. It was a losing battle, he could see immediately, and the 1st Class was already coming to back him up. Leaping down onto the ledge in front of the riflemen, he raced forward and deftly ran a blade through the 2nd faster than his men could blink. The 2nd fell off the cliff just as the 1st Class scaled it and now that Kunsel recognized the gunblade he carried he knew that it was Ramius.

"I see you are here after all," the 1st Class called across the battlefield.

"And so are you. I'm sorry," Kunsel returned.

"You and me both." Ramius raised the gunblade in front of him.

Kunsel raised his own, saying to the others "Get to the summit, I've got things here."

They had learned a long time ago not to argue with him. All five of the men turned and fled as Kunsel conjured a Barrier. Energy crackled along his blade as the Bolt and Elemental materia worked in tandem within it. Ramius motioned that his men stay where they were and the two locked eyes across the cliff, waiting to see who would strike first.

Finally, he saw the trigger pull on the gunblade and his lightning quick reflexes accommodated, sending the bullet's ricocheting off his broadsword into the unknown before the two SOLDIERs ran at each other, steel crossing with a clang as thunder rolled overhead. Ramius broke the lock first, coming at Kunsel with several hard slashes, which Kunsel parried before casting an Ice 2 from the new materia he'd added to his bangle.

Shards of ice rained over top of his opponent, but Ramius ignored them, instead casting a Wall before firing off three more shots.

One of them zinged close enough that Kunsel could feel it pass him but he knocked the other two away before jumping back and grabbing one of the cables hanging off the outer casing of the reactor and swinging on it so that he landed effortlessly atop a particularly large pipe before being forced to duck as a fireball flew over his head.

Ramius leapt up to join him from another one of the pipes and their blades met again. Electricity crackled on his blade in unison with the spider webs snaking through the clouds above them and Kunsel pressed forward to break the lock, knocking the other man away so that he could continue into a heavy slash from his opponent's left side.

Ramius blocked and then Kunsel was forced to dodge as his opponent fired the gunblade again. He allowed himself to tumble down the side, catching his hand on another cable and using it to race along the side of the reactor until he had enough momentum to bring himself up behind Ramius to go in for what on a normal opponent would have been a killing blow. Ramius turned around only just in time to bring up his sword in defense and it still sent him sliding back across the smooth surface of the reactor's dome. When he finally gained purchase, he kicked off of another one of the pipes to propel himself into the air to come down for a powerful strike, but Kunsel ducked out of the way and as he moved, he brought his own sword around in a fatal slash across his chest.

Ramius dropped to the ground and looked up at the former SOLDIER. Kunsel would have given anything to stop this now. Maybe he could! There was still time! As he leaned against a reactor pipe, clutching his wound, Ramius looked seriously up at him. "Hey… Kunsel?"

"Yeah?"

"That blonde guy that was with you… He was that trooper Zack used to… talk about…"

"Yeah," Kunsel said.

Ramius coughed and wiped a bit of blood from his mouth. "I think I understand… What happened I mean… Don't let anyone else… make our mistakes… okay…?"

"You don't have to make any more either." Kunsel reached for his Cure materia but at that moment, thunder rumbled again off in the distance and the Ex-SOLDIER glanced across the summit to see how the rest of his men were doing. It was not a moment too soon either, for several of the riflemen had just opened fire on a Grand Horn the enemy had just sent climbing up the dome. Without warning, he heard a thump behind him, and after kneeling to check for a pulse, he found the man he'd paused to help was no longer here. Realizing what would happen if the monster did make it up to the summit, he sheathed his sword and grabbed the gunblade. He'd trained with these weapons before. Most SOLDIERs were given rudimentary training with a variety of weapons and styles until they found the one they liked, and after checking it was still sufficiently loaded, he raced to the front of his forces, kneeling momentarily to fire three of the weapon's remaining bullets as he went. Two of them connected and the Grand Horn let out an angry bellow, reaching out to swipe him away with its claw.

Kunsel rolled out of the way of the first attempt and pushed himself up and forward, ramming the sword directly into the monsters chest. The Grand Horn looked down at him in surprise as he yanked the gunblade out before attempting to knock him away with a slightly weaker swipe of his arm. This one, Kunsel had no time to dodge, so he blocked it, his boots sliding across the reactor dome before he found traction and pressed forward, sending the Grand Horn falling to its death below.

It was at that moment when the wind picked up and he had the sensation that the rain around him was being blown by an unnatural force. Looking up, he realized why. The Highwind had appeared overhead, and he could see Freya lowering the rope ladder off the main deck. Signaling to his men and what remained of Fort Condor's forces who hadn't been captured that it was time to fall back, he kept his eye on the edge of the summit, shooting at troopers and other SOLDIERs where he could spot them, and when the summit was almost clear, he stopped at the condor's nest to retrieve the Huge Materia. Wrapping an arm around it, he hurried to the ladder and it was already pulling away as he started climbing it. Several troopers had already scaled the side of the reactor dome by that point and a number of bullets whizzed past him before he reached the main deck and Freya took his burden from him.

Once he was on the deck, they hurried inside with the others and Freya asked "Are you hurt?"

"No," he answered. "I guess Cid's at the helm?" He looked down at the gunblade he had taken from Ramius, feeling slightly guilty. What had happened was justified, he knew. The man had been ordered to kill him, but at the same time, he could still remember when most of these SOLDIERs had been young teenagers in training. Some of them, he'd trained himself. Was this what it was like to feel old?

Freya seemed troubled by the expression he was wearing but nodded at his question and while the rest of their force went down to their quarters to rest, he and the lady Turk walked to the bridge. "I didn't see Sergeant Thomas or your other two officers anywhere," she commented at last.

"They died in the first assault," Kunsel responded sadly. "If you thought what was coming up the mountain was all we had to face… that's a joke. Heidegger must have sent half the army to take that fort." Once they entered the bridge, he leaned against the guard rail in front of the window, looking out over the rain soaked plains leading to the ocean.

It was understandable that things had progressed the way they had, but no less regrettable. With Sephiroth to worry about, and the fact they had only just recently decided to go against Shinra, Fort Condor had fallen under their notice. By the time the fort had sent out the call for aid, it had been too little too late.

The Condor had died almost as soon as Kunsel had arrived, and after that a large number of the rebels had lost their drive to continue. There were a few die-hards and those who had an eye on the bigger picture, some of whom were now fleeing with them but many of them had also been underpaid mercenaries, gone the moment their services could no longer be afforded, or once it was clear which side was going to win.

He reached up to run a hand through his hair and realized it was every bit of a mess as his dirt and blood-stained hands. His face was probably just as bad. Finally he looked back at her with tired eyes. She was leaning against the rail next to him, her shotgun slung over her shoulder.

"So, how did you make out?" he asked.

"I'm the best hunter in the business. What do you think?" she said. "I followed the target to a boat on one of the northern islands and had to switch to my single shot ammunition for better accuracy, but he didn't make it to the main land."

"Glad to hear it."

"Those Shinra $#%&*#^$ didn' rough ya up too much did they?" Cid called from the pilot's station.

"Not too much. Still, it makes you realize trying to fight this as a war isn't going to be easy."

"I guess not. We had a near miss near Gongaga just last month when we were runnin' supplies," Cid said. "Rufus has the navy out huntin' blockade runners as far as the eye can see out that way. What we need is for Yuffie to get off her ass and get the Wutaians to move."

"I'm sure she's doing the best she can. As much as she hates Shinra, she's got to be pretty motivated," Kunsel replied.

Freya nodded in agreement and even as she rubbed a bit of sleep out of her eyes. "Last I talked to her, she was having a little trouble because Godo doesn't want to get involved in war again. You should have heard the last radio transmission she sent us. Even Zack was shocked at how she talked about him."

"It's always the ones you least suspect," Kunsel muttered, letting himself drop to sit on the ground, looking down at the gunblade that was still in his hands.

"What's that?" Freya asked.

"I killed someone I knew as a SOLDIER today," Kunsel said. "Then I borrowed his weapon because I needed a gun." He lowered his head sadly, even as he held out the blade for her to see.

"Was he a friend?" She asked.

"Not like Zack, but he wasn't a bad guy. He joined a little after we did. He wasn't much younger than we were, but he was one of the last that probably had much to do with Angeal. Most of the guys after him were trained under me. A few under Zack too, before he disappeared…" He ground his teeth frustratedly. "It's true what they say. War's hell."

"I know you did everything you could," Freya said.

"That's the thing, we did… but still… all those families back in Mideel… and in Midgar too… You know, my folks are still there. I wonder what they think about all this." He snorted derisively at the thought. Here he was, the ocean almost directly under them as they fled battle and he was wondering about something so… it wasn't superfluous by any means, but it was such a pathetic thought, that even the leader of a rebel force would wonder such a thing. "I guess part of it is, knowing that things got so bad… we really relied too much on Zack before Sephiroth didn't we? Cloud's good. He's damn good, but after those two came back, it was like they were two halves of a whole. Between the two of them, they were unstoppable."

"At least it's not forever. He may not be as strong as he was before Sephiroth, but Zack'll probably return to the front before too long." Freya said.

Cid chewed on his cigarette. "If we know one thing about him, he's more stubborn than that Grand Horn you were fighting. You know, since you've been gone, he's already been managing expert sword techniques with his left hand? It's driving Rayleigh up the wall since she's been trying to help him with his shoulder, but he's been running everyone back at the lodge ragged."

Kunsel made a noise halfway between a sigh and a chuckle. "Sounds about right. You never could keep him down. Although it's still gonna be tough. Rufus may not be an experienced leader, and Heidegger and Scarlet may be incompetent, but they do control most of the world's resources. We're struggling just to power our clinics now that they've cut the lines."

"We've been thinkin' about that," Cid said, turned the . "What we need is a regular supply of that oil Reeve was talking about. We haven' found a solution outside the mako fuel reserves that survived the earthquake, but we're working on it. Problem is, short of retaking Rocket Town to get at the land nearby where the surveyors say there's some we may be stuck for a while."

"The joys of being a leader," Freya said. "It's not easy being responsible."

"You're telling me," Kunsel agreed.

* * *

><p>An airship launch had been built fairly quickly within the village limits once the land area had been secured and now, it was quite easy to secure it and disembark down a set of stairs from the platform that had been built over a set of scaffolds. As the troops dispersed to rest and regroup, Cid, Kunsel, and Freya walked to the edge of town, anxious to get to their quarters. With the extra manpower, a separate building had been set up near the lodge that held the planning room as well as accommodations for GUARDIAN's core members who had previously lacked space to stay at the lodge. In the meantime, Zack's parents had moved to a small cottage on the edge of town, as had Doctor Rayleigh so that she could be within easy access of the clinic. As a result, while the area around the lodge had grown up a bit in the last couple of months, it had also grown a lot less crowded.<p>

He watched a couple of the other swordsmen bringing an injured friend up to the clinic and that was when he saw it. A black patch, almost like a rash on the man's arm. It was oozing a little as the man was carried inside. He'd seen a couple of similar cases at Fort Condor, but it looked like it had come here too.

There would be time to worry later though. Right now, what they needed was food and rest, and then they could get to the debriefing. The sentries were watching the southern corridor if anything happened, but after Fort Condor, he didn't think Shinra would move a while either. A 1st Class was a heavy loss.

Walking away from the village, the three of them soon found themselves on the boundaries of the now lightly fortified hunting lodge, and they said goodbye to Cid so he could break off to get back to his lodgings. They'd probably see him later tonight.

Nodding to one of the guards as they passed, Kunsel walked around to the back of the familiar building and saw Zack talking to Reeve over a map that was laid out on the floor of the porch while Cloud leaned over them, the Buster Sword secure on his back.

"So if we put some people here… and here, the Canyon should be pretty well defended," Zack said, pointing to the locations on the map.

"They should be," Reeve agreed. "Losing the pass in Cosmo Canyon may not be as critical as what Yuffie does in Wutai, but if we lose control there, we're completely cut off to the west from this corridor."

"It's going to get harder now that Fort Condor's gone," Kunsel said somberly.

Zack looked up to see them coming. "Yeah, I heard. You all right?"

"I made it. We lost some good people though… on both sides." Zack blinked as Kunsel showed him the gunblade.

"Ramius…"

Kunsel nodded.

Zack was quiet for a moment before saying "I'm sorry to hear it. I know you probably didn't have a choice, but it's still a shame though. Bradley's holding the fort in Midgar apparently if the info we bought from Lou was solid."

"Of course it is," Freya interjected.

"Well it's a good thing for the moment, because it means that hopefully we won't have to fight him. But that still leaves the other things we're dealing with." Zack stood, gathering the map in his right hand and rolling it up with his left. Kunsel felt a little relieved to see that. His arm wasn't shaking when he tried to do something easy with it anymore, but that didn't mean he didn't still have a long way to go. Zack interrupted his thoughts when he motioned they follow him inside. "That power station is about ready, but we need fuel" he continued. "And then there's this strange disease that Rayleigh's started noticing."

"With the black rashes?" Kunsel asked.

Zack nodded as he took a seat at the kitchen table. "We've only seen a few isolated cases, but no one seems to be able to figure out if there's a cure or not." He frowned. "Rayleigh's still trying to figure out the cause, but until she does, we have no idea where people are getting it…"

He paused and they both heard movement from the hallway and then the sound of someone approaching. It was at that point when Aerith walked into the kitchen, a basket of clean laundry in her hands. "Oh, you two are back!" she said.

Kunsel looked down at himself and realized he was still covered in dirt and grime from the fight. "Yeah…" his voice trailed off even as he spoke.

Seeing the troubled look on his face, Aerith walked over to him and offered him a clean towel and washcloth. "Here. Go take care of yourself for a while, then you can talk to Zack about what's been happening, all right? Tifa will be back soon and we're planning to cook something good tonight."

Kunsel glanced at Zack curiously and his friend just shook his head. "Don't try to argue. I'll only take her side."

Deciding that was not a battle worth fighting, Kunsel nodded in thanks and then headed away from the kitchen, dropping the gunblade in his own room and picking up some fresh clothes on the way to the small shower at the end of the hall.

* * *

><p>The summer air was cool that evening as Kunsel walked down the familiar path, to find several permanent lantern fixtures had been installed near the spring. Though he could still see the places where they had cleared away the rubble and burnt debris from Zack, Cloud, and Yuffie's fight with Jenova, the grass had started to grow back and he saw evidence that the rock Zack had been smashed against had been cleared away.<p>

What really caught his attention was a patch of yellow flowers in a freshly tilled bed of earth not that far away. Most of the blooms were small, as though they'd only been there just long enough to take root, but it was a comforting sight. Aerith was already there and he could see Freya sitting at the edge of the water, watching the steam as it rose into the air by torchlight. Dinner had been excellent after having lived on rations for several weeks and it had done him some good to feel properly clean for the first time in about as long.

"So you finally did get around to planting your flowers," he commented.

Aerith smiled. "Zack supervised while Cloud did the tilling. It was sort of a late birthday present from them actually."

Kunsel sank into the water with a tired sigh. "Well, they look good," he commented.

Aerith walked over to the water and took a seat next to Freya. "Thanks." Her expression became more concerned. "When you walked into the lodge this afternoon you looked like you were carrying the world on your shoulders."

Kunsel looked down at the water, the memories of this morning flooding through his mind. "We had some pretty rough fights before we lost the fort," he admitted at last.

"Zack told me about what happened," she said. "But even so, has it changed anything about what we're doing?"

"No," Kunsel said. "It just means we have to fight harder. The sooner it's over, the fewer people we have to kill."

Freya inched over to where he sat, sliding into the water next to him and he contemplated the idea of putting an arm around her, but that was when he heard Zack walk down the path along with Cloud and Tifa. He still felt conflicted, but at the same time, he knew what he would do and that certainty was more soothing then the hot water flowing around him.

* * *

><p><strong>February 22<strong>**nd**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008**

The next morning, as Kunsel got ready to join the others in training for a few hours before they began their inspection of the ranks, he sheathed the gunblade at his hip since his regular sword already occupied the harness on his back. After looking around he'd been able to find a supply of ammunition clips that would work with it, and had spent the previous evening dutifully cleaning it. Ramius had been a victim of Shinra, just as Zack and Cloud had been. He'd been sold a bill of goods for his loyalty and shackled to the SOLDIER program to a point he'd felt beyond returning, even if he'd wanted to. One day, those chains would break even if it was too late for him, Kunsel would make sure of that.

As Zack had said, one day, they would all be free of Shinra, and the evils it shrouded in its promises. Until then, the gunblade would serve as a reminder of those they were trying to help, and of those who didn't feel they had a choice.

* * *

><p><em>See ya next week!<em>


	47. Tseng's Report

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spin-offs That honor goes to Square-Enix.

**On the Way to a New Future (Interlude)**

* * *

><p>Chapter 47, Tseng's Report (Case of Shinra, Phase 1)<p>

**February 24****th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008**

Tseng was working with a projector in the President's office while he waited for Rufus to arrive. The young man had been very busy in the last couple of months and he didn't want to take up too much of his time, but Rufus had been very curious to know what progress had been made on locating the strange man in the mako suit that looked like a SOLDIER uniform. He had been just as interested in locating Hojo. While Tseng had made some headway on that front, it would still be a long way before he could even consider having an answer to either of those questions.

That was when Rufus entered the room and took a seat at the President's desk. "So you're ready to show me what you've found?" he asked.

"As soon as the other Turks get here. They too have some reports to give on this matter," Tseng replied. Almost immediately, he heard the familiar sound of his subordinates' footsteps approaching up the stairs. Not long after he caught sight of Reno's fiery red hair, followed by the rest of him, as well as Elena and Rude.

"Sorry we're late yo," Reno said. "We got held up by some of Scarlet's robots. Apparently she's still ticked that she and Heidegger aren't allowed in on this."

"It's for the best," Rufus said. "The more time passes, the less I find myself trusting them to do their jobs properly. Heidegger certainly made a valiant effort at Fort Condor, but considering how easily we lost control of Mideel once the populous took it upon themselves to rebel, I feel he may have allocated his resources in the wrong place."

"And Zack did that?" Reno asked.

"To say he's become a charismatic leader is an understatement," Tseng observed. "But back to today's briefing. I've compiled a short presentation on what I've learned so far. Shall we begin?"

"Please do." Rufus took a seat at the desk.

He motioned that the other Turks should sit on three chairs that had been arranged below the President's desk, before standing in front of the projector with a remote in his hand. At the push of a button, the lights dimmed, and behind him, an image of the man in the strange uniform appeared. It was a still from footage that had been taken from the security camera during Hojo's escape.

After giving them a chance to take in the image, Tseng spoke. "As you know, I have spent an exhaustive amount of time going over this image piece by piece, trying to ascertain the origin of the man you see here. Thus far we have established two things. With creative wrangling of the resolution on the footage, we've been able to ascertain that he is indeed wearing a mako powered suit. Further, I was able to identify the symbol on the front of it." At the click of a button, the symbol appeared alone on the screen. "I found it again in a series of files in the Science Department. Most of it is encrypted to the point even I don't have clearance. I was lucky I was able to pull this out."

Reno made a noise that sounded roughly like a grunt of surprise and Tseng looked at him. "Do you have something to add?"

"Not really boss, just had a case of déjà vu. I could swear I've seen that logo before, yo."

"Where?" Elena asked.

"I don't know… but it kinda looks like the SOLDIER logo, doesn't it? Just a little?" Reno seemed thoughtful, which for him was an incredible feat.

"Maybe that's why it seems familiar, and it wouldn't surprise me," Tseng said. "The SOLDIER logo is a lot more angular and has more of a trident shape. This one is more rounded and looks more like the first symbol in the Wutaian way to write "Exit," or a shield emblazoned with a very wide and ornate sword. The current symbol SOLDIER uses may be based on this design or the other way around, but one thing I've discovered is that a few of our well known scientists have used it as shorthand in their notes, often in relation to a location labeled Deepground."

"Deepground…" Rufus repeated aloud. "I'd heard the rumors before, but does this mean they could be true...? What does this mean?"

_Sometime in January, Tseng had been working in what remained of Hojo's laboratory looking through his computer for information when he stumbled on the logo in an encrypted file of Hojo's notes. Next to it, had been that word and a hastily written document detailing the effectiveness of cells called G-cells within a list of samples. It was hard to say what this meant, but the document was very old, probably dating back to the late 1970's._

"_Those bottom dwellers in Deepground say they could have more luck testing the cells of Hollander's failure than his so-called success. I'd like to see them try. Even his subject "A" won't last forever. That buffoon's shoddy workmanship means they both have only thirty years at most, if my calculations are correct. My method should allow for much greater effectiveness…" The document then went into a comparison having to do with the difference between S-cells and G-cells that was outside of Tseng's training, though he was knowledgeable enough to know it had something to do with degradation, a subject that, thanks to his missions with Zack, he was very familiar with. The gist of it was that S-cells were much more stable and that he had no intention of sharing his opus with those idiots anyway…_

Tseng considered the information he'd found for a moment before answering Rufus. "It sounds like some sort of facility. Based on how Hojo referred to it, I presume its somewhere underground. In the documents I've uncovered it sounds as though they were conducting experiments based off of Hollander's work with Genesis and Angeal."

"Zack's mentor, and the other rogue 1st class?" Rufus asked.

"Yes. Angeal was confirmed killed, by Zack himself. Genesis' whereabouts are unknown, though we confirmed that Zack was forced to kill Hollander in the time following his escape from Hojo's lab in Nibelheim. The bugs we placed in the Turk annex recorded him telling Dr. Rayleigh as much." He paced across the room deep in thought. "I've been searching for possible locations all over the world where such a facility as the one Hojo has written about might be, though I have found no official records of such a place existing…"

…_Sometime in early February, Tseng had dug through the blueprints of the Shinra building, along with several other locations spanning across the world for extra facilities. He had found nothing. Even conducting a visual survey of several of the building's many basement levels (including several that descended below plate) had produced nothing. It was mind-boggling. When he'd broached the subject with Scarlet and Heidegger they claimed ignorance though he wasn't sure he believed them yet…_

He looked back to where Rufus was sitting. "I was eventually able to get a series of encrypted logs from Hojo and Hollander's files. Hojo's seem to be more complete as there was an extra subject he was especially interested in. Most of them are too far gone to read, but apparently the subjects of interest were coded in the notes with a series of letters. In both Hollander's notes, I was able to find references to subjects labeled 'I', 'S', and 'C' as far back as the 1980's. Starting from year 2000, there were also mention of a subject 'T,' and later, beginning in 2001 there are mentions of a subject 'Cu.' Hojo's also refer rather irately to a subject refered to as 'L.' Saying 'one of those bottom dwellers stole my work.' He was very vague about what that was, but it seems he has a history of contention with these people."

"My father probably knew too. Did you find anything in his files?" Rufus asked.

"Yes and no. I found the same files as in Hollander's reports, minus the extra ones from Hojo, but with an official report about subject L in their place," Tseng returned. "All of them are heavily encrypted and I was only able to glean the subject matter on a rudimentary level. It would probably take a few months to crack at least."

Rufus frowned as he walked to the window. Tseng found himself wondering just how many secrets the man's father had hid. He was surprisingly paranoid about some things, if he hadn't even alerted the Turks about this place, not that Shinra didn't have a habit of not letting the left hand know what was going on in the right. Did Veld even know about it? Rufus turned around and walked back to his desk. "I suppose it's highly likely Hojo's hiding out with them then, in spite of his low opinion of these people of Deepground."

"It would seem that way. Perhaps they felt his knowledge was valuable and his arrest might reveal their existence, but that's merely conjecture. However, this isn't the only lead I've been pursuing either. I assigned Reno the task of investigating the mako suit the stranger was wearing, and we discovered something interesting." Tseng gestured to Reno that he stand and make the presentation personally.

Reno sauntered up to join him in front of the projector as Rufus looked on curiously. "What would that be?" he asked.

"The inventor. He's been missing since just after one of our other Turks ran a mission for him," Reno said. "Apparently, he clocked out to go home one day and the next he disappeared, like he never existed. There's no records of it yo, and the last man to see him alive was looking for him around the same time I was."

"Who was the last man to see him alive?" Rufus asked.

"Mao," Reno replied. "I ran into him near the man's apartment. It's been abandoned by now of course, but he was talking to the landlady just as I was going up to investigate the place…"

…_It was headed towards later in the afternoon, sometime in mid-January as Reno was walked towards the stairs when he recognized a familiar man through the window of the landlady's office. After taking cover behind a pillar, he watched as Mao walked outside in plain brown leather travelling clothes, though his glasses and the scar along the side of his face had been a dead giveaway. His old colleague had looked back to offer his thanks to the woman as he walked out, his katana at his hip and walked down the street. Curious, Reno decided to follow him. Surely his presence could not be a coincidence, not when he'd just read a report Tseng had given him stating that Mao had been the last known person to see the Shinra scientist alive._

_Creeping along the street like a red alley cat, Reno followed the swordsman behind another building and watched him lithely climb through a service exit leading down to one of the support pillars and a set of stairs to the slums. The trains were not the only ways to get to and from the plate. This was how they'd traveled between up here and Wall Market in the first place once their clearances had been revoked. It took several minutes for both of them to reach the platform leading to the support pillar's main platform and then another few to reach the bottom of the stairs. Afterward, Reno continued to follow Mao through the dirty streets, and soon he realized the man was headed for Wall Market. Not that it was easy, the swordsman hadn't been Tseng's second in command and the leader of the second division for no reason. He slipped along through the crowds like an eel through reeds, and his slender build allowed him to travel through while attracting little attention._

_Reno blinked when he passed a series of neon signs flashing words in Wutaian and nearly lost the man, but at the last second, he spotted him walking into the bar where Elena used to work. After a moment, he followed him in, only to see him leaning against the bar, having just ordered a glass of Wutaian sake. The man looked up at him and grinned. "I knew it was you. You're getting sloppy."_

_Reno stepped over to the bar, ordering a shot of whisky before returning with "You're the one who let me follow you in the first place."_

_Mao sipped at his drink without turning to face him. "What if I wanted you to follow me?"_

"_And why would you want to do that yo?"_

"_Perhaps I simply didn't want you harassing the landlady when all she knows is that the guy you're looking for disappeared without a trace six years ago."_

"_And what do you know about it? You know Mao, all Shinra personnel are under orders to kill you or any of the others on sight. I could do it right now."_

_Mao kept his face serene as he filled his small cup with more of the rice wine. "I think you know better." He sighed with pleasure at the taste of the spirit. "They always did manage to carry my favorite here." His right eye tracked to where Reno stood just as the shot of whiskey appeared at his elbow and Reno saw the familiar glint at the edge of the man's grey-blue irises. He was dead serious. "This missing scientist couldn't have been taken by just anyone. If you're after what I think you are, you'd know that his project was highly classified. All but the highest level executives were forbidden knowledge of it. Unless Rufus gave the information to AVALANCHE, in which case we would have been ordered to retrieve it, it would have had to be someone else on the inside."_

"_That won't stop Shinra from trying to kill you," Reno said sadly._

"_It wasn't intended to." The swordsman placed several extra gil on the counter as he sipped a final drink from the red wooden cup. "If you would kindly tell Franz that's for his tip?" There was a flash at his wrist, followed by an even brighter one enveloping the entire room, and the next time Reno looked, he was gone, the sake cup placed neatly on the bar…_

"…I think it was an Exit materia, but whatever it was, he seemed to think we have someone inside Shinra who doesn't want us to find out about this stuff."

"Or it could be more than one person…" Rufus mused.

"I do have some suspicions about a few people, including Scarlet and Heidegger," Tseng said. "We'll keep an eye on them and see if we can't gain anything from that. There is one more thing about this that's a little more disturbing though. After doing some digging, I found that this disappearance is not unique either. Apparently a number of SOLDIERs and other personnel have disappeared in a similar fashion. Most of them weren't of particularly high enough rank to be noticed, but we're still investigating that angle."

"I suppose that's the best that can be done, for now. Tell me immediately if you manage to find more leads." Rufus turned his attention back to the projector screen. "Zack and this new alliance of his… 'GUARDIAN' as he's calling it, have not been allowing us easy access to our goal of controlling the world either. It doesn't help that a lot of our rubber plantations were down in Mideel and that's made it difficult to manufacture some of our supplies. Fortunately, Lord Godo has not decided to give them aid, but that could change at any time…"

He considered for a moment and then asked "What are the latest reports from Heidegger's troops on that front?"

Tseng hit a button on the remote, bringing up a map of the Western Continent. "After GUARDIAN's loss of Fort Condor, we have managed to sink several of their blockade runners cutting along the shore of the Western Continent from Cosmo Canyon and Gongaga. Gongaga has effectively been neutralized, they are still reeling from the loss of life rendered by the exploded reactor there. Cosmo Canyon on the other hand has proved difficult. While the air force has managed to drive the inhabitants underground, our ground troops going overland are having great difficulty due to encountering the forces organized by the being we know as Red XIII. His tribe has been utilizing guerrilla tactics within the canyons to ambush our armies and inflict heavy casualties until we're forced to turn back. With our remaining 1st Classes under SOLDIER Bradley stationed here to defend Midgar, we've only been able to send 2nds and 3rds, but even then, the men under Red XIII's leadership have been surprisingly apt at standing up to them. It would seem their troops have benefited greatly from Vincent Valentine and Freya's knowledge of firearms and tactical training."

"This can't continue," Rufus decided. "We must cut that supply line." They had won at Fort Condor, but had incurred heavy losses, even with Heidegger having decided to double their forces there upon learning Kunsel had joined the local leadership, not to mention they had lost a powerful materia to GUARDIAN. It had still been a frustrating victory to win, and it had almost cost them as much as they'd gained and to add insult to injury, Heidegger's attempt to blunder through had caused them to lose a large portion of their equipment. "We're going to have to be smarter on this assault, and we can't have Heidegger and Scarlet trying to muscle their way through this time."

* * *

><p><strong>February 26<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008**

Elena wandered through the streets of the slums in plain-clothes that evening, careful that she wasn't being followed. She could very easily be brought in for treason if she was found out, and as clumsy as she could be sometimes, she had no intention of that happening. It wasn't until she had reached an old dingy bar in a corner of Sector 3 that she finally allowed herself to relax. The bar in Wall Market had been a favorite haunt of the Turks when they had been in their prime, and she'd even been able to snag a job there once, but now that Mao had been seen there, her former boss's establishment was under watch.

She visually scanned the area one more time before walking in and wading through the tables at which were seated a variety of seedy looking guys, who were drinking and playing cards mostly, to arrive behind another blond woman who was nursing a fresh glass of beer.

She took a seat next to her, and anyone looking at them could tell right away they were sisters. Elena also ordered a beer, just before Lou spoke. "Is the company working you hard these days?"

"We promised you wouldn't ask me about work," she replied.

"I know, but I was curious," Lou took another swig of her beer.

"I think I understand what happened a lot better now though," Elena said. "When you and everyone else left?"

Lou regarded her curiously. "What do you understand?"

"Shinra is a maze. Not even Rufus knows everything that's going on, and wherever we are, we're nothing but chess pieces lost on the inside."

"That's not a bad way to put it," Lou agreed. "Though I'm wondering when you got so poetic. You never had much time for metaphors when we were growing up."

Elena's beer arrived then and she took a sip, wrinkling her nose a little. It was definitely a bit watered down. Not nearly as high quality as you could find above plate, or even at Franz's place. "I was too busy trying to be better than you. And I did it. I was able to fight with Sephiroth and survive to tell about it after all."

"That you did, and I'm proud of you for that." She caught the hint of a smile playing at her sister's lips and in her own heart she felt herself swell up a little. It annoyed her. Was she really this desperate for praise that she'd risk coming down here to gloat? Lou continued, "Still, no matter how deep you get in this mess, never forget what's important, to you, to the company, and to the Turks. If it ever comes to a point where you have to choose a side, you'll know where to stand."

Elena took another swig of her beer. "I know. Though I guess I already made my choice when I put on the suit, didn't I?"

Lou nodded, almost imperceptibly before she drained her glass and stood up. "Even when you swore you never would." She smiled wryly, the closest thing to a hug she knew Elena would ever accept. "I'll bet most of us who had a choice felt the same way, when we first put it on." With that, the renegade Turk walked out of the bar, leaving some gil for her drink and plenty for Elena to think about.

"_You be careful, big sis," _she thought, draining the rest of her drink. _"As much as I want to be better than you, I don't want to have to kill you to do it."_

* * *

><p>The Case of…?: Fragmented File #1<p>

**March 1****st**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008**

Liz was trudging through the snow, with a snowboard over one shoulder and a backpack full of supplies on her back. The weather was only just starting to get slightly warmer now… of course, that only meant that the temperatures were slightly less way below freezing on a given day, but considering the location, this was excellent weather. An old hermit at the base of Gaia's cliffs had called in by radio for a set of supplies and she'd volunteered to take them since there was gil involved and she was a little curious about how things looked near the crater right about now.

She watched the air fog in front of the scarf covering her face as she trudged forward. The sky was clear, and it was almost noon. She was hoping she'd get to the hermit's place in time for lunch before heading back, though for now, her focus was simply not getting lost in the snow fields. The blanket of white under her boots only gave way a little as there'd been plenty of time for it to pack down hard, and had it been any warmer, she might have been tempted to let her hood down and let her hair flow free, but not quite.

All was quiet outside of her breath and footfalls as she walked along, until suddenly, she became aware of a new noise from over the horizon. A helicopter? She looked up and upon realizing she did not recognize the design, promptly dived behind the nearest snow bank, pulling out a pair of binoculars once she was sure she had cover. It had propellers like a helicopter, but she'd never seen one like this before. It appeared to be much sleeker in design than the military transport helicopters SOLDIER had favored, or even the B1-alphas the Turks had often used for their own missions.

One thing was for sure though. It seemed to be headed away from the crater. She waited patiently until it was out of sight before sitting down against the bluff to puzzle over this development. What would a helicopter possibly want in the Northern Crater at this point? Sephiroth was dead, and it was believed Jenova had been completely destroyed. There couldn't be anything of use there, unless Rufus wanted to try and use it as a site for a Mako reactor. But he couldn't possibly be considering that now, with the war going on, right? It would divert resources better used by focusing on GUARDIAN… But what if it wasn't Rufus? The chopper certainly hadn't carried the Shinra logo… just what was going on here?

* * *

><p><em>Tune in next week as we go back to Cosmo Canyon! See ya then!<em>


	48. Envoys of a New Path

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spin-offs That honor goes to Square-Enix.

SOLDIER 2nd Class Eli is an original character.

**On the Way to a New Future (Interlude)**

* * *

><p>Chapter 48, Envoys of a New Path (Case of Nanaki, Phase 1)<p>

**March 18****th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008**

Nanaki was resting on a ledge just below where the statue that used to be Seto stood. He had volunteered to stand guard on this end of the caves while the humans of Cosmo Canyon and Vincent's detachment of snipers and riflemen were camped out in various spots around the area outside the front end of the main settlement. The last month or so since the loss of Fort Condor had been brutal. It had allowed Rufus to redouble his efforts on attempting to take the canyon outright, and many of Nanaki's friends in the canyon had fallen in defending their home. Here was the last bastion protecting the supply lines headed around the southern end of the continent. Without the Canyon, the iron door that had already halfway closed at Fort Condor would be locked shut, unless Yuffie came through for them soon.

Imagining the faces of those who had fallen made him aware of a void that had taken root within his heart. It had been growing with each loss, and now, not only did he find it frustrating, it was also a little frightening. He knew very well his own lifespan would continue well after that of the others, unless he fell in battle, but even so, thinking about what might happen if more of his own people fell, or if Kunsel, Zack, or Cloud, or Barret or one of the others ended up leaving him, if they went back to the Planet forever… the loneliness made him want to curl up in a ball at his father's feet and not get back up. It was even worse because he knew one day all of these things would be inevitable. The void rose to prominence in his mind and he struggled to fight it back down as he continued keeping watch over the paths by which the Gi had once invaded. But even so, he growled slightly, raising his hackles as though acting ferocious might chase the void away. _"Begone Gilligan."_ He thought. That was the name he had given it. It had a presence, and naming it was how he had acknowledged it. He hadn't quite figured out how to deal with it, but it seemed most prominent when he was alone with his own thoughts. Therefore, he had reasoned, he would eventually have to fight it on his own time.

The whir of an engine interrupted his thoughts, and upon seeing Cid's airship approaching, all thought of Gilligan vanished. Cid and Cloud must have returned from their errand to see Yuffie in Wutai. Apparently Cloud had also gone to find a sword smith there. To place an order perhaps?

It didn't matter. The Highwind drew closer to a large cavern nearby. It couldn't be allowed to stay visible around here as it was all too likely someone might call an anti-aircraft unit in to attack it. It would be a while before he was relieved of guard duty, but at least he'd get to see them soon.

* * *

><p>When Nanaki finally leapt up through the Gi caverns to the area where his people had relocated after the air strikes had begun, he found his friends standing near one of the tunnels. To his surprise, he saw that Zack, Aerith, and Cissnei had come along for the ride. "Hello everyone! It's good to see you!"<p>

Zack looked up and grinned. "Hey! There he is!"

"Sorry I wasn't able to greet you right away. We've been watching the rear of the caverns in case anyone tries to sneak in." Nanaki explained.

Zack nodded. "It's all right. We understand." Nanaki took a moment to look his friends over. Zack was still wearing his SOLDIER shoulder guards, and combat boots, but he'd traded out the uniform itself for a pair of dark blue jeans and a slightly paler blue sleeveless shirt with a red line running down one side of it. It seemed he'd ditched all but two belts, neither of which bore the SOLDIER logo at all. This was definitely a new look for him.

Cloud also seemed to have foregone the SOLDIER belt, along with one of his shoulder guards. Perhaps it had been damaged in a fight, Nanaki mused, though he had yet to shed the uniform as completely as Zack had. "So how was the visit to Wutai?" He asked.

"We finally found that sword smith Cloud was looking for," Zack said. "He looked at the designs and says he can have it ready by the middle of June."

"I'm glad to hear it," Nanaki said. "Though I suppose Godo hasn't decided anything?"

"Unfortunately not," Cissnei said. "We could definitely have used some of his ninjas for backup."

"They would have been helpful," Nanaki agreed. "I have some news on that front. It's quite possible Heidegger's troops may have found an old Gi stronghold that contained information detailing how to get to the rear entrance of the caves."

"You mean where your dad is?" Zack asked.

"Yes. Our scouts have noticed a lot more trooper activity in the area and since they seem to be a lot more knowledgeable than they should be, it's highly likely. We've set several sentries along that route to be on the safe side," Nanaki explained.

"Sounds like a hell of a problem," Cid said. "Is there anything you need us to do before the next assault?"

"Aside from support us here, I don't think there is. I feel if we can hold out against this one we may be able to break their push and drive them out of the canyons for good. After the information campaign that was spread through Corel and Gongaga last month, I think there's more momentum to cause trouble and if the rest of the villages in the area take up arms, the contingent Heidegger has on our doorstep might be cut off from ground based supplies and our spies seem to think the sentiment is in our favor."

"Nice to hear some good news at least." Nanaki had been present when Zack had received the word that Rufus's troops had set up a garrison in Gongaga and he definitely hadn't been happy about it, but he seemed relieved at this. His home town was not taking martial law lying down even if removing the troops was not likely in the near future.

"In the meantime," Nanaki gestured towards the tunnel they stood in front of. "My grandfather's been resting in here. Please, come in. He walked down the tunnel a ways and pushed aside a small curtain that was allowing his grandfather privacy and brought them into the small cave where Bugenhagen lay. The older man's health had been failing over the last few weeks and he did not lift himself up from the soft mattress the other canyon residents had brought down here for him. "Nanaki?" He called.

Nanaki felt the emptiness within him grow a little at the sight of it, but refused to show his weakness in front of the others. "Grandfather, we have visitors."

Bugenhagen turned his head and looked over, blinking and on recognizing them, he spoke softly. "I see, yes… Cid and Cloud came back, and they brought Zack and the ladies this time… How's the… shoulder, boy?"

"Better than ever," Zack replied. "And how about you? Are they taking care of you?"

The old man nodded. "I'm afraid I can't quite… get around like I used to… but it comes with growing old… I suppose… more than anything, I just sleep…" Nanaki saw the corners of his grandfather's mustache curl up a little in a smile. "It's all right though…"

Aerith sat down near the mattress. "Is there anything we can get for you?" she asked.

Bugenhagen shook his head. "Not right now… I might like to talk a little before it gets too late… But I think you'll… have time to get some supper at least…"

"Grandfather?" Nanaki asked. "What do you mean?"

"Don't worry about it…" Bugenhagen answered him. "Everyone's come a long way… And I'll be here when you get back. I'm sure you young folks have things to do…"

* * *

><p>After dinner that evening, everyone was seated around a battery operated lantern in one of the larger caves. The tunnel leading out to the canyon where Nanaki's father stood watch was not that far off and though the natural bridge over the boiling water was still a ways between them and the exit, it was close enough that the noises it made could still be heard echoing through the cavern.<p>

"So what do you think the old geezer wants to talk about?" Cid wondered aloud.

"No idea," Zack said. He stretched his left arm, leaning back against a stalagmite and Nanaki noticed a blade at his hip that was about the size of Cloud's Butterfly Edge, except the steel was slightly darker.

"He thinks he's going to die soon…" Nanaki said softly and he pulled himself up as he spoke. "It's not just what he says either… he's been sleeping more than usual and eating less, and making him aware of it doesn't help."

An uncomfortable silence permeated the area and Nanaki hated it. Even though his grandfather was human, he'd always seemed ageless to the Guardian's mind. Immortal even. It made the emptiness he'd noticed seem all the larger within him.

"Well then," Aerith said at last, giving him a kind smile. "We'll do what we can for him. All right?"

Nanaki nodded. "Thank you."

"Nanaki!" Everyone looked up to see one of the other villagers running up to the circle.

He looked in the man's direction. "What's the matter?" he asked.

"The spies report there's a contingent of troopers coming near the entrance to the canyon! But that's not the only news. One 2nd Class and several 3rd Class SOLDIERs are attempting one of the rear passes."

Zack stood, gripping his sword with his left hand, and Cloud did the same across the cavern. Cid lit himself a cigarette and dusted himself off as he shouldered his spear. "This sounds too easy," he turned to Nanaki. "If I take Cissnei, we oughta be able to handle a few troopers. You think you and the rest of the guys can take the back way?"

"It won't be any trouble. Obviously they think they can trap us in here," Nanaki said. "They will be sadly mistaken. Though I don't think they were aware that Cloud and Zack are here, otherwise they might have sent more."

"You're probably right," Cissnei agreed.

"Tell the children and the elderly to shelter near Bugenhagen's cave," Nanaki instructed the other man.

The villager nodded and then proceeded to guide Cid and Cissnei to the front of the cave.

"This could be your first battle since the Crater, isn't it," Cloud observed looking at Zack.

"Since before. I didn't actually fight at the Crater, remember?" He answered, giving the light sword in his hand a couple of practice swings as the three of them began walking towards the exit to the caves. "But I've had you as a sparring partner. I may not be back up to your level yet, but a 2nd and some 3rds should be a piece of cake… if we have to fight them."

"Just be careful, all right?" Aerith said. "I'll back you up, but don't do anything too crazy."

Nanaki couldn't blame her for wanting him to be cautious and he silently promised himself he'd keep a close eye on his friend. Cloud would probably be doing the same.

"I'll be fine," Zack said, sheathing his sword again. "Besides, I'm tired of sitting around."

"I know, but that doesn't mean I won't worry." Aerith answered. She'd fallen in step behind the guardian and the two swordsmen, her staff touching the ground every so often as she walked.

They continued the trek across the natural bridge in silence as they listened through the bubbling of the water beneath them for any sounds of approaching combat boots, but there were none. It wasn't long before they were walking out into the moonlight that illuminated the pass below Seto's resting place. Once they passed the current watch, Nanaki signaled to the sentries with his tail that they were going out before dimming the flame so it wouldn't attract attention and then, with Cloud carrying Aerith so they could move more quickly, they slipped into the evening twilight. For several minutes, Nanaki led them through thickets and ravines until they were on the top of one of the lower canyon walls. Flitting along like ghosts in and out of the shadows they traveled along until they reached the furthest sentry point.

The sentry that waited for them hailed them as he spotted their approach.

"What's the news?" Nanaki asked.

"The efforts we made to conceal the path haven't all been seen through yet, but I definitely think they're getting close. It's good you made it," The man reported.

While Cloud placed Aerith solidly on the ground, Zack knelt by the sentry station and after borrowing a pair of binoculars with night-vision capability from one of the watchman, he looked in the direction the man indicated. After a moment he seemed to have zeroed in on the targets and started counting them off. "Two… three… yup definitely four of them, and definitely a 2nd Class in there. I can't tell if they were anyone I knew since they're wearing helmets, but if we get in close…"

"What does it matter if you knew them or not?" Nanaki asked.

"Because we've been kicking around some ideas, and I was thinking we might at least be able to talk to them…" Zack suggested. "Kunsel couldn't do that at Fort Condor because Heideggers troops were all around, but wouldn't it be great, if we could get a few more guys on our side?"

"It could be except if they go back empty handed, they might be punished for not following through on the mission," Nanaki mused aloud.

"Except they won't be going back empty-handed," Zack said decisively. "Because they'll know we were here. Rufus is far from at his best right now, even if he does seem to be winning. Fort Condor was a big blow. I doubt he's looking to go up against us unprepared."

"Heidegger might," Cloud said quietly.

"And we've seen how that worked out for him last time. He lost most of his forces to a skeleton crew even if he did eventually win. We're well prepared here." Zack was quiet for a second before he pointed out a small gully about halfway between their current location and that of the SOLDIERs. "We'll meet them there," He decided, before indicating to a small plateau a few yards from the center of the area. "Nanaki, could you take up a postion there? I've got an idea."

"What did you have in mind?" Nanaki asked.

Zack took a couple of minutes to explain…

* * *

><p>Nanaki was crouched at the summit of the plateau as Zack sat relaxed at its base, the light sword unsheathed in his left hand. The ex-SOLDIER was ready to fight if he had to and Cloud stood at his right hand, ready to go in case he needed help, Buster Sword secured on his back. Aerith stood at his left, gripping her staff firmly. She too had been training with the guys a little, and while by no means could she fight a fully-fledged SOLDIER alone, she was hardly a pushover. From what Nanaki had heard of her training sessions, she had actually managed to score a hit on Cloud once just recently. It hadn't harmed him, and he'd still been going extremely easy on her, but the fact she was even able to do it at all stood as a testament to her dedication once it came about that the home they had all built together was threatened.<p>

Nanaki's attention was drawn by the sound of twigs breaking and as he looked up, he spotted several pairs of glowing eyes approaching them in the darkness. As their owners finally set foot in the clearing where they waited, Zack gave the signal, and Nanaki brought up his tail, willing the tip to burn brightly, illuminating the clearing in its radiance.

The four SOLDIERs paused, clearly surprised at this new turn of events and were going for their weapons when Zack called out to them standing up and walking to the front of their group, "I wouldn't do that if I were you. After all, I'm pretty sure you know by now who we are."

The 2nd Class at the head of the group paused as he was reaching for his sword, and Nanaki could see his face slack with recognition. "Zack… Fair…! So Bradley was telling the truth?"

"If it's the part about me being alive, that's kind of old news," Zack said. "If it's the part about us being in charge of this outfit, well, those rumors would be correct."

The ranking SOLDIER took a step forward, cautiously. "So what's going on then? I was still a rookie when you were reported dead but the whole unit took it pretty hard, since we'd also lost Sephiroth. When Kunsel disappeared, none of us knew what to think, especially when the word got around that you were still kicking."

"You could say we're making you an offer," Zack said.

The SOLDIERs looked at each other, considering this turn of events and then their leader spoke again. "What kind?"

"The truth, in exchange for a couple of favors," Zack supplied. "And a proposition. And here's the thing. You get the truth first before you even make the decision. If you decide not to play, well, you can just say you got to hear a campfire story from a real live ghost for free." Nanaki saw the evidence of a grin on their leader's face as he cracked the joke.

The SOLDIERs looked at each other again, conferring amongst themselves, and then the leader answered, "All right, you have ten minutes."

Zack shrugged. "That's fair. By the way, I don't think I caught your name."

"Eli. 2nd Class."

"Nice to meetcha."

Nanaki could hardly believe his ears. Just minutes ago, these men had been more than willing to destroy the canyon, and just like that, Zack was able to get them to listen? He felt the sense of wonder bordering on disbelief at Zack's ability to diffuse situations again, even as he also felt Gilligan stir within him, the emptiness and worry drawing his thoughts back to Bugenhagen. The disparity between the two was jarring. But as Zack began telling a condensed and much less personal version of the true story behind what had happened to Sephiroth, and by extension, him and Cloud, Nanaki remained still as a statue, the turmoil of his own concerns un-betrayed by his steadfast vigil over the men talking in the canyon gully.

* * *

><p>"We didn't find out the truth about what Jenova was until much later, but you, me, and everyone else in SOLDIER has her cells, and while the Mako keeps them under control, they really are a lot scarier than you could ever imagine. Shinra used us, just like they're using you now. You don't have to believe me, if you don't want to, but if you want to save some lives, and do some good…"<p>

Zack stopped as the other SOLDIER's PHS buzzed and Eli paused to answer it. "Yes?"

"_Are you in position?" _Nanaki heard the man on the other end.

"We've encountered sentries. Engage?"

"_Proceed."_

Eli hung up his PHS and got out his sword. Faster than Nanaki could blink, Cloud was in front of Zack, and Zack himself was hefting his own sword in his left hand, his right arm tucked in close to avoid injuring it further. Aerith was at his flank, all ready to charge up a cure if anyone needed one.

"What's your call?" Zack asked as Eli and Cloud crossed swords.

Eli remained in parry with Cloud, though Nanaki could see the man straining under Cloud's raw strength. He was obviously a trained fighter, but faced with the man who had actually killed Sephiroth, twice, he was a lit match to Cloud's pillar of fire and Cloud was obviously still holding back. Eli's blue eyes glared across their blades, not diverting from his opponent. "So we've heard your ghost story, what's your proposal?"

"All I ask, is that you go back to Shinra and tell SOLDIER what happened. They might believe it, they might not. But it's terrible to have to just kill you when you don't even know what you're up against or why. That's what happened to Ramius, and Kunsel hated doing it. If you decide to leave Shinra, not only will we give you somewhere safe but we'll let you fight back if you want. We're not just Shinra's toys, we're people, and I want to give you the chance to get back what they took away. That's what GUARDIAN has to offer. If any of you are game, you know where our turf is, and you can come back after you've delivered our message, if not, well, we'll take this back to square one. I'd really hate to do that, but, we've kind of taken it upon ourselves to protect those who can't defend themselves. That's what heroes do."

In the light from Nanaki's tail, and the moonbeams, the SOLDIER's eyes gleamed as he focused, both in concentration on his opponent and on the decision he was being asked to make. Finally he said "This isn't something I can decide on my own. He glanced back at the 3rd Class SOLDIERs behind him. "What about you?"

The 3rds had all drawn their swords by now, but seemed unwilling to test their mettle against Cloud. Finally one of them spoke. "I think he's telling the truth."

"But what about what happens if we get caught?" One of the other SOLDIERs asked. "It would mean treason, wouldn't it?"

"Yeah," said a third one. "I don't know if it's worth the risk."

"I don't know. Killed fighting this guy or dead for trying to fight Shinra. It doesn't sound great either way," a fourth 3rd Class said.

"Not really," Zack agreed, "But at least if you join us, you have zero chance of getting shipped off to some lab on the whims of a crazy scientist, and while I can't promise I won't ask you to fight former comrades, I will say that if SOLDIER does defect in whole, or even in part, it will make this fight that much shorter, with that many fewer casualties."

The 3rds whispered among themselves again and then another stepped up next to Eli and as the man's muscles slacked under his blade, Cloud eased up and their swords parted. The 3rd who had approached said "We'll take your message. Though, I can't say what'll happen afterward."

"I guess we'll know if we see you again," Zack said calmly.

"That being said, we can't be driven off without it looking believable," Eli said.

"Well, then, help us set some things on fire," Zack said. "We'll take care of the rest."

Eli nodded, and gestured that the other SOLDIERs draw their blades. For several moments, Cloud held his own against several of them while Zack easily bested his remaining opponents even left handed, and Eli called his commanding officer over the din of the swords to call a retreat. Soon they were left alone in a clearing surrounded by smoldering trees and Zack called after them "And don't you dare try sneaking around here again you cowards!"

He turned his attention back to the others. "I think that went well, don't you?"

"How do you do it Zack?" Nanaki said, hopping down into the gully.

"It's the only way we can," Zack answered, sheathing his sword. "We should probably head back to Bugenhagen."

Nanaki grunted in affirmation and they were already hurrying back as Zack used one of their radios to notify the sentries their visitors had been dealt with.

* * *

><p>They had almost reached the cave where his grandfather rested when Cissnei ran up to them, still slightly dirty from the skirmish she and Cid had just driven off. But even so, she looked saddened. "Nanaki, it's Bugenhagen. He's asking for you."<p>

Nanaki padded away from the group and headed past his people, the women, the children, and the elders and past the curtain drawn across the tunnel leading to the old man. As he approached, he found one of the older women kneeling by his side and he sat next to her. "I'm here grandfather."

"I'm glad to see… you made it back…" Bugenhagen answered. "I think now's the time…"

"For what?" Nanaki asked.

"To make my last request…" Bugenhagen drew a breath and began. "There is so much… In this world that I want you to see… and understand... look at the withering mountain grass... listen to the warble of newborn chocobos… Nanaki… Life is an incredible gift… And I want you to see it… not as the protector of this canyon… but as the Guardian of the Planet… you need to see it… and remember it… I won't be around too much longer… But after I am gone… and this war for the Planet and its people… ends… I want you to travel a while… and see what you can learn… Maybe it will teach you… everything I could not…"

"Grandfather. Don't speak like that… you still have many years yet… don't you?" Nanaki leaned in, placing a paw on the mattress as he spoke.

Bugenhagen simply smiled. "Just humor… an old man… and promise me… will you…?"

Nanaki finally relented and lowered his head. "I promise…"

Bugenhagen simply smiled, and shut his eyes, allowing sleep to overtake him for the evening, and Nanaki spent the rest of the evening curled up next to him.

* * *

><p><strong>March 21<strong>**st**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008**

Bugenhagen would sleep through to the next day, and then the next, before on the third night, just after dusk, he finally passed away. His body was brought out of the caves to the ashes of the Cosmo Candle, and it was lit once more, even though none of the houses were currently occupied. Even so, Zack and the others had remained to be there for him, and Cid had gone to bring Tifa and Freya to also be present for his funeral. Some people cried, but mostly, they spent that night around the candle telling stories about their deceased friend. How he loved the Planet, and loved the stars, and most of all, how he loved sharing his knowledge with those around him. It was a comfort to Nanaki that all through remembering his grandfather, even though Gilligan still lurked in his heart, the people around him helped to remind him that he was not alone. For the majority of the night as villagers told stories around the Candle, the faceless monster remained still until later in the evening after he climbed up to visit his father alone. That was when he howled out his grief to the stars.

* * *

><p><em>I didn't realize this until about ten minutes ago, but apparently, by not having him ride with the party to the City of the Ancients, I actually extended Bugenhagen's life by a couple of months. It's kind of obscure but you do actually get to hear his last words in the original game if you go back to Cosmo Canyon after defeating Diamond Weapon. And here I thought I was being thorough! ^^;<em>

_Tune in next week as we check out what Barret's up to. See ya soon!_


	49. That Which Touches Everyone

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spin-offs That honor goes to Square-Enix.

SOLDIER 3rd Class Alistor, Mat, and Bri are original characters.

**On the Way to a New Future (Interlude)**

* * *

><p>Chapter 49, That Which Touches Everyone (Case of Barret)<p>

**March 28****th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008**

Several miles from Rocket Town, the Highwind made landfall in the dead of night and several figures disembarked. Among them, were Cid and Shera. Barret stood under the ship with Vincent and the remaining contingent of riflemen they'd brought with them. They would move in once Cid had established where the will of Rocket Town lay. If they still wished to follow the captain over Rufus, then he'd call everyone else in. Shera waited next to him as Cid disappeared into the dark. Vincent had already vanished to run recon, but Reeve had come himself. His part would take place after the operation was over.

Under the ghostly light filtering down to the ground from the bridge, Barret stood on the grassy plain, looking out on the Rocket as it was lit up by searchlights. Even this far away, it was still visible as a bright, if crookedly leaning pillar over the trees in the distance.

Shera adjusted her glasses as she waited next to him. The rifle slung over her shoulder. She wasn't going into the fight herself, but she had volunteered to watch the Highwind as soon as the main force commenced Operation Comeback. All they were waiting for now, was for Cid to give the signal…

* * *

><p>Several hours later, it was over. Cid had given the command, and with the combined strength of their own force along with almost the entire population of Rocket Town (minus children and the elderly), the vast majority of Rufus's remaining forces in the area had either been subdued, chased off, or killed. There had been a couple of exceptions, like this one for instance. A SOLDIER stood shirtless in front of Barret now in the infirmary, his sword held weakly in one hand while the other protected a what appeared to be a bandaged wound on his side, though even from here, Barret could see it seemed to be infected, and exuding a black oozing puss into the bandages.<p>

"If you've come to kill us…" the man panted, his eyes glowing intensely, "I don't intend to make it easy for you…" As Barret looked, he saw a couple of kids behind him, also sporting bandages, and they were obviously afraid.

"Depends," he said. "Are you gonna lower that sword and siddown? Ya ain't gonna get far like that."

After a moment, the man decided to do what he was told, laying his weapon on the floor next to the bed. The two children stayed behind him as Barret lowered his gunarm. The two regarded each other suspiciously, and then the SOLDIER sighed. "I guess you chased everyone out, huh?"

"That's right. What're ya doin' here?" Barret said gruffly.

"I was sent here to help the troops. It's our job to protect Shinra's people from terrorists like you," The man glared in his direction.

Barret scowled as he took a moment to take the measure of the man in front of him. "So why ain't'cha out there fightin' us?" he asked.

"Some Nibel Wolves came out of the mountains and attacked these kids a couple of weeks ago," he indicated the young children standing next to him. "After I stepped in, one of the wolves bit me." He gestured to the wound and winced. "Turns out that wasn't the only thing I should have been concerned about."

The SOLDIER, whom he now saw couldn't have been much older than his late teens, looked over the two younger kids. "I'd been taken off duty since it started getting worse, while the medics tried to figure out what was going on" he added as an afterthought. No one's been able to figure out why their Restore materia aren't working. Not even Esuna seems to help."

Barret was quiet for a few minutes as he considered this. Finally he made a decision. He wasn't about to kill a sick man just for protecting a couple of kids. He had enough innocent blood on his hands, already. "Ya got a name?"

"SOLDIER 3rd Class, Alistor."

Barret nodded gruffly. "All right then. Stay outta trouble, and we won't bother ya." With that, he walked out of the infirmary to rejoin the others so they could compare notes on what they'd found.

* * *

><p><strong>March 30<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008**

It took Reeve a couple of days to complete his assessment of the fields near Rocket Town that pre-mako surveyors had marked as being heavy with crude oil. The team of surveyors he'd brought with him had brought in their reports, just in time to take cover for another assault. With the loss of one of Shinra's air force bases, Rufus had been determined to gain it back. But with the firepower provided by the Highwind as well as the equipment liberated when the initial installation of troops had fled, they were able to repel it. The Gelnika especially took heavy damage before it withdrew towards Junon, leaving the townspeople celebrating its departure.

It was that night, over the Highwind's encrypted communications, that Reeve reported the good news to Zack and the others in Mideel. The crude oil here could be drilled out and refined once the preexisting equipment they'd discovered on-site could be repaired. With enough manpower, he estimated the first shipment could be expected probably sometime next year. It was the best that could be done for the time being. Even so, Barret couldn't help but be impatient. Every moment they spent not drilling oil in favor of repairing old construction was spent using mako reserves that were running lower with every day, not to mention, draining the Planet's resources dry.

"Are ya sure there's no way we can do this quicker?" he asked.

"I'm afraid there isn't," Reeve said. "We can't drill for the oil unless we have somewhere to put it, and we can't have that until we have somewhere to properly refine it, otherwise, we've just got vats of… how did you put it? Useless goop?"

"Well, it's somthin' we gotta do faster," Barret growled, and then stalked off the bridge, leaving the two of them to work out their plans. He soon found himself on the weather deck, looking out over the open plains around the rocket and suddenly his eyes landed on a small house near the infirmary. Alistor was sitting on the porch, watching the two children play a board game next to him. If he didn't know any better, the young man seemed to have adopted them. It reminded him a little of Marlene.

After a moment, he stepped onto the launching platform that the Highwind was tied to and walked down into the settlement, approaching the house. As he drew closer, the two children, a boy and a girl looked up and then quickly retreated behind Alistor's chair. "What's the matter you two?" the SOLDIER asked. Then he looked up and saw Barret coming and his eyes narrowed with suspicion. "Oh."

Barret paused, realizing the two little ones were hiding from him and he spoke across the way from where he was standing. "Hey now, I ain't gonna shoot no one!" He looked at Alistor as he walked a couple of steps closer, making it clear his business was with the swordsman and not the children behind him.

"You look pretty scary to them anyway," Alistor said calmly.

"I was curious. How'd they come to ya anyway?" Barret asked gruffly.

"No real reason," Alistor replied, glancing at the two children behind him. "I'm not sure how they got here, but apparently they wandered up after Highwind had his little showdown with our troops at the rocket. The man who owns this house here's been letting them stay, though he'd been looking to find them a real home eventually. Of course, then the wolves attacked and they just started sticking close to me. Bri doesn't talk much, but Mat told me they used to live in the mountains with their parents near Nibelheim and they'd come down to trade with the other villages around here."

"I see," Barret said. "How'd they die?"

Alistor gave the boy another worried look and then spoke again. "Apparently there was this pond close to Nibelheim that suddenly turned black. Bri said a monster came out and pulled them into it. I don't know if that's just what it looked like or what, but we didn't have the resources to investigate."

The little boy nodded behind him, his brown eyes wide with fear at the memory of it.

"Though at this rate, I'm not entirely sure there's anything I can do about it anyway," he pulled himself to his feet as Mat suddenly called his name and Barret saw that Bri was swaying as though she was having trouble standing up. "We'll have to talk some other time, she's not feeling good," the SOLDIER said and lifted the girl to carry her inside.

Barret suddenly had a thought. "I actually know a doctor who's seen stuff like this, maybe you can talk to her," he suggested.

But Alistor was too busy with the little girl to hear him.

* * *

><p>When Barret arrived at Cid's house that evening, the man was sitting with Shera and Reeve, talking about the various logistics of repairing the equipment while looking over a set of blueprints Reeve had produced. Cid looked up as he walked in from the darkening twilight. "Where've you been?"<p>

"Lookin' for somethin'" Barret said.

"What?"

Barret proceeded to tell the story of what had happened earlier that afternoon.

"And what are we supposed to do about it?" Cid asked. "Sure it's sad, but we've got #$%^ to do around here too."

"I don' know!" Barret said. "That's why I'm askin' you! We been seein' this thing a lot more lately, and I know there's no cure, but maybe the doc could help."

Shera gave him a sympathetic look as she adjusted her glasses. "Unfortunately we can't spare the Highwind to take them with Rufus's blockade at the southern strait. But I know one of our blockade runners is going that way tomorrow. Perhaps they could hitch a ride with them."

"It'll be dangerous though," Reeve commented. "There won't be any guarantee they'll make it."

"Then I'll make sure they do!" Barret growled.

"You're going with them?" Shera asked.

"I'll come back on another boat, but if there's somethin' we can do, we better $%*&#% do it!" He stalked out of the house again leaving all three of them temporarily at a loss for words. A few moments later, Cid took the stub of his cigarette out of his mouth.

"Well $%&#."

* * *

><p>Barret walked back to the house and knocked on the door. An older woman answered it and he spoke, "Where's the SOLDIER? I wanna talk to 'im," he said gruffly.<p>

The woman seemed a little taken aback but looked behind her towards her kitchen table. After a moment, Barret saw Alistor come to the door, though he was still walking gingerly to protect his injury.

"What is it?" he asked, his glowing eyes narrowed, creating an almost eerie visage in the light coming from inside the house.

Barret didn't allow himself to be intimidated. Instead he simply said "There's a boat headed south to Mideel, and we've got doctors there who might be able to help. If ya want ta go, I'll be waitin' with a ride to the nearest village on the coast tomorrow morning."

Alistor blinked, temporarily obscuring his eyes for a moment in the dark, and then he asked "Why would you do that?"

Barret scowled at him. "Don't bother askin'." With that, he walked away from the house and prepared to turn in for the night.

* * *

><p><strong>April 3<strong>**rd**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008**

The sea air was cool as it blew across the small retrofitted cargo ship. Barret worked hard with the rest of the crew, determined to keep the rigging in place and make sure things were ready in case they encountered any of Rufus's patrol vessels. Several turrets had been erected along the sides in case combat became necessary, but the boat had been refitted for speed, in hopes of outrunning the enemy rather than fighting them.

Early yesterday morning, Alistor had arrived at the place where supplies were loaded, the two children behind him, and a small rucksack over his shoulder, though his sword was absent, since the villagers had divested him of it after Cid's forces had retaken the town. The villagers hadn't really known what to do with him until Barret had apparently taken an interest. After that, it had been a short drive to the nearest village on the coast, where they had boarded a blockade runner headed for Mideel, and over the next day or so, they had been sailing at top speed down the coast of the Western Continent and through the Wutai strait. The Wutai coast would have been safer, probably, but Yuffie still had yet to convince her father to allow vessels friendly to GUARDIAN's cause to travel along their shores. If there was one thing her efforts had convinced Barret of, it was that diplomacy was a joke, and it took forever.

Now though, they were sailing towards the most dangerous part of the journey. The Shinra Navy patrolled the waters around the land mass where the Temple of the Ancients used to be, and the entire stretch of those waters wouldn't be safe until they reached Mideel's coast and fell under the protection of the land-based installations that had been constructed on the south east Islands of the Mideel region. That could not happen soon enough.

As he looped some rope over his gunarm with his real hand, he saw Alistor walk gingerly out onto the deck. The two children had mostly stayed in the small cabin they'd been allotted, in order to rest. Alistor had brought Mat out once, and he'd seemed really interested in the gun turrets but he'd quickly gotten tired and asked to rejoin his sister. Right now, Alistor was alone, and he looked troubled.

"Bri's getting worse," he said as he neared where Barret was working.

"It shouldn' be that much longer," Barret said gruffly. "We just need ta get pas' the navy and then we're home free."

Alistair grunted thoughtfully and Barret gave him a suspicious look. "Ya ain't thinkin' a doin' anythin' stupid are ya, like tryin' ta go back to'em?"

The SOLDIER simply watched the waves, leaning on the railing, and putting his weight on the opposite side from his wound. After a moment, he said "You know, I wonder that myself. I guess we'll see about that, won't we."

Barret simply scowled.

* * *

><p>Sometime later that evening, Barret was in his own cabin, cleaning his gunarm when he heard something that sounded distinctly like an explosion. He raced out of his cabin and up on deck to see that his worst fears had been confirmed. It looked like one of Shinra's battle cruisers had spotted them and was giving chase. He could already see a couple of heligunners flying in to shoot at them in the glow from a pair of rockets flying by overhead. With a speed that was uncanny for a man his size (not to mention hampered by only have a machine gun for one hand), Barret scaled to one of the highest crow's nests on the ship and took aim. As the Heligunners approached, he opened fire.<p>

Another rocket fired overhead through the darkened skies, landing too close to the hull for comfort, and in its glow, Barret noticed Alistor standing on the the deck, watching the onslaught. Around him the sailors worked furiously to man the gun turrets, and speed the ship along its way, though in the brief moment the gunman spared for the swordsman, Barret could see him looking towards the oncoming ships. Whether it was with hope, or concern, he couldn't tell, but it didn't matter.

With another battle cry Barret let loose another barrage from his perch. Shinra didn't care if the SOLDIER was on this ship. The only thing they cared about was stopping the supplies going to Mideel. Bullet casings rained down on the deck below him when another Heligunner zoomed by and he channeled a limit break, calling a beam of energy down from the sky to destroy his enemy just as several Aero Combatants started flying in.

Barret leapt to the ground as he continued his barrage, knocking one enemy into the water, but just then, he saw something moving out of the corner of his eye. The next time he looked, he saw that Alistor had picked up a rifle, and though he was grimacing from the pain of wielding it in his injured state, he'd just stopped one of their opponents from attempting to pass him to get the cabin. The weapon trembled in his hands before he let himself crouch to the ground, but by that point, one of their turrets launched a projectile of its own, and smoke started permeating across the water. Several more smoke bombs hit the surface, and before long, the blockade runner had left the Shinra cruiser far behind.

As the action died down, Barret walked over to where the man clutched his side and murmured "Thanks. Guess I owe ya one."

Alistor sat down the whole way, and nodded, still grimacing. "No problem," he gritted out.

At that moment, Mat hurried out of the hold. "Al! It's Bri. Something's wrong!"

At that, Alistor pulled himself up and even though he refused Barrets arm, he moved down the stairs after the boy. Barret followed and soon found himself at the door to their cabin, and inside, he heard Bri whimper softly. Alistor was now sitting next to her, holding her hand. "Just hold on a little more," he said. "We'll be safe soon, and they say there'll be help…"

The little girl did not let go of his hand even as Barret walked in. Once again, Mat hid behind the swordsman at his approach. "He's right," Barret offered gruffly. "It won' be long now."

Bri looked up at him, and he couldn't help but think how small she looked, like Marlene, yet so fragile, and finally, he saw a brave smile on her face and unlike all the other times she'd looked at him, there wasn't a trace of fear. In its place was gratitude…

* * *

><p>She passed away in the early morning hours, just like that. The other sailors were reluctant to touch her body because she was diseased, but it wasn't long after that she disappeared into the Lifestream. Alistor and Mat spent a while alone in the cabin until the boy had cried himself to sleep. It wasn't until near dawn, when Alistor walked out on the deck alone to find Barret on watch. It would be another day before they reached Mideel and then a little longer after that to hitch a ride on a fishing boat up the coast to Widblain.<p>

"You know, when I first met them," Alistor began softly, "they were just as scared of me." He sat down on the deck and leaned against the cabin wall. "They thought I'd come to hurt them. After our troops came in, maybe it's not so hard to understand… but you know, that smile she had when you walked in. That was how she looked at me, when she realized I was just like her. Just as breakable, and just as afraid… and she tried to tell me it was all right… even though it's not. There's nothing right about it at all." he muttered bitterly, looking down at his wound.

Barret scowled. "Don't be so hard on yerself. Ye didn' have ta do what ya did, but ya chose to anyway. Like some other people I know... Can't fault ya for that. It's better'n I did on more'n one occassion."

"You mean at Reactor 1?" Alistor asked.

"So ya know 'bout that?"

"I was on the emergency team that ran damage control in the aftermath."

Barret walked away towards the port side, but still within talking distance. "It's somethin' I can't forget."

* * *

><p><strong>April 4<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008**

When the fishing boat finally pulled into Widblain's harbor, Barret showed Alistor and his charge the way to Rayleigh's clinic. Once that was completed he walked down the dirt path towards a new building that had been erected in the last couple of months. Though the sign was unlit, and the inside was only illuminated by sunlight due to Shinra having cut the lines, he saw through the window that Tifa stood at the bar cleaning it with a cloth while a few of their own off duty troops were hanging around.

Rebuilding Seventh Heaven this early had not been part of the plan, until it had been discovered that their troops had a healthy demand for alcohol. She and Jessie were already making a modest profit off of the local brews, and now that GUARDIAN's area of influence had begun expanding her stock incorporated even more variety. Cloud had been helping significantly with that, following his turning control of Tanis Island over to his second in command, and Zack beginning to send him on other assignments.

Barret walked through the door, and Marlene, who had been sitting with a familiar group of Ex-SOLDIERs, as well as a renegade, and a flower girl, suddenly looked up and ran to meet him. "Daddy!" She threw her arms around him and he knelt to give her a hug.

It took a little while for her to look up at his face, but when she did, she gave him a worried look. "What's wrong daddy? You look sad?"

He smiled for her, ruffling her hair affectionately. "It's all right. A lot's happened, is all." That was when he looked up to see Zack, Cloud, Kunsel, and Freya watching him. "We got some things ta talk about."

"About the SOLDIER and the kids?" Zack asked. "I heard most of it from Cid." He sighed and stood up. "I won't deny it was the right thing to do, but what's next for you?"

"I don' know," Barret answered. "On the one hand, we need power, but on the other, what's goin' on with this sickness we been seein'?" he asked.

Freya looked up from her drink. "We've been hearing reports of it cropping up in various places. Some of them are saying things about coming in contact with this strange black water that seems to appear in places."

Barret's eyes widened. "Ya mean, like what Al… that SOLDIER said those kids talked about…"

Zack nodded. "Cissnei went to check out the location Cid gave us. We're still waiting to hear back from her on that, but Rayleigh tells me even with the cases she's seen, she has no idea what's going on."

"We've also gotten reports from the other renegades," Freya added. "Some isolated cases have appeared among the SOLDIER ranks back in Midgar. In fact, they seem to be more susceptible to it along with children and the elderly. Though there was one fellow Tanjuu spotted in the slums who wasn't among those groups who had also contracted it. Some people are calling it the SOLDIER sickness, but most of those who contract it, have usually had a lot of exposure to the Lifestream in some capacity, either that or they'd had run-ins with the black water. From that vein the official name they've started calling it has become Geostigma."

"I see," Barret murmured, uncharacteristically worried. He sat down on one of the barstools and pulled Marlene into his lap. "But we're tryin' ta figure out what's goin' on, right?"

"Yeah," Kunsel said. "Rayleigh's on the job and the renegades are all over, looking for more clues."

"Speakin' a that," Barret said. "Has there been any other news?"

"Apart from the little we were able to get from Mao, Midgar's been fairly quiet," Freya said. "No sign of the scientist, or Hojo, or anything else. Perhaps it's a little too quiet.

Zack rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I know what you mean, but on the other hand, maybe a little quiet isn't so bad. Sure we can be ready in case Rufus is planning something, but at the same time, it can let us press the offensive a little, and maybe take care of some other important things besides."

* * *

><p>The Case of…?: Fragmented File #2<p>

**April 4****th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008**

Cissnei walked alone through the Nibel Mountains, holding her rekka at the ready. She was miles from Nibelheim, but the footprints she was tracking were definitely worrisome. She'd found the cottage easily enough and from there, it hadn't been too hard to locate the pool of dark water, but upon approaching it, she'd realized the local fauna had become decidedly much more hostile than usual. While she'd managed to avoid being bitten or injured by anything, thanks to her materia and her skill at fighting at a distance, it had been especially disquieting to see the worst of the monsters infected by the water. Soon after, she'd found a path leading away from the pool, and avoiding combat where she could, she followed it a ways before coming to a new trail leading higher into the mountains.

As she climbed the crest of a hill, she looked out over the valley before her to find herself looking down at a gash in the ground that cut deep, revealing the Lifestream flowing in the depths below. The other thing that got her attention however, was the man in black who was following it in the direction of the Nibelheim reactor. She took in the details of this man and realized he looked more like a young teenager, except his hair was shoulder length and silver. He also apparently favored black leather, and wore a double-bladed katana on his back.

Could he have anything to do with what had happened to those children's parents?

She followed him for some time along the path before he walked into a cave, and it appeared he was looking for something. "Mother?" he called. "Where are you?!"

Mother? Cissnei frowned. What was that about? The last person she'd heard of who talked like that was… In her distraction, she heard something crumble under her shoe and realized the man she was following had stiffened, drawing his weapon.

"Come out! I know you're there," the man commanded and Cissnei suddenly realized his glowing reptilian green eyes looked exactly like Sephiroth's. She swallowed hard. Maybe in the dark, she could still ambush him.

Silently, she crept through the shadows around the man, her rekka at the ready.

"You can't hide from me!" The double bladed katana glowed green in the reflected light from the Lifestream below and Cissnei knelt, considering her chances. After a moment, she readied her weapon, and flicked it through the air with a practiced swing. Seeing it fly out of the shadows in an arc, the man brought up his sword to catch it, but Cissnei was already prepared and cast a Bolt 3 at the ground below him. Something about this man screamed of a fight they hadn't had that long ago on the floor of a frozen crater; something she had no desire to repeat alone. The quickest way around it was to catch him off guard. The ground exploded beneath him and he missed hitting her rekka with his sword as he became distracted by the unexpected fall. Instead, he clawed at the side of the precipice as Cissnei hurried closer, grabbing the rekka out of the air as she ran in for the kill.

The man looked up at her with those eerie green eyes, his expression predatorial, and Cissnei felt a stab of fear that caused her to bring her rekka down as he attempted to climb back up, slicing his arm from his body. Holding on with his other, his eyes flashed with rage. "That hurt, you b…"

Cissnei didn't wait for him to finish, but instead cast another Bolt 3 directly at his heart. He finally let go, too stunned to save himself as he plummeted into the Lifestream below.

Allowing herself to drop to the ground, Cissnei sat back to catch her breath. She didn't know what was going on here, but the anomaly had been dealt with. After a few moments, she walked out into the open and made her way back to the helicopter. She didn't know how to explain what had just happened, but she hoped this was the end of it, because if she hadn't taken him by surprise, she was sure he would have killed her.

* * *

><p><em>Only three chapters left before we begin part III. Hard to believe it. ^^<em>

_Tune in next week as we check in with Tifa! See ya soon!_


	50. Let There Be Light

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spin-offs That honor goes to Square-Enix.

**On the Way to a New Future (Interlude)**

* * *

><p>Chapter 50, Let There Be Light (Case of Tifa, Phase One)<p>

**April 8****th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008**

Tifa was working in the kitchen of Seventh Heaven, humming to herself as she washed dishes and cleaned used glasses. Today would be an exciting day. Freya was bringing Reeve back from Rocket Town with the Tiny Bronco so they could test a small sample of oil that they had found on-site at the power station on Tanis Island. The refining process had just been successfully completed, and they had just enough fuel for a few small barrels.

It had been a long time in coming. From the day when the local villagers had helped them set up the frame for the building in which she would house her establishment to the moment when the sign had been raised on the roof and even now, as she heard the sounds from the shed just to the side of the building where Cloud was working on a special project of his own, she couldn't help but feel peaceful yet excited at the same time.

_It had been about a month or two previously when Cloud finally turned Tanis Island over to his second in command and returned to the lodge, and Zack had almost immediately sent him on a mission to North Corel to find out what the general feeling among the townspeople there was. It had been somewhat muted, even compared to Gongaga's simple inability to defend themselves, but when he had returned a few days later, she was surprised to see he had returned with a few parcels. Tifa had been even more surprised when he placed them all down on the bar. Upon her questioning look, he reached for one bundle in particular, and produced a bottle of Corel Wine. "It's not much, but think of it as a contribution."_

_She'd smiled as they opened the rest of the packages revealing a variety of foodstuffs that she had promptly taken to the icebox in the kitchen. That night, everyone present at the lodge had come and they'd had a nice quiet dinner together, and shared the wine among all who were old enough. They had declared the new Seventh Heaven officially open for business the next day… _

Over the next few weeks or so, Zack had occasionally sent Cloud on other missions, and he'd continued the trend of bringing back extra supplies for the bar whenever he could. It was through this chain of events that the term 'Strife Delivery Service' had become something of a euphemism at the lodge for Cloud's secret missions. The door opened behind her and she saw Aerith walking in with a basket of flowers. She'd taken to bringing a few in for the tables, once she'd gotten enough of them growing at the lodge.

"Good morning!" she called cheerily.

Tifa nodded in reply, and watched as the flower girl came over and gathered some small bud vases from a cabinet behind the bar. "How are preparations coming?" she asked.

"Freya says she's almost to the island and Reeve should have the test barrels ready by this afternoon," Aerith answered.

Tifa nodded sparing a moment to watch the flower girl as she filled the vases with water and delicately arranged a few of the yellow blooms in each one before setting them around the bar. Already the sunbeams coming in from the windows looked brighter with the yellow blooms around the room. She paused to take a sniff appreciatively as Aerith put one of the vases in the middle of the bar. There was definitely something calming about the fragrance.

The ambiance of the room was suddenly interrupted by several clanging sounds coming from beyond a wall. Tifa walked to the door to the outside and called "Cloud? Was that you?"

The man in question stuck his head out the door of the shed. "Knocked over some tools."

Tifa nodded and left it at that. Cloud wasn't going to explain, and she wouldn't make him. She walked back inside to resume her work as Aerith went back to positioning the very last vase. "Oh, that reminds me," the flower girl said after a moment. "Zack wanted to know how long Cloud was going to be here. There was apparently something he wanted to talk to him about."

"He'll probably be here a while," Tifa said. "That project of his has kept him pretty busy and he couldn't work on it at the lodge."

Aerith grinned. They had both been mystified by Cloud's attraction to the large motorcycle, but the story was that after a mission to Kalm during which he'd been shot at while riding a chocobo, much to his concern for the bird, he'd decided he needed a less vulnerable means of transportation. While looking around for alternatives, he'd found something alluring about the machine as it sat outside the home of one of their contacts and thanks to the money he'd saved up through mercenary jobs prior to chasing Sephiroth, he'd managed to have just enough to purchase it. The last week or so had been spent fixing up the vehicle so that it could run the way it was supposed to. Naturally the other guys had been all for it and it hadn't been uncommon for Zack and Kunsel to join him in there.

"Did you know, he's given it a name?" Tifa continued as an afterthought.

"Really?" Aerith gave her a perplexed look.

"Apparently he's calling it Fenrir."

Aerith giggled. "I think it's cute," she said as she gathered up her basket and other belongings. "Anyway, I should be getting back. You'll be there for the big test tonight, won't you?"

TIfa nodded. "Of course. We'll see you there."

The flower girl left soon after and Tifa turned her attention to taking inventory of the storeroom.

* * *

><p>Later that afternoon, Cloud finished working in the shed and the two of them headed back to the lodge so he could clean off the grease stains. Tifa was waiting for him in the living room, when she spotted Zack in the kitchen, looking deep in thought. Curious, she glanced through the door and noticed he was holding a small box in his hand and after a second, he nervously flipped it open, looking at the contents. Said contents caught the light from the window and she took a few steps closer to see.<p>

Nestled in the black felt, glittered a single band of mythril, on which was set a delicately cut clear diamond. It wasn't ridiculously gaudy, nor was it plain by any means, and the way he handled it clearly indicated that it was special.

Upon her approach, Zack looked up and the box clicked shut before he stuffed it back in his pocket like it was a piece of contraband. "Is something wrong?" Tifa asked.

Zack grinned to cover his surprise, and shook his head. "Nothing," he looked around to make sure no one was in earshot before walking by her and whispering "You didn't see anything, okay?"

That was when it dawned on her just what he had meant, and pretended to be more interested in a plate of grapes that sat on the counter for those who cared to nibble on them as they passed. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Zack gave her a look of gratitude as he walked outside. "That's what I want to hear." He paused and then leaned back through the doorway. "We need to get going soon. The boat's gonna take about an hour to get there and we don't want to keep them waiting."

* * *

><p>It was hardly a few minutes later when Tifa and Cloud joined Kunsel, Aerith, and Zack, along with Marlene, Barret, and Jessie, down at the harbor. Once everyone was assembled, they met with the fisherman who was taking them out to the island and soon, everyone boarded and the boat pulled out to sea. The ride was pleasant and smooth and Tifa watched the seagulls overhead in the dying light of sunset, minding the small bundle she carried with her, since it contained some fragile items.<p>

To her surprise, Cloud was out there with her, and he seemed perfectly comfortable. Maybe all the jostling from riding around in the helicopter had cured his motion sickness after all. They didn't talk much, but it was all right. The others more than made up for it, chatting about what Reeve had planned for the evening.

"So he's actually going to try and light up the whole island?" Aerith asked.

"That's what he says. We've got patrols all over the area of course since we don't want Shinra to make the lights a target, but he says that for a few hours, he's going to run the plant and see if the test barrels are refined enough to create the kind of output we want. If it is then that means he's found the right mix and we can have Cid set his equipment in Rocket Town to refine it to those standards," Kunsel said.

"And after that, we go into full production," Zack said. "If we can get this going, it'll open so many more options for people. And then there's all that stuff Reeve was telling us about what he thinks he can do with the leftovers."

Barret said. "Ya mean how he can actually make plastic?"

"Yeah," Kunsel nodded. "Shinra was keeping the secret to that under lock and key, but if the refineries in Rocket Town get it right then we've got ourselves some extra materials to work with."

"Now that's really interesting," Aerith said. "I hope it works."

* * *

><p>Sometime later the boat pulled up to the docks and Tifa saw that Freya was waiting for them. The lady Turk waved as everyone disembarked and walked a little closer. "Glad you finally made it. Reeve's almost set. He's got the first barrel on a controlled burn and he'll be adding the next one soon. Once the fire's hot enough, well, I guess we'll see what happens."<p>

"Great," Zack stretched his good arm and fell in step with her when she gestured that they follow her up the hill. The assault had been pretty simple thanks to their careful planning, and if Tifa hadn't heard the account of taking the power station, she never would have believed this was a battlefield. They walked along a path through a stand of trees and past some bushes, most likely the same ones Cloud's squad had sheltered in while waiting for the signal to move, and up to the main entrance. Freya led them to a tidy lounge area. Inside the room, the furniture had all been moved to the walls so the eye was drawn to a single light bulb in the middle of the ceiling, underneath which had been placed a small table covered with wires. However, the most prominent item on the table was a switch that had been specially wired for the occasion.

Freya walked over to a radio that had been hooked up to a generator and picked up the handset. "Cid, do you read?"

"_Loud and clear! What the hell's takin' you so long?"_ Cid and Shera hadn't thought it prudent to leave Rocket Town at this particular moment, but had wanted to maintain a presence at the event just the same.

"Everyone's here," Freya answered. "We're just waiting on Reeve."

"He's comin' lads." Everyone looked over at the door to see Cait Sith walk in. "He's just checkin' the turbines. He'll be here in just a moment."

The little cat hopped up on the table and sat down, his booted feet hanging over the side. A series of candles lit the room dimly even as the sun was beginning to set over the horizon outside a small window. A couple of minutes passed as they waited and then, at long last, the man of the hour arrived. Dressed in a pair of suit pants but with his coat off revealing that he'd rolled up his shirt sleeves, Reeve walked in. "So everyone's here?"

"Unless we left someone back on the mainland, and I'm pretty sure that didn't happen," Zack answered.

Everyone offered their greetings as it had been a while since most of them had seen Reeve, and then with the departure of the last of the light from the sun, the moment arrived. Reeve deliberately walked over to the table and everyone gathered around. "When I throw this switch," he said. "Every single light in the facility, along with this light here," he gestured to the bulb above them, "should become active. So… cross your fingers." He reached out with both hands and pulled the switch down.

As soon as it was thrown, everyone looked around in surprise. Not only was the one light bulb lit, and constantly glowing, but several other lights had also activated, bringing a warm glow into the room. The lights surrounding them were nothing to the elation on their faces and Tifa, in the heat of the moment, brought her hand out and found Cloud's. He looked down at her in surprise though no one seemed to notice what had passed between them as Zack lifted Aerith up in a joyful one armed hug and Barret was showing Marlene one of the tiny, light-giving bulbs. They stood there for about a minute, with the light driving back the dark and then Cid cleared his throat over the radio.

"_What's goin' on down there? Did it work or did you all drop dead from electrocution?"_

Zack walked over to the radio, his right arm still around Aerith and reached down with his left. "We have light!" he reported. "I repeat, we have light. Commence production as soon as you're ready."

It was at that moment when Tifa produced a surprise out of the bundle she'd been carrying. Two bottles of wine from one of Costa Del Sol's best vineyards. Cloud had brought them home with him on his last mission. Wine glasses were distributed, (even to Marlene, though hers was filled with grape juice), and they spent a couple of hours celebrating before they started towards home.

* * *

><p><strong>April 9<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008**

The next evening, Tifa was working at the bar when the door swung wide open and Zack and Aerith walked in. She didn't need to be a mind reader to know something special had happened tonight. Their expressions were both too misty for what had just happened to be anything but what she was certain had occurred. Their eyes were only for each other, and the ring she'd seen Zack contemplating in the kitchen was now securely around Aerith's finger. "Hey you two," she said. "What can I get you?"

Zack looked up and grinned, and in a voice softer than she'd ever heard from him, he said "Is there any of that wine from last night left?"

"Enough for two glasses," Tifa said.

"Just enough," Zack replied. He and Aerith walked over to a booth and Tifa did her best to make sure the two of them had a good meal and their drinks were filled without getting in their way while they spent most of the evening talking. As tempting as it was to ask, she was pretty sure Aerith would give her the details when the moment was right and she kept herself busy with the other bar patrons so she wouldn't be too tempted to spy on them.

* * *

><p><strong>April 10<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008**

Later that night, Zack and Aerith had already left for the evening, and Tifa had just finished cleaning up for the night. It was in the early morning hours and after closing down the bar for the night, she walked along the empty road towards the familiar path back to the lodge. She walked along for a while until she found her way to the helicopter landing and across it, following the now familiar path of stones until she had reached the main building. She had entered the kitchen to pour herself a glass of water before planning to go to bed when she noticed someone standing out on the porch. Wandering over to the door, she caught sight of the familiar blue glow of Clouds eyes. He was seated in his usual place, leaning against one of the porch's support posts, and looking out at the clearing, his face and hair almost white in the dim light from the stars. "What are you doing up?" she asked.

Cloud shrugged. "Just thinking."

Tifa took a seat next to him on the step. "Do you mind if I join you?" she asked.

"All right…" They sat there for some time in silence when Tifa felt her eyelids begin to droop and after a short while, she allowed her head to rest on his shoulder. A chill autumn breeze played across her exposed arm and she shivered slightly, but then Cloud put his arm around her.

She opened her eyes a little to look up at him and he looked right back at her as though not sure what to do in this situation, his glowing eyes questioning her out of the dark. She smiled shyly. Neither could say afterward who had leaned in first, but at some point, their lips met, and she felt his arm tighten around her, pulling her closer, until she was almost on his lap.

After that, most of what she remembered were sensations. The feel of his warm hands on her back through her shirt, the warmth of his breath, his soft lips against her own, and the silk of his gravity defying hair as it threaded through her fingers. At some point, she felt that cold breeze again, and they spared a moment to relocate to the couch in the living room, but barely a few minutes after curling up together, they fell asleep.

* * *

><p>The first thing Tifa was aware of was the sound of a familiar chuckle and then the smell of coffee. The next thing she became aware of was a light tap on her shoulder. Opening her eyes, she found herself still on the couch, and Aerith looking down at her. "Sorry to wake you," she said with a conspiratorial whisper, "But the others will be coming in any moment and… we thought you might not want the attention…"<p>

"Yeah you two. I mean really, you were pretty adorable lying there, but we figured it was only fair to warn you." She saw another figure standing behind the flower girl and heard Zack's voice attached to it. It was at that moment that Tifa blinked, and suddenly remembered what had happened last night and tried to sit up, blushing furiously. That was when she became aware of Cloud's arm, which had been draped over her shoulder and soon discovered it was rather heavy. The two onlookers chuckled as she tried to untangle herself.

Feeling her stir, Cloud also sat up behind her and the two of them took stock of their situation, horror dawning at the fact that they really had slept through the night, in each other's arms, in a very public part of the lodge where anyone walking through would notice them.

Cloud had not been wearing any armor last night, but his clothes were definitely wrinkled in places. Upon taking inventory of her own appearance, Tifa realized that her suspenders had fallen from her own shoulders and while thankfully her important articles of clothing were still in place, it was not by much and if they lingered too much longer around here, the evidence of what had happened last night would be all too apparent to the lodge's other residents. She felt her face get even more flushed and she hurried to go back to the room she shared with Aerith, and set about tidying herself up as Zack went back to making coffee and Aerith set about getting breakfast going. Cloud was not far behind her, though he disappeared into his own room when they reached the top of the stairs.

When she returned to the living room, her skirt traded out for a pair of cargo shorts, she could hear Aerith happily chatting away with Elmyra in the kitchen. "After we left you here at the lodge he took me out to the beach and suddenly he just started talking about the sky and possibilities. We were looking out at the sea and then the next thing I knew, I'd turned around, and he was holding this ring. Then he said 'Those five years I was gone, and all that time I spent getting back to you, what I wanted more than anything, was to grant that one big wish, and those little twenty three as much as you want. Aerith, I love you so much. Will you marry me?'"

Elmyra was clearly impressed and Tifa smiled as she listened. Zack did seem like the type not to go half measure on such things, and the romantic in her heart said he'd hit all the right notes. She walked past them to get a cup of coffee and then walked outside to find Zack talking to Kunsel. "To tell the truth, I was thinking we could have the wedding in about a month. We talked it over and we thought since Yuffie's been having a hard time in Wutai, we'd have our honeymoon there, and try to help her out talking to her dad."

Kunsel looked concerned. "Are you sure that'll work? I mean, Godo could very easily turn you in."

Freya spoke up at that point. "The thing is, Yuffie's a Shinra war criminal too now, he could have done that already. But it's his daughter and she told him what happened with Sephiroth. One thing she's been telling us is that he wants to meet GUARDIAN's leader, so this is the perfect opportunity. It could be a show of trust. And we need that safe passage on the western shore."

"I guess that makes sense," Kunsel said. "But I still think it's risky."

"So do I, but we need something to happen and he's been stalling way too long," Zack said. "I wasn't quite sure I wanted to plan things that way either since this is supposed to be special, but Aerith agreed that we need to do something, and we should still get a little time to ourselves."

Tifa heard movement behind her and saw Cloud had appeared, having changed into a pair of black pants and a dark blue sleeveless sweater that zipped up in the front. Zack looked up and grinned upon noticing his return. "Just the guy I want to see."

Cloud looked up in surprise as Zack approached. "What is it?"

Zack walked a little closer. "Well, since Aerith and I are getting married, I'm kind of in need of a best man."

* * *

><p><em>Not a particularly action-heavy chapter, in fact by comparison to most of this story it's probably rather fluffy. But I hope it turned out okay.<em>

_And hey, this is chapter 50. Wow, how time does fly._

_Next time we're following Zack as he and Aerith go adventuring in Wutai... oh yeah... and in case you didn't notice there's going to be a wedding! ^^_

_See ya next week!_


	51. Watching the Sun Rise

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spin-offs That honor goes to Square-Enix.

**On the Way to a New Future (Interlude)**

* * *

><p>Chapter 51, Watching the Sun Rise (Case of Zack)<p>

**June 8****th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008**

It was early in the morning, still dark in fact, and Zack was watching the weather with concern and anticipation from the living room. A front had moved in from the west overnight and much to his chagrin, it looked like it was going to rain. Not that it would be the end of the world if it did, but he'd been hoping for clear skies. Really hoping.

He took a deep breath and stretched dramatically, bringing his right arm as high as it could comfortably go, and stepped out onto the grass, pulling out the dark steel broadsword he'd been training with. His right hand was still not good for much combat-wise, at least not on a SOLDIER's level (which brought him no end of annoyance) but as he worked the familiar sword drills left handed, he felt himself slowly start to relax.

He didn't need to be on edge. He'd been on edge enough over the last couple of weeks, since not only had there been the stress of dealing with Shinra's attempt to retake their rubber plantations and a couple of crucial mining facilities on the easternmost island (which had been driven off, but only because he'd managed to rout them along with Cloud and Vincent and their squads), but also because there'd been preparations to make. Until Scarlet's forces withdrew, he'd been worried there might not be a wedding at all today.

He whirled around, thrusting and swinging the blade with a skill that belied how much he'd been practicing. When he'd first tried after picking up the weapon in the village, he'd been embarrassed by the results, since he hadn't been used to working with his off hand as much, but over time, thanks in no small part to his determination and Cloud's immeasurable patience while helping him train, he found himself thinking he was almost as good with his left hand now as he'd been with his right when he'd made 1st Class.

"Zack?" he looked over to see Liam hanging out the back door. "It's almost time."

Sheathing the sword at his side he nodded. "All right, I'm coming."

* * *

><p>Everyone was assembled on a small spit of beach that jutted out into the water. If anyone sailed north, it would take them to the mainland of the Eastern continent in several hours, but Zack and Aerith had selected this spot for a different reason. It was open on all sides except to the south with the ocean feeding into a cove to the west, and just behind them if the weather would just cooperate, they'd have a clear view of the eastern horizon.<p>

Zack stood in front of the village Mayor waiting for everyone to find a spot, with Cloud beside him, and Kunsel as his other groomsman. Everyone had umbrellas just in case the rain broke out, but so far, it looked like it might hold. There was no ring bearer, Cloud had simply been charged with holding the rings, and though Marlene was the flower girl, and Tifa and Freya had been nominated to be bridesmaids, there was no uniformity to anyone's attire. They'd scrounged up the best that could be found, seeing as funds were mostly allocated to the war effort now. Zack for instance was wearing an old suit he'd borrowed from his father, and the girls had simply made use of Freya's access to what clothes she'd been able to rescue from her family's estate. It didn't matter though. He hadn't seen what they'd found for the wedding dress yet, but to Zack, Aerith was the most beautiful woman in the world, no matter what she was wearing, and she was doing him the honor of marrying him. To Zack, that was the entire point of all this anyway.

Wyatt cleared his throat after a moment. "Are we ready to begin?"

"I guess we've held off long enough," Zack agreed.

At Wyatt's signal, Marlene walked through the crowd, spreading petals from Aerith's garden across the sand, and Barret came after her with Aerith on his arm. He'd taken the job of giving the bride away very seriously, in spite of the teasing about it being practice for when Marlene grew up. And when Zack saw his bride to be, his heart melted like it had at the Gold Saucer. The simple white dress she wore only lightly floated across the ground, and there was no veil covering her face, allowing the wind to blow gently through her hair, which flowed freely, an ocean of brown waves released from the ribbon she usually wore. She smiled as their eyes met and he wasn't looking anywhere else the entire time she walked to where he stood.

As the ceremony commenced, Zack was only aware enough to notice when the clouds parted just a little halfway through, lighting the gathering in a series of sunbeams. It was good that someone was there to walk him through what to say because he was so focused on Aerith, he wouldn't be able to remember otherwise. From Cloud handing him the rings, and the two of them going through the final vows before Wyatt said he could finally kiss the bride; it all passed like a dream, culminating when their lips met and everyone cheered. Looking out over the crowd at everyone who had come, he grinned, and held Aerith close. They'd have a short party to celebrate back home, and then they'd be on their way. Cloudy or clear, this was a new beginning for both of them, and he wanted to start it off right.

* * *

><p>The reception had been wonderful even if it wasn't very large. Tifa had supplied the champagne, and they'd gathered in the back yard at the lodge, where Zack's parents had shown them a couple of traditional Gongagan wedding dances. The highlight of the morning had to be when Cloud and Kunsel ended up very patiently trying to talk Yuffie out of instigating a celebratory fight between their summons out on the beach. However, the majority of the time had been spent eating, talking and just enjoying everyone's company. It was now afternoon though, and though they had said most of their goodbyes when leaving the lodge, Cloud, Tifa, Kunsel and Freya had all come to the airship launch to see them off.<p>

"We'll be expecting a full report when you get back," Kunsel said.

"Well of course!" Zack said. "Wutai's gonna be great… oh, hang on a second," That was when he reached for a small bag he'd brought with him. "I almost forgot."

He produced a couple of parcels. "I know Aerith had a couple of things for the bridesmaids, but I got you guys a little something too."

He handed Cloud and Kunsel the two gifts. "Go ahead."

Unwrapping the parcel, Cloud couldn't help but smile at what it contained and Zack grinned. "I thought it fit, since you'd been calling your motorcycle Fenrir and all."

Cloud lifted up the heavy decorative emblem and looked it over, taking in the burnished steel wolf's head with the ring in its mouth, and the single earring with the same design nestled in a different fold of the wrappings along with a couple of pins with the same design.

It had been among some supplies that had been smuggled in from Kalm, and upon seeing it Zack had snatched it up immediately, thinking he knew exactly what to do with them along with the package that Kunsel was also opening.

When the ex-SOLDIER took the object out of the wrappings for everyone to see, it became apparent to everyone else that it was similar, however, this one was bronze and bore the image of a griffon, its talons outstretched to strike at an enemy. A bronze decorative chain also lay within the package. "Thanks," Kunsel said. "They're really nice."

Cloud nodded in agreement. "You didn't have to…" he said.

"Hey," Zack said, "You guys have always had my back. It's the least I could do. Especially since I'm leaving you in charge while we're gone."

"Guess you have a point there," Kunsel agreed.

At that point, hugs and handshakes were exchanged, and Tifa deftly prevented Yuffie from stealing Ramuh, before Zack, Aerith, and the ninja joined Cid and Shera aboard the Highwind. Not long after they were underway.

* * *

><p>The ride passed smoothly and it was nearly nightfall when Cid brought the Highwind to a halt near the outskirts of a settlement north of Wutai's capitol. Once the rope ladder was lowered over the side, Zack brought their supplies down to where Aerith was waiting and he was almost to the ground when Cid called down to him "You two lovebirds be careful, ya hear?"<p>

"Don't worry gramps! I'll take good care of'em!" Yuffie replied.

"That's what I'm afraid of. I'll come back for'em and find'em in their underwear 'cause everything got stolen!" Cid teased.

"What kind of person do you think I am?!" Yuffie called back before looking innocently up at Zack "But seriously, could I at least have Odin for taking you guys to where you're staying?"

Zack sighed and shook his head before ruffling her hair and gathering up the two suitcases they'd brought with them. "Nice try."

Aerith giggled as Yuffie pretended to be offended. "Well see if I help you guys from now on," she huffed.

Zack chuckled. "Come on Yuffie, don't be like that. So, where are we going?"

They traveled through the town, taking in the various shops and houses but they didn't linger. Instead, Yuffie took them to the outskirts where a small path lay up the mountainside, giving them a clear view of the Da Chao statues carved into the cliffside near the capitol, across the valley. Zack had seen them once, near the end of the Wutai war, shortly after he'd been deployed here, when they were celebrating their victory, but his mind had been too focused on the fact that Angeal had been missing to enjoy the sights. Now, it was like he was seeing them for the first time in the dying afternoon light, and the vista was quite spectacular. Aerith too had stopped to take it in and seeing the look of wonder on her face was almost as incredible as the view.

After a moment or two, they continued onward until Yuffie led them to a small Wutaian cottage on the mountainside. When she slid the door open, they found themselves looking at a simple room with a firepit, surrounded by tatami mat floors adjacent to another partition that could be accessed by sliding screens. Yuffie kicked off her shoes and walked to the partition drawing back the screen and revealing the futons that were folded up in the back. Following her lead, they entered the place and Zack deposited their belongings in the sleeping area before Yuffie looked at them expectantly.

"So, now what?" she asked.

"Well, I think now… we'll get settled in and maybe take a little time to relax for a while, it's been a long trip, and we had an early morning too." Zack said.

"Well if that's all, I guess I'll just head home, I'll see you guys when you come to the capitol…" Yuffie paused as something occurred to her and her eyes narrowed with suspicion. "Wait a minute, you're not planning on doing… _that_… now… are you?"

Aerith blushed and even Zack was a little taken aback by Yuffie's forwardness with the question. It took him a second to answer, folding his arms as he did so and doing his best to keep his voice calm. "If we are… that's… none of your business and all the more reason you don't want to be here. It _is_ our wedding night after all."

Yuffie's eyes radiated wickedness and she gave them a lewd grin. "Well… maybe I _do_ want to stick around."

Zack wanted to facepalm. But when it came to dealing with situations like this, one quality he was known for was exceptional patience. Otherwise, nothing would have made him think it was possibly worth it to play along with Yuffie's messages when she'd been younger, no matter how terrible he would have felt if she'd been eaten by a Behemoth.

That being said, there were limits.

"We'll see you in a few days Yuffie," he said. With that, he walked forward, and gently steered the girl out of the cottage before shutting the door. They waited for a few moments before Aerith checked out the window.

"Is she gone?" Zack asked.

"She stalked down the road in a huff, but about halfway down the hill, she looked like she was laughing about something," Aerith said.

"That could either be very good, or very bad," Zack hedged. Either way, he didn't really care right now. After a moment he sat down on one of the mats near the firepit. "So, what should we do? It's still early."

Aerith sat down next to him. "Well, I'm for taking a little time to get settled and then… why don't we go for a walk and see what happens? I saw this restaurant near the center of town that might be a good place to eat; maybe we could stop there too."

Zack considered for a moment and then nodded. "Sounds like a great idea. I know you'll love the food they have around here. If you thought the Wutaian places back in Midgar were something, it's nothing on the real thing."

Aerith tucked her right hand into his left, and squeezed it happily. "I know I will."

* * *

><p>After taking an hour or so to get unpacked and rest a little after the trip, they spent some time strolling around the village, looking in shop windows and marveling at the sculptures on street corners. They chatted about anything and everything from the differences between Wutaian and Eastern Continental customs to the meaning of the Wutaian symbols written on the brilliantly painted street signs. There was a small festival going on in the main square, and they watched as, bathed in the warm glow of paper lanterns, a troupe of street performers waltzed a lacquered dragon through the streets behind what was definitely a heavily gilded and brightly painted representation of Leviathan. Soon after, the dancers were followed by smaller statues of the figures carved into the Da Chao cliffs on palanquins. Fireworks lit the star-studded sky as they wandered through the streets and after a wonderful supper, they found themselves walking back up the hillside towards the small cottage, happy and full.<p>

Aerith leaned into Zack's embrace as they walked, smiling as he held her close. "That was wonderful," she said.

"Yeah," Zack said. "Maybe tomorrow, we can check out the mountains. There are some incredible shrines near Fort Tamblin and it's only a little to the southwest of here."

"Was that where… Wutai surrendered?" Aerith asked.

Zack nodded. "It shouldn't be a problem though. I have to admit I was a little surprised Yuffie didn't insist on meeting up with us so she could show us around. I could understand the Fort, since even though that's where we met, it's also got some painful memories for her, but as proud as she is of her country, I would have thought she would have wanted to show us how great the rest of it is herself."

"I actually was too," Aerith said, thoughtfully. "Though I guess that's neither here nor there. We can worry about plans tomorrow."

It was true, Zack thought. After all, they were nearing the cottage. He reached into his pocket for a key and then realized something about the bangle which he had put in there for safe keeping felt a little… different… Curiously, he checked it and then proceeded to utter a curse Cid would be proud of.

"What is it?" Aerith asked.

"Odin's missing…"

Aerith walked over to the partition where the futons were kept. "Yuffie. She probably said those things to get a rise out of us so she could do it while you were distracted," she said. "But it's late. We'll just have to talk to her about it when we see her. We know she hasn't gone far."

"Yeah," Zack agreed. "As much as she loves materia, I doubt she'd try to sell it off or anything. Still, I can't believe her sometimes." He pulled open the door and, pulling off their boots, they stepped inside. After hunting around for a switch he turned on one of the small electric lights, illuminating the room. "But you're right." He let out a sigh, and undid the belt to the sheath for his light broadsword. "I think we'll still be okay." He then moved to help her and afterward they took a moment or two to get ready for bed before he sat down on his futon.

Aerith joined him. "Of course we will." She put her arms around him and the warm light reflected in her green eyes. Zack returned the embrace and before he knew it, the two of them had come together, their lips joining in a deep kiss as he felt her hands running along his back, his shoulders, his chest, gently caressing him as he returned in kind.

"You know," he said, pausing after a little while, "even if the doc said it's still safe, I was a little afraid I might hurt you… enhanced strength and all…" he said. "Are you sure it'll be okay?"

"You won't," she answered with a gentle smile, smoldering with passion in a way that made resisting his own instincts all the more difficult. "And it'll be fine…" she leaned in for another soft kiss before murmuring in a soothing voice, "I love you."

Not long after, as the crickets chirped outside and the first fireflies of the year illuminated the woods, Zack spared a moment to switch off the light before they snuggled under the covers together…

* * *

><p><strong>June 9<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008**

The next morning, Zack awoke to find Aerith curled up next to him on the futon, and moving carefully so as not to wake her, he looked around to find what he knew to be a yukata on the shelf nearby. His time stationed here during the war along with Yuffie's talk of the place on their journeys together had at least told him that. Donning it, he soon located a pot, filled it with water from the sink that stood in an alcove off the main area, and after going through their belongings, he produced a small package of coffee which he proceeded to brew mountain style over a small flame in the firepit. Further investigation of the storage area where a small refrigerator stood also revealed a small pan and a grill, which he also placed over the fire after spreading out a few of the coals.

A year on the run with Cloud, coupled with the time spent hunting Sephiroth had ensured that he had become quite good at cooking up breakfast in rugged conditions, if he did say so himself, even if Elmyra and the ladies liked to take care of it at home, and this morning, he'd wanted to do something special. He had paid attention when it was Yuffie's turn on kitchen duty since even she knew a thing or two about camp cooking (otherwise she probably would have starved to death while traveling as a child), and now, after locating a few skewers and the appropriate ingredients, he set about making use of that knowledge.

Soon, next to his improvised coffee pot he also had a small pot of rice cooking along with a couple of fish grilling on short skewers speared into the ashes while he set about cooking up a few eggs in the pan. It was simple. He certainly didn't have enough knowledge of Wutai cuisine to attempt that miso soup Yuffie used to rave about when talking about her home, but with the rice vinegar and sugar he'd asked her to have ready, he was at least able to make sure what he was doing with the eggs was authentic.

Shortly after he'd started, he saw Aerith stir and she got up to join him after finding a yukata of her own. "That looks good," she said after watching him for a while.

"I'm hoping it'll be," he said, taking the fish off the grill and allowing it to cool on a plate while he finished with the rice.

There was a thump on the door at that moment, and Aerith stood, adjusting her yukata before checking to see what the noise was. When she returned she was carrying a small jar. At Zack's questioning look, she shrugged and showed it to him. "I think it had to be Yuffie. There was a small rock sitting on the step next to… whatever this is."

Zack looked at contents through the glass, and laughed. "Pickles," he said when Aerith looked at him for an explanation. "Angeal used to joke about it all the time while we were here. The Wutaians pickle everything. And they eat them with everything." He unscrewed the lid and taking a pair of chopsticks, he pulled out one of the bite-sized vegetables contained in the jar so she could take a closer look.

Upon examining it, her gaze went back to the side of the jar. "Hey, she left us a message." She pulled free a slip of paper taped to the side, which Zack had at first mistaken for a label:

_Hey idiot,_

_I was so busy messing with you I forgot to leave this on the porch. On the day we're planning to meet to talk to my Dad, I'll be at Okazaki Sensei's on the road to the capitol. There's something I want to show you._

_See you there, _

_Yuffie_

"Nothing about Odin though," Zack commented. After a moment, he shrugged and turned his attention to pouring the rice into a couple of bowls and offering Aerith a plate with some eggs and one of the fish.

* * *

><p><strong>June 11<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008**

The next couple of days flew by in a blink as there was just so much to do. They went hiking and found their way to a huge waterfall that cascaded down over several ledges of rock. They also explored the village some more, and yesterday, they had wandered along the roads to the north together, exploring the vast amount of temples and shrines along the roads. Most of the people they'd met had been polite to them, but Zack was pretty sure they'd maintained a distance. It was understandable. Many of them had grown up fearing people like him, and even though his right arm was obviously useless in combat, they still knew a SOLDIER's strength all too well. He could not deny that SOLDIER had been the very backbone of Wutai's defeat. It would be a long time before anyone could forget that.

Today however, they had packed a lunch and were walking southwest. Fort Tamblin was nestled in a valley a short walk in that direction. Zack hadn't exactly walked there on foot before, since he and Angeal had been airlifted to the combat zone, but that only made it more of an adventure. They walked along the path, talking about this and that while the mountains rose up around them. The sky was as clear as he'd ever seen it, and as they passed a cottage by the road, Aerith noticed the front yard sported a well-kept garden of local flowers and stopped to take a look.

One thing that grabbed her attention immediately was the flowering bushes that formed a hedge around the property. What had caught her eye was the fact that some of the blooms were pink while others on the same bush were as blue the sky above them. "How do they do that?" she wondered aloud stepping a little closer to investigate.

"Its differences in the soil," a voice answered.

They looked up to see a slightly older man, probably in his late forties and dressed in traditional Wutaian garb standing at the door to the cottage. Aerith looked thoughtful. "That's interesting. Is this… your garden?"

"My wife's," the man answered and that was when his eyes landed on Zack and the SOLDIER saw his posture stiffen suspiciously, even though he wasn't wearing the uniform. Not that it was unexpected. His eyes were a dead giveaway. "Is there something you need?" The man asked.

Zack rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly and tried to affect his usual friendly demeanor. "Not really, we were just passing through and thought the flowers looked nice. We didn't mean any harm."

The older man continued out to the gate and Zack noticed he was walking with a cane. "I see." He locked it as he stepped outside and even though the suspicion was still in his eyes, he started walking down the road, coincidentally in the direction they were going.

After a moment, Aerith called out to him. "Excuse me, sir?" The man looked behind him and Aerith asked quickly "Is this the road to Fort Tamblin?"

"It is," the man said. "I am going to the village near there."

"Do you mind if we follow you?" Zack asked.

The man shook his head. "I don't." He continued along the path and Zack and Aerith moved to catch up.

They continued on in an uncomfortable silence for a bit until up ahead, Zack recognized the walls and battlements surrounding the last Wutaian stronghold. When he'd been here last, it had been deadly quiet until B unit had provided the distraction so they could infiltrate. It had been so simple back then, create as much mayhem as possible so Angeal could set the explosives at the main gate. That was all he had to do. Of course then, Angeal had vanished without a trace… It was the last time he'd seen his mentor where he'd been truly certain the man had been on his side, up until the moment when he'd thrust the Buster Sword into his hands as he lay dying in Modeoheim…

He missed the weight of it on his back, he had to admit. But it was all right. Cloud was taking good care of it, and he wasn't completely back just yet (though the others seemed convinced he thought he was, judging by how jumpy they seemed to get whenever he tried to do… well... anything). He hoped it would be soon though. He'd tried a practice swing with it while they'd been out training recently, and even though he hadn't been nearly as accurate favoring his left hand as he would like, he had managed to withstand locking blades with Kunsel for several seconds.

He felt for the broad sword at his hip. It wasn't even the length of the standard broadswords the SOLDIERs started with, and while he'd picked it because it was well-balanced and light enough that he could work with it easily while training his left hand to be dominant, it still felt a little odd to not have to carry it on his back.

They soon neared the front gate, and he remembered the rush as he'd leapt over it to take the Wutai foot soldiers within the walls. That wasn't necessary now. The fort was empty, and the gate was wide open. The older man had continued walking without noting his departure, and after a moment, they walked through the gates.

Navigating through the corridors, Zack noted that the installation remained well kept, in spite of the years since Wutai's defeat, but at the same time, there was something… off… Wordlessly, he walked ahead of Aerith, a couple of steps.

"Is something the matter?" Aerith asked.

He shrugged. "I don't know. It's probably just that it's been a while since the war. Maybe I just expected this place to be less…" He couldn't finish the thought before they walked under a bridge and suddenly found themselves at the courtyard in front of the main building at the far end from the main gate. That was when it hit him. There was a souvenir cart in the corner selling charms, and the paint on the walls was much too fresh and bright. Off to the side, was a small plaque written in Wutaian and Eastern script talking of Shinra's valiant opening of the West to mako power. Zack looked to his right and saw the statue of Leviathan and walked over to it. He remembered it almost like yesterday.

How as he had approached it, a member of the Crescent Unit had tried to talk to him about defecting. Offering to pay him what little they could… but he thought he'd made his decision. He'd agreed to become Shinra's lapdog, and he'd chosen at that time to stand on that decision. Even so, he'd spared the man's life.

"_Why do you not finish me?" The man had asked._

Even now, he wasn't sure. The man had tried to kill him, though when their fight had ended, he'd been in no position to continue. Even then, he was cursing Zack's existence, telling him the Crescent Unit would have his head… Now Zack looked up at the Leviathan statue and that was when he realized some things. This wasn't the same statue. The plaque in front of the fountain was missing too. Instead there was a little sign off to the left about how it was a wishing pool and if you threw a gil in Leviathan would grant it. Kneeling to take a closer look, he reached out with his good hand to tap at the base of the statue. It felt hollow and the echo carried for a couple of seconds.

"Where is it?" he wondered.

"Where's what?" Aerith asked.

"This isn't the statue that was here before," he murmured. "It used to be made of stone," he looked over it critically. "And it was much better made too."

Zack turned around and looked up at the door to the main building. It was here that he'd met Yuffie too. She'd been standing right there, barely nine years old and glaring at him defiantly. Determined that she was going to defeat him. Perhaps he'd been a little more indulgent than he should have, humoring her and pretending to be defeated, but she'd been so little back then. She was still small now, but back then she'd been positively tiny.

He shook his head and sighed. "I'm not sure I want see what the inside of the main building looks like. It didn't look like this when we were here. It feels… wrong… somehow…"

"Then we don't have to go," Aerith said.

Zack nodded and turned to leave. This wasn't the Wutai he remembered. Granted, back then, he'd had his orders and done what Shinra had told him to, and that had been fine with him. But as time had gone on, he did respect the Wutaians in his own way. Their tenacity in trying to track him down after the battle had certainly been admirable, if frustrating. To see this place all done up like it was some kind of… he didn't want to say theme park, because the Gold Saucer this certainly wasn't, but he couldn't think of the word for it. It was as though it was hollow and soulless as that statue, if that made any sense.

As they walked out the main gate, they caught sight of the same man walking back towards home, a pair of radishes in a basket. He looked up and asked coldly "Did you see what you came to see?"

"No," Zack answered. "Not exactly."

The man looked surprised. "Then what are you looking for?"

"I'm not sure. I was here at the end of the war…"

"Yes I know," the man said. "You were that mad devil Shinra set loose while they blew our gates," they had walked a short ways away from the fort now and had turned back onto the same road by which they'd come. "After I asked you if you'd join us, I was certain you'd kill us all and the princess too."

"Mad devil?" Aerith looked at the man curiously.

"What else could you call him? SOLDIERs can be cruel, efficient killing machines if they take a mind to it, and he cut through our men as a katana slices a leaf," the man said completely unapologetic. "Yet I'm sure he probably regretted not killing me, as many times as the Crescent Unit went after him."

That was when Zack really looked at the man for the very first time. "You were… that captain…"

The man laughed, though there was no humor in it. "I'm curious how it came about that a ghost is causing Shinra so much trouble, and I wonder, why he's decided to come back and haunt us?"

"It's complicated," Zack said. "But we're here because we just got married and..."

"And you wanted to show her the place where you defeated us…" the man said.

Zack shook his head. "She knows what I did, both the good and the not so good," he said. "So no. I just wanted to show her what Wutai was like. All of it. Not just the souvenir shops and the fake statues. As much as we put this country through and what it put me through, I figure I owe you guys at least that much."

The man was quiet until they reached his house. As they approached, he walked to the flower bush and drawing a knife, he cut off two clusters of the flower blossoms, one blue, and one pink and presented them to Aerith. "We call these Ajisai, I hope the two of you will be happy together," he turned to Zack. "There is a path up the mountain behind us a little to the north of here. If you want to show her the true Wutai, climb to the summit before dawn tomorrow. That is for what you said on the way here."

With that, he walked to the door of his house and Zack saw a woman peering out at them. Her arm was wrapped in a bandage with a black stain upon it, but the man still embraced her lovingly before walking into the house and shutting the door behind him.

* * *

><p><strong>June 12<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008**

Early the next morning, the two of them got up early, as the man said. It was a little precarious, negotiating the rocks, but it didn't take nearly as long as they had feared. When they finally reached the summit, the grey sky of dawn was just giving way to a bright flame. As the two of them watched, the great fiery orb pushed its way over the horizon, slowly but surely lifting away the shadows night had cast over the hills and valleys below, revealing a patchwork of rice paddies, homes and villages spreading far out towards the ocean. Zack held Aerith close so she wouldn't be cold as they sat together on a rock as the far east had started burning a bright red, and over them, while the stars slowly faded out one by one, the sky was colored by the lightening blue hues of the Planet's atmosphere.

Aerith leaned into Zack's embrace and sighed happily. "I think this is all I could want really."

"This sunrise?" Zack asked.

She shook her head and planted a kiss on his cheek. "To be able to share more of them."

Zack looked out over the valley, warmed by her words in spite of the morning chill, and his eyes fell on the Da Chao cliffs, and their huge statues, just starting to be lit up by the sun's rays and to the south of them, the capitol lay. There was still much work to be done, but for now, he would enjoy this wedding gift just a little while longer.

* * *

><p>It didn't take them long to gather their belongings at the cottage and soon they were walking along the southern road towards the capitol. It took even less time for them to reach the forge. Even though they had nothing pressing about which to speak to Gin Okazaki, its current proprietor, it was a convenient meeting point, and if the discussions with Lord Godo went well, they would be returning here to be picked up by the Highwind since the day they were planning to leave was also the day the smith had reported Cloud's swords would be ready.<p>

That was neither here nor there though. As they reached the road leading off the main path to the forge, they saw Yuffie standing in the road waiting for them. She waved innocently. "Hey guys! Did you have fun?"

"We sure did, but if you don't mind my asking, what did you do with Odin?" Zack was doing his best not to be stern with the pointed question.

Yuffie surprised him when, instead of laughing and trying to deflect, she instead gave him a serious look. "This is more important."

They walked a bit further south before Yuffie turned them down a side road that looked like it skirted around the outer edge of the capitol. They continued on, through a series of rice paddies dotted by the occasional hut or wayside teahouse before they finally came to a spot somewhat removed from everywhere, and that was when Yuffie stopped. Just up ahead, there was a lone hut, probably not large enough for more than ten people. A boy, maybe a little older than Yuffie sat outside, leaning against the wall, swathed in darkened bandages. He looked up and when he spotted her he smiled. "Are these your friends Yuffie?"

She nodded and walked up to him. "How are you doing Yuri?"

"About the same," the boy said. She nodded and continued forward, ushering them under the small lean-to in front of the door.

"What is it Yuffie?" Aerith asked.

The White Rose of Wutai stopped at the entrance of the hut and thrust it open so they could see the interior. Peering into the gloom, they saw four or five other figures curled up on pallets, some were moaning in pain, others simply rested. All were swathed in the same bandages.

"It's Geostigma," Aerith said and that was when she looked up at Zack. "You need to get back, the last thing we need is for you to catch it."

Zack caught sight of the ninja princess looking up at him, her eyes wide with worry. After a moment she closed the door again. "When I was little," she said. "People used to tell stories of how Wutai was a lot more crowded and important. But you've seen it, haven't you? Even the capitol… it's nothing but a resort town now… After we lost the war, we got peace, but with that, we lost something else. Now look at us, Zack. I know you aren't a mean guy, but… sometimes… when I think about what happened…" she walked back to the road with tears in her eyes and he could see these weren't the crocodile tears she'd sometimes pull to get her way. "When I first started traveling with you, all I wanted was your materia… even before that, when I ran away from home too… but now…"

She turned away from him, looking out at the windblown grass surrounding the path on which they stood. "First we lost what we were, and now we're dealing with this. I want your help to put it back… " She turned around and looked hard at him. "If you promise you'll do that for me, and help me find a materia that'll cure this, then I'll give you back Odin."

Zack sighed and shook his head, taking a step closer to her and ruffling her hair. "Yuffie, sometimes I'm convinced you're crazier than all of us," he started. "You know, even if we weren't dealing with the same problems, all you had to do was ask."

"That's right," Aerith agreed before adding "even if you are a bit of a kleptomaniac sometimes, we still want to help."

Yuffie looked up at him again as Aerith moved to give her a hug and she reached into her pocket to reveal the red materia and drop it in Zack's awaiting palm.

"There, that wasn't so bad, now was it?" Zack said, slipping Odin back in its slot on his bangle. "So come on, let's go talk to your Dad, and see what we can figure out, and maybe we can find a way to take down Shinra while we're at it…" He cleared his throat as he caught the ninja's hand before she could reach for the materia slots on Aerith's bangle. "But we'll have no more of that, thanks."

Yuffie tried to scowl at him, but it was lost between trying to still look cute and pathetic, and trying not to laugh at the same time.

* * *

><p>The room where they met with Lord Godo was beautifully decorated, lined with wall screens on all but one side which overlooked a courtyard with a koi pond and several small trees, and Zack did his best to remember everything he could of what Freya and Cissnei had told him about proper etiquette for addressing royalty while Aerith sat at his right and Yuffie sat at his left. It wasn't that he thought he would be rude, but accidents could happen, and this wasn't something he could afford to screw up. Safe passage for the blockade runners across the ocean to Western Mideel from Wutai's shores was riding on this. Having the alternate sea route would negate Rufus's blockade, and that on its own could determine the fate of the other things they were currently dealing with.<p>

The man sitting on the platform at the head of the large room in which they were holding their meeting had a long dark beard and was dressed in ostentatious purple robes that looked very much unlike the traveling attire he and Aerith were wearing, or Yuffie's usual clothes. The other thing he noticed about Yuffie's father was that he was looking upon them with a very stern expression. Zack was not a diplomat, but he didn't need to be one to be sure that was not a good sign. Initially, the plan had been to come here first, but Yuffie had not been able to make arrangements to that affect. Freya had been quick to interpret that to mean Godo felt he had the upper hand in this negotiation, but Zack was determined. He would give this his all.

It was at that moment that Lord Godo spoke. "So you are the SOLDIER that seeks to destroy Shinra. Yuffie has spoken much about you to me."

"I hope it was mostly good things," Zack said, then remembered he was supposed to be respectful and added "I-it's an honor that you were willing to talk to us…" he struggled to recall the correct form of address before settling on "…sir."

If Godo approved or disapproved of his manner of speaking he didn't show it. "There are many warriors who have attempted what you wish to do. Even my own efforts to bring an end to their reign were for naught. What makes you think such a thing is possible?"

Yuffie squirmed and Zack considered his answer before he spoke. "The fact that we've held the line as well as we have the last few months tells me that it's more than possible. Even though they have put up a blockade around the southern strait, after Fort Condor fell, we've managed to hold steady both in Mideel and along the south and western shores of the Western Continent. Everyone pretty much cleared out of Nibelheim and Rocket Town's ours. If our supplies to Mideel just had safe passage, I can guarantee you we could turn that holding into advancing, if we have enough time. Your people would be free to…"

"And what would you do once Shinra falls?" Godo interrupted.

"Find a way to let people live in peace…" Zack started but Godo shook his head.

"I've seen many like you in my time. They claim they want to improve the people's lives as Shinra once said, but once the war is won, what then?"

Zack did his best to remain calm even though he could already tell things weren't going so well. "They'll have freedom."

"Freedom. What kind of freedom? What cost will you impose on those you conquer? And how will order be kept? Do you choose to become another strongman, keeping control over his territory with an iron fist?"

"If I do follow through…" Zack started and then decided to change his statement though he couldn't help but feel a little impatient now. "No. When I follow through…"

"You won't," Godo said standing from his seat. "You may have people who follow you. But to destroy Shinra, it will take more than just men. Without greater powers on your side, all you'll do is send them to their deaths."

"I have never sent anyone to do something I wouldn't do myself," Zack said. His tone bordered on anger now and it was all he could do to shout his answer.

"And yet you have the nerve to send my own daughter to ask me to incite another war when such a thing would be pointless. She is not your vassal, and as the Princess of Wutai, I no longer want her involved in your petty schemes for power. Right now, we must protect what we have. We have no quarrel with Shinra, and much greater problems."

"When did we start talking about me?" Yuffie demanded, standing up, and clearly annoyed.

Zack did his best to ignore the ninja as he tried to continue. "You mean like the Stigma?" he asked.

Godo looked at him appraisingly but didn't answer. Instead, it was Aerith who spoke. "If that's what you're talking about, you aren't alone. We have doctors trying to figure out what's going on with that even now… we could share what we've learned with you…"

"At the risk of Shinra coming down upon our heads with further war?!" Godo demanded. "I will not have it." He looked at Zack and the distrust in his eyes was easily apparent. "Have not these glowing-eyed devils done enough to this country, Shinra or not?"

"It's about the fact that I'm a SOLDIER then?" Zack asked, his eyes narrowed even as he tried to keep from getting angry. "You know I can't change that. I made my choice…"

Aerith was speaking too, and she actually did sound a little angry. "Just because he is a SOLDIER, that doesn't make him any less human! If that's your reason…"

"No it's not," Yuffie said angrily, stepping in front of them, a scowl apparent on her face. "It's because he's afraid and doesn't think you can do it. He also thinks you led me on."

"That's ridiculous," Zack said. "If anything, you followed us."

"It doesn't matter. He's still a coward." She pointed at her father. "Old Man! Today's the day! I'm climbing the pagoda, and then, when I've beaten all our best warriors I'm coming back here. You'll see who's right when I prove I'm the strongest of them all!"

With that, she stormed out of the room.

Even with his attempt to conceal it, Zack clearly heard Godo utter an exasperated sigh. "Yuffie… how can I make you understand…?"

"It's all right," he offered. "We know she can be a handful sometimes." All further communication was adjourned for the time being as Zack and Aerith walked out of the building after the departing ninja.

* * *

><p><em>A little bit of trivia for those so inclined.<em>

_In case you wondered, Ajisai is a real bush, though in English, it's called a Hydrangea, and they do put out blooms of different colors in certain species. The colors can range between blue and pink depending on the acidity of the soil, and these changes will even occur on the same bush._

_Also, not a lot of people will probably know Yuri unless they read "Case of Yuffie" from "On the Way to a Smile" but he makes a brief cameo here. _

_I'm sure a lot of you out there are cheering at the fact that Yuffie does get to scale the pagoda next time. ^^_

_See you then!_


	52. Moving Beyond the Past

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spin-offs That honor goes to Square-Enix.

**On the Way to a New Future (Interlude)**

* * *

><p>Chapter 52, Moving Beyond the Past (Case of Yuffie)<p>

**June 12****th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008**

Yuffie was furious as she marched towards the pagoda at the end of the courtyard. She had hoped her dad might not act like such a pathetic jerk around Zack; that the ex-SOLDIER might even be able to get him to see things her way. But even Zack, incredibly gullible, happy-go-lucky, idiot Zack, with patience that would rival that of the ancestors was no match for her father's cowardice. It was infuriating, and she was tired of sitting around and taking it. She'd fought Sephiroth and lived to tell about it! She wasn't going to let this stand in her way! The White Rose of Wutai could not allow it! She'd show them all!

"Yuffie!" Aerith called after her and soon she and Zack had caught up to her.

"You didn't have to storm off like that. I'm sure we could have talked it out," Zack said.

She shook her head and continued to scowl. "No, I'm gonna teach him a lesson, you'll see!" She brandished her bangle and the materia she had glittered within it. Titan, the Curaga Zack had let her have when he'd switched to a Restore, the Poison materia Tifa had let her have when she'd mastered hers, and a Barrier materia she'd purchased before coming here, along with an Ice she had dutifully mastered after someone else had let it go since their mastered materia was all they needed. She had the spare from mastering it too, but she didn't need more than one.

Once she'd shown them she continued her march to the pagoda. "You don't have to do anything in there," she said over her shoulder. "I just want you to watch me."

She walked up the stairs and threw open the doors before them before marching up to the old man that was meditating on the other side of the room. He looked up and saw her figure in the glare coming in from the outside and only barely squinted. "Yuffie, what a surprise. Are you planning to climb the pagoda today?"

"Yeah, that's it. And I want these two here as witnesses," Yuffie said sticking her thumb at Zack and Aerith.

The man nodded and walked to the stairs. "The princess wishes to climb the pagoda." He walked to a position in front of them. "I, sacred Gorky, will be your opponent on the first floor."

At that point, Shake, the young girl who waited on the second floor appeared. "Yo! I'll be watching your fight!"

"Put a sock in it!" Yuffie taunted.

"What's got you so worked up?" the younger girl demanded, but took a position on the right side of the room.

"Now, we begin!" Gorky said. As everyone finished finding a place to watch and Yuffie and Gorky met in the center of the ring, the old man made a series of symbols with his hands. "Power… Change!"

In a puff of smoke the old man vanished to reveal a demonic Valron hovering in the air on a pair of wide bat wings. Yuffie assumed a low fighting stance and she cast from her Barrier materia before she leapt out of the Valron's way, running up the wall in a flash to gain purchase on one of the window ledges. The Valron flew after her but was surprised when instead of fleeing, she leapt at him, delivering a hard kick to his gut, knocking him out of the air and landing in a crouch on the other side of the room. At that point, a barrier spell also took shape around Gorky's Valron form and he picked himself up preparing to cast again. She couldn't let him, and so she called on an Ice 3 which collapsed around him like breaking glass. He backed away, but continued working the spell, and Yuffie felt exhaustion beginning to overtake her almost at the same time she connected with her shuriken.

"Hey! That's not nice!" she said, going for Curaga and then she saw he was going for a Dive Kick.

"Oh no! Not happening!" she called to the transfigured demon. Rolling out of his way, she threw her shuriken to divert his attention before landing a punch to his gut. Almost immediately, the demon disappeared to reveal the old man, clearly exhausted. "And here I thought you were just a wild girl…" he mumbled, before sitting down on the floor to rest. Shake went up the stairs to get ready for the next fight, though Yuffie was pleased to see she looked a little afraid.

She gestured that Zack and Aerith follow her up the stairs after the girl. As they found a place to watch on the next landing, Yuffie walked to the center of the room and narrowed her eyes. She hadn't expected this. "All right, who's really next?" she demanded.

Shake frowned indignantly. "I'm right here!"

Yuffie laughed. "I have to fight a punk kid? This is stupid!"

"Well at least I'm more of an adult than some arrogant princess!" Shake taunted.

"Oh really?" Yuffie shot back, leering over her opponent.

Shake looked right back up at her, wagging her finger in her face. "You see? That's why you're trying to climb, and I'm going to put you back in your place. Don't pat yourself on the back until you beat me."

Yuffie scowled at her and readied her shuriken. "Just watch me!"

Shake simply laughed and retorted "'bout the only thing you do really good is breathe. Sure you're brave enough to back up that tough talk?"

"Stop yappin!" Yuffie demanded. "Are we gonna fight or not?!"

"I'm just surprised someone got past Gorky." As Shake spoke a woman walked down the stairs to the next level to observe. "I guess it's time for Chekov to watch us." Nodding to the woman, Shake took a couple of steps onto the mat and then took stance, making a couple of quick hand motions. "Speed! Change!"

Shake did not last a minute. Titan pretty much wiped her out in one quick casting. Chekov followed with little trouble. Yuffie was quickly proving that this pagoda was out of its league. Why had she not done this earlier? Perhaps in her mind she'd still been thinking that there was something she needed to do before she was ready. Snag everyone's materia maybe, but here she was, doing just as well on her own.

She had made it to the fourth level and was still going strong. Yuffie Kisaragi, unstoppable ninja hero and slayer of Sephiroth… yeah.

As Staniv aborted his transformation and fell to his knees, he demanded in a breathless voice "Wh, what…!?"

Yuffie looked down at him haughtily. "Of course I beat you! There was no other way this was gonna go!"

At that moment Gorki peered up the stairs along with Shake and Staniv. "Well, your skill has definitely improved."

Shake considered what she saw and then added "Maybe I was wrong about you being an arrogant princess."

Staniv gave Yuffie a hard look. "Well, if we lost to her…" She didn't finish the thought, her expression serious as she addressed the rightful victor in this fight. "You have defeated four of our best, but now you will have to face HIM." She pointed at the next flight of stairs.

Yuffie didn't know who lay beyond the next flight, but she was certain she'd mop the floor with him just like she'd donewith all the others. As the first four warriors of the Pagoda climbed up the steps, she fell in behind them with Zack and Aerith behind her. However, it was with great surprise that she finally beheld the person waiting for them on the fifth and final level.

"D…Dad!?"

Her father stood before her in his usual purple kimono and he was regarding her sternly. "I'm glad you made it this far, Yuffie!"

"Why… why are you…"

Her father shook his head. "I'll answer that by having you try your skills against me! Maybe it will teach you some humility!" The man took stance as everyone found a place to watch. "Hold nothing back. Come as if you are trying to kill me! If you don't… then I'll have to kill you!"

"H-Hey…!" Yuffie wasn't nervous, far from it, but she was uncertain. Sure she was mad, but did her father really plan on coming at her with the intent to kill? If so, he probably wouldn't stand a chance, but at the same time she wasn't exactly sure she wanted to kill him.

"Isn't that a little harsh?" Zack called from the back.

She ignored him, her eyes on her father, the two of them taking stance as they prepared for the confrontation that was about to take place. After a moment, Godo made a very intricate set of hand signals in front of him, shouting "OMNI-CHANGE!" and out of a cloud of smoke, appeared a strange humanoid figure bearing three faces, and four arms, wielding a wand in one of his right hands and a scimitar in one of his left.

Moving quickly, the figure in front of her lunged, bringing the scimitar down above her in what would have been a smashing blow, but she rolled out of the way and, throwing her shuriken in the opposite direction as a diversion, the ninja leapt from the ground to grab a handhold on the wall before casting Barrier. Godo's head turned so that the human visage was facing forward before attempting to cast Sleep, but Yuffie had already moved out of range and caught her shuriken out of the air before throwing it directly at her father's back. Blood was knocked free before she could retrieve it and Godo grunted before his head rotated again, this time to the face of the Cheater, and started to cast again as he turned around.

Yuffie darted across the floor, barely avoiding the Trine spell crackling on the ground behind her before running up the wall, grabbing a handhold on one of the lamps and summoning Titan. Several of the onlookers ducked for cover as the gigantic man appeared in the room and Zack hurriedly cast a Wall over himself and Aerith but Yuffie was focused on her father. Titan made short work of the earthen space below him and knocked Godo over in the debris. The humanoid picked himself up once the summon dissipated, already exhausted by this series of attacks and switched back to the human face, casting a Cure before running at Yuffie, his face again changing to the Beast and his sword at the ready.

Yuffie held her ground, instead going for the most powerful Ice spell she could muster. Shards scattered across the floor and her father, completely overwhelmed in the avalanche of ice, suddenly dissipated back into his human form and dropped to his knees in shock. Yuffie stood before him and once she saw that he wasn't going to keep going she smiled.

"Not bad Old Man, but after Sephiroth, this was nothing."

"It's true then?" Godo looked first at Yuffie, and then at Zack for confirmation.

Yuffie looked back in time to see Zack nod. "Every word. She helped us destroy him."

Her father considered for a moment, and then sank the rest of the way to the floor, laughing. "All this time, I thought you were lying…" No one could get another coherent phrase out of him for several minutes and everyone had to wait for him to compose himself.

* * *

><p>A short while later, once he had regained his composure, Godo stood at the head of the room, a new respect in his eyes. "It's time I gave this to you, Yuffie… this is the Leviathan Materia. Take it." He pressed it into her hand.<p>

At that point, Staniv spoke up. "Lord Godo, that materia is only supposed to go to the one who takes over this Pagoda. It's our custom…"

Yuffie looked over at him with a glare. "CUSTOM, CUSTOM, CUSTOM… I'm so sick of hearing that! It's so stupid!"

Gorky looked affronted. "Silence, Miss Yuffie!"

Yuffie was not about to stand for that as she directed her anger in the direction of all five fighters. "And what about the rest of you? You have so much power, but all you do is sit around here! Are you happy being stuck here!?"

"Yuffie…" Godo sounded like he was going to try and protest but the little ninja was having none of that.

"You too, dad! Just because you lost the war, you turned Wutai into a cheesy resort, and now we can't take care of any of those sick people out there! How dare you!? Da-Chao Statue and Leviathan are ashamed!"

Godo seemed completely at a loss for words but Shake interjected "She really is a spoiled brat."

Yuffie glared back at her and was about to run over to teach her a lesson but then she heard her father. "Yuffie!" She turned to look at him as he spoke. "Forgive me… It's all my fault…"

"But, Lord Godo…!" Gorky began.

The leader of Wutai shook his head. "Losing the war… and turning Wutai into what it is now was all my fault…"

"My lord!" Chekov tried to interrupt, but Godo glared in her direction.

"Silence!" Godo turned back to Yuffie. "After we lost the war, I began to wonder, is strength only for defeating the enemy, or just something to show off to others…? Might begets might. That's the same way as the Shinra…" He looked down at the floor as he considered his words before he turned away from her. "I knew you were looking for materia for the good of Wutai. But, the reason I hide my strength now, is also for the good of Wutai… And now I realize both are necessary. Strength without determination means nothing. And determination without strength is equally useless…!"

"Lord Godo…" Staniv tried but could not bring himself to continue.

Godo turned to Zack. "It seems I owe both of you an apology for the harsh words at my home. I had feared that my daughter had fallen in with a fool and a liar, and perhaps my prejudices from the war colored my judgment… but it seems that you are indeed a man who is everything Yuffie has said you are. We can see about discussing your access to our sea lanes first thing tomorrow morning. "

Zack smiled with relief. "No harm done. I understand. Shinra wasn't exactly the best of house guests during the war, and I totally get why you wouldn't be all that trusting of someone who used to work for them, even if I wasn't a SOLDIER. But thank you! You won't be disappointed, that I can promise!"

Godo nodded. "In that case, one of my conditions is that Yuffie go with you, to aid you in your struggle until peace has been restored."

"Not a problem!" Zack said. "Isn't that right Yuffie?"

"Of course not! It'll be a hell of a lot easier than getting things done here, and maybe we'll find a cure!"

"Princess, language…" Checkov whispered.

Godo cleared his throat. "I'll take care of the Five Sacred Gods until you're ready to come back. Just make sure you return alive."

Yuffie brought up her fist in a salute across her chest. "Of course I will." As if everyone had been signaled it was time to leave, they walked out of the room, leaving just Yuffie and her father there.

Before she was about to leave she heard her father whisper "Yuffie, wait a minute." She waited as he came closer and spoke low enough she doubted even Zack would have been able to hear them if he'd been in the room. "The materia they have… After Shinra has been defeated, you think they'll still want it?"

Yuffie grinned. "I'll see what I can do."

Godo's expression mirrored her own. "I'm glad to hear it." As she left the room, she could hear him chuckling behind her. Zack needed the materia for now, but she was sure once their fight with Shinra was over, there'd be no way they still would.

A few minutes later, she was about to leave the pagoda when just behind her, she saw Godo walk down the stairs. "Lord Fair," he called out. Zack looked back at him, somewhat surprised at the title but paused. "It seems in this soup of politics where we sometimes don't know who we can trust and who our enemies are, some things do get over looked." Godo gave Aerith a kind smile before continuing. "I know after my display at our house, it may seem somewhat out of place, but… congratulations… on your wedding."

Zack rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Thanks…" he said at last.

Yuffie just laughed and walked up to them, "Come on you two, I want to show you some more of the real Wutai, and when Cid gets back we'll go bust some Shinra heads!"

* * *

><p><strong>June 13<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008**

The night after Yuffie scaled the pagoda passed without much of note, aside from Zack calling over the bamboo wall at the nearby hot springs that Yuffie shouldn't badger Aerith about what happened after she left them at the cottage. Yuffie had answered by tossing a bucketful of water over the wall at him (thankfully, for Zack, not with the bucket included even if he could have easily dodged it).

The next morning also went quite smoothly, if a little boring, since Godo and Zack ended up actually coming to accord on the sea routes pretty quickly. Soon Yuffie was leading them along a trail up between the statues on the Da-Chao cliffs. She wandered ahead of the two newlyweds for a while before stopping at a cave entrance and looking in at the lava smoldering within. Soon after, the three of them were sharing the lunch they'd packed along the arm of one of the statues looking out over the capitol as it spread out below them.

"From here, it hardly looks like there's anything wrong," Aerith commented after a while. "I know there is still quite a lot going on, but it is a beautiful city."

"You're not wrong about that," Yuffie said, climbing up to one of the statue's fingers, not minding the wind blowing past her. Her footing was as solid as the stone under her. "There's still a lot that needs to be fixed."

Aerith nodded in agreement. "Though I've been thinking. Perhaps if I explore the Lifestream a little more, maybe we could find the cure that way. It seems to at least be related."

"You sure that's safe?" Zack asked.

"I don't know," Aerith answered, "but even if that doesn't yield anything, I would still like to see if we can help. Maybe Doctor Rayleigh also has some ideas we can look into."

"Why don't we try talking to her first," Zack suggested, putting an arm around her. "Not that I don't think exploring the Lifestream isn't a good idea, but, you know that coming in contact with it'll make it easier for you to catch Geostigma. Everyone's worried about us SOLDIERs but don't forget, we're all at risk. I'd prefer it if none of us got it if it can be helped."

Aerith leaned against him, planting a kiss over top of the scar on his cheek. "Still, if there's something we can do, you know I would do it, not unlike someone else I know," she said.

"Yeah, I know," Zack relented.

"Seriously, can't you two get a room or something?" Yuffie muttered.

"Well, we did, but then we had to come talk to your dad," Zack returned.

Yuffie simply shook her head and turned her attention back out over the rice paddies surrounding the capitol. She'd leave them alone for now. There'd be plenty of time to tease them once they got back to Mideel, and started making plans for the next offensive.

* * *

><p>The Case of…?: Fragmented File #3<p>

** June 14****th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008**

Deep under the bowels of Mako Reactor Number 5, a lift stirred to life and long ignored machinery activated, delivering its cargo up to the surface. Mako swirled in the air as the tiny box slowly made its way higher and higher. Contained within an isolated shaft, it passed up through the ground, foot by foot, past the ground level and then higher, and higher, past the Sector 5 slums and up further towards a carefully concealed door near the reactor's main entrance.

Once the elevator slowed to a halt, a button was pushed and the secret door slid open, creaking and squealing, the joints long left un-oiled, the motors halting when it was almost half open. No one was inside the reactor itself at the time, save a couple of technicians near the computers, but had anyone been in the main corridor at the time, they would have seen a figure climb out the door, before it slid shut leaving no trace of its existence.

Had anyone looked closer, they would have realized this figure was that of a man with a head of dark hair, cut short, but so matted and filthy it was almost impossible to tell what color it was. His clothes and armor were so covered in dirt it seemed like he had dug himself to the surface rather than taken the elevator, and whatever else could be said about his condition, it was clear the dark rashes along his body had rendered him barely able to do more than crawl.

This the man did, seeming to instinctively intuit the direction of the exit. He soon found the stairs out on the catwalk and he moaned in pain as he looked out at the dark clouds obscuring the Midgar sky with intensely glowing blue eyes. At last, his strength gave out completely and he collapsed down the steps to curl up in agony on the bridge that connected Sectors 4 and 5, far too weak to move any further…

**To Be Continued in Part III...**

* * *

><p><em>That's right, "Demons" begins next week. I'm definitely looking forward to it, but are our heroes up to the challenge? Stay tuned to find out! ^^<em>

_I also wonder if anyone can guess who this guy is. Though technically, there are two correct answers..._

_See you next week!_


	53. A Shock From the Shadows, Begin Part III

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spin-offs That honor goes to Square-Enix.

Drake, SOLDIER 2nd Class Eli, and Gin Okazaki are original characters

**Part III: Demons**

* * *

><p>Chapter 53, A Shock From the Shadows<p>

**June 14****th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008**

_Vincent was walking through an unfamiliar alleyway, and for some reason, he had the feeling something was pulling him. Chaos… he knew that primeval consciousness very well now. It had kept him company, and been the reason Sephiroth had knocked him unconscious so many times, down in the crater. Perhaps it had been the monster pumping his consciousness with emotions that weren't his own that had made him so flippant towards Hojo's pet project. The odd thing about it was that Chaos felt different, like it was searching, uncertain, and on alert. That was not something he'd noticed before. He walked further down the alley, deeper into the dark but before he could see what was there…_

"_I'm so sorry…" Vincent found himself inside a familiar cavern as something stirred within him. Looking up, he saw Lucrecia's familiar form encased in a crystal pillar, and it was her voice he had heard in his thoughts._

"_We meet again, Lucrecia…"_

_The voice in his mind didn't seem to hear him but simply repeated the phrase again. "I'm so sorry… I'm so sorry…"_

"_Why...?"_

Vincent opened his eyes to find himself dozing behind a rock on the West side of the Eastern mountains. Fort Condor lay to the south. He'd been here for a while to assess the situation there. Rufus had been attempting to fortify it and they were considering whether or not they had the force to take it back. It was all right. He had carried out his survey of the area and had only stopped to rest before heading around the southernmost pass to where he would hitch a ride back to Mideel. He brought his attention back to the dream, mulling over it. "I'm the one… who should apologize…"

What could it mean? The last time he'd had a dream like that, it had led him directly to Lucrecia, but this time... He shut his eyes again, trying to recall every detail of that alley, and then he remembered. Off in the distance, there had been a Mako reactor. Almost immediately, something within him seemed to realize it wanted to go towards Midgar. He frowned. This was most unusual, and yet, he'd found before that when his inner demons' attention had been grabbed by something, it often paid to listen. After a moment, he pulled himself to his feet, and started towards the caves that led to the swamp. This could be important.

* * *

><p>At an out-of-the-way bar in upper plate Sector 4, Kunsel stared across the booth at the older man across from him with consternation. "I don't get it, don't you see the danger you're in staying here?"<p>

"Only because you chose to throw away your career. I've been a loyal employee of Shinra for thirty years son, do you think I want to give that up just because you went and left?"

He glared at the man. "Except I had a good reason. You know how long I spent wanting to join SOLDIER. But if you'd seen what I saw, you would have left too…"

"What I've seen is that my son left his post and disappeared, and then turns up as a terrorist and war criminal. What was I supposed to think? Especially after those suits started asking questions."

Kunsel sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I didn't contact you because I didn't want to put you in danger. A lot of us had to do that. The truth is, SOLDIER isn't what they said it was supposed to be, and Shinra, well, the whole thing's a giant death trap."

His father sighed, and took a sip of the drink he'd ordered. "What happened? Your mother's really worried, you know?"

* * *

><p>It was a couple of hours later when the two men finished their drinks and parted ways. Kunsel hadn't told him much in the end. If they didn't know anything, there was still a chance his parents could continue their lives if what GUARDIAN tried to accomplish failed, but he had told his father that if they did want to leave, there was somewhere to which they could leave. As he watched him go, he couldn't help but feel a little saddened. He'd done what he could for them, but in the end, it was their decision. Pulling a brown leather jacket on over his SOLDIER turtleneck, Kunsel paid his tab and walked towards the exit, refastening the new sheath he'd fashioned for the Gunblade across his back. The griffin emblem Zack had given him now hung on the shoulder strap across his heart with the bronze chain hanging from it as it draped around his waist before being affixed to the back of the sheath. He was almost out of the building when someone held out a dark blue cloak.<p>

"Forgetting something?" He looked up to see a pair of faintly glowing copper-colored eyes looking out from under the brim of a grey fedora. Freya was holding a pair of tinted sunglasses in her hand and looked very much like some blue-collar worker, her hair coiled up under her hat so no one would see it and the worn trench coat she wore concealing some of her more feminine attributes.

"Thanks," he took the cloak and donned it.

"Just don't forget next time. Shinra doesn't have cameras everywhere, but the last thing we need is for someone to realize we're here. Especially now." She had a point there. It wasn't just them putting their lives on the line right now. So were the people they were getting ready to meet.

The two of them walked along the street for a while headed towards the rendezvous point and Kunsel noted the troopers they passed. It didn't seem like any SOLDIERs were out on the street right now. Good. Not long after, they found their way to a familiar alley. It was the one by which Aerith had led them down into the slums, and as soon as they made it past the bridge passing the Sector 5 reactor, they'd be right at the pillar with the service ladder.

Upon entering the alley, Kunsel spotted several pairs of glowing eyes looking back out at him. Once his own vision adjusted he saw that they belonged to about two or three SOLDIERs in plain clothes. A man with straight blonde hair stood at the center of the group. He met Kunsel's gaze unflinchingly and the ex-SOLDIER cleared his throat. "What's the code?"

The man grinned as he recited the phrase. "Return to sender."

"Package received," Freya answered, counting each of the men who stood there. "I take it you're Eli?" she addressed this question to the one who had spoken.

"That would be correct," the man confirmed. "These are all the guys I could talk to who actually want out." Kunsel looked them over. The three of them were young, probably not even past eighteen yet and probably only 3rds. Understandable. A lot of the older ones were probably either dead, had accepted their fate, or had already disappeared for knowing too much. The younger ones hadn't dived as deep, and didn't know as much about what they'd signed themselves up for before Eli had opened their eyes.

"You took a big risk doing this."

Eli nodded. "You have no idea. There are a few I was worried would rat me out, and even without any of us saying anything it went up to Rufus. One guy ended up confined to solitary for getting caught. Bradley's going postal every time someone disappears."

Kunsel nodded. "Well, I'm sure you're doing the best you can, so who have we got this time?" he looked around

Once they had gotten everyone else's names Freya instructed them on the plan. "All right, we'll be heading out by the Sector 4 exit through the slums. Once we're through, we'll be going northeast of Kalm to a village called Howling Point. There's a boat that'll be waiting for us. Are we set?"

There was unanimous affirmation and soon they were headed out towards the edge of the sector, leaving Eli to retreat back towards the Shinra building. Kunsel took the rear, alert for any sign of being followed as they kept to the back alleys and side streets. With their disguises, it wasn't hard for them to look like a normal group of factory workers out for lunch in the brief instances where they were out in the open.

They were walking down an alley near the bridge leading to the Sector 5 reactor however, when Freya stopped and leaned against the wall. "What is it?" Kunsel asked.

"Something moved over there," Freya said, indicating the bridge.

Kunsel drew the Gunblade. "Was it a guard?"

The lady Turk shook her head. "I don't think so."

"Stay here, I'll check it out," Kunsel said before slinking quietly along the bridge. The wind whispered hollowly from the Sector 5 slums below, and he had to hold the cloak close to keep it from blowing up away from him. He felt Freya watching him along with the other SOLDIERs as he approached the path leading into the reactor, and that was when he saw it. Curled up on the steps below the main entrance, was the figure of a man. The first thing Kunsel recognized about him was that he was wearing a familiar looking armored suit, with glowing blue tubes sewn into the fabric. Creeping closer, he began to notice other details. The man appeared to be severely emaciated, covered in dirt. Blood also in places, and something else… "Geostigma," he murmured. Well aware of the risk he was taking, he knelt by the man and pulled him over so he lay on his back, and that was when he saw the man's face and his own went white as a sheet.

"…Luxiere?!"

The other man looked up at him through drooping dark locks of hair, so dirty he hadn't at first been able to tell they'd been black, but those blue mako-infused eyes held no recognition in them, instead, there was just confusion and something else. Anger.

"Who the hell… Go away Usher… I know you aren't…" Before he could finish, Kunsel had taken off his cloak, wrapped it around him and hoisted him up to carry him away from the scene. He was so light, even with the armor. They had almost reached the edge of the bridge when Freya met them.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"Where's the current safe house?" Kunsel returned.

"It's on 2nd Avenue" Freya said. She only took one look at his face to know it was important and whispered in his ear "Upper plate Sector 6. Building 3450, Apartment B."

"Thanks, I don't want to move him more than I have to."

"Who…?" she began.

"I'll tell you more later, but he's a friend."

She nodded in understanding and gripped her shotgun, her expression concerned but understanding. "I'll let them know you're coming. Be careful." she whispered.

"Thanks," he said. With that, he looked around at the SOLDIERs. "Sorry to leave you, but Freya knows what she's doing. She'll give you the details on what happens next once you're away, all right?"

After they departed, he pulled the man's arm over his shoulder, hurried back across the bridge as quickly as possible and then ducked behind a building on the Sector 5 side, noting a young boy playing with a model airplane on a nearby flight of steps as he went.

Luxiere didn't say much that was intelligible as Kunsel carried him along, but that was all right. He had a lot more things going through his mind. Where had Luxiere been all this time? The last time he'd seen him, his fellow SOLDIER had been talking up rumors with him like always, and he'd mentioned something about wanting to be promoted eventually, and then the next thing he knew, the man had vanished, like he'd never existed, and Kunsel hadn't even an inkling of where he would have been able to look. Odin knew he'd tried.

That he'd appeared out of nowhere in this condition… in the same armored suit as the man who'd taken Professor Hojo… it was too much of a coincidence to ignore. His eyes narrowed at the thought. If that man… that monster, had harmed another friend while he'd been unable to do anything about it… Anger seared within him, but rationality kept it to a slow simmer. He had to get Luxiere to safety first, and then they could figure out what to do next. Even so, it didn't make it any less infuriating.

"Leave me alone…" Luxiere murmured again.

"That's not happening Lux. You need help," he said, continuing to carry his friend through the alley they were in.

* * *

><p>Cloud strapped the new shoulder guard he had fashioned with the wolf's head emblem firmly affixed to it onto his left shoulder before he shouldered the Buster Sword, probably for the last time. He would be going with Cid to meet Zack today and unless things went amiss, the sword smith he had commissioned to fashion his new swords would be finished by now. Once he had completed his own preparations, he walked out of his room and down the stairs. Tifa appeared at that moment, ready to go, and the two of them walked out of the lodge together. It was a nice autumn morning. The leaves had been changing for a while now and a lot of the trees now hung empty of their tresses, though a few still hung on.<p>

He didn't speak much, but spent most of the time listening as Tifa occasionally broke the silence with talk about her plans for the day, or about what Marlene had been learning at the local schoolhouse, or something interesting she'd seen the day before. He'd simply punctuate it with an occasional nod and a light chuckle when she cracked a joke. He didn't mind letting her do the talking, and if anything, it put him more at ease, which was good, because with Kunsel and Freya gone on recruitment duty and not due to return until a few days from now, he was the guy in charge, at least until Zack boarded the Highwind.

They were almost to the end of the path when one of the larger leaves fell right in front of him. He caught it in the air and let it blow out of his hand as they walked out of the woods.

"Commander Strife!"

The two of them looked up as Drake, now their Sergeant Major walked up to them. "I've got all the patrols on high alert until you return with General Fair, sir."

"Good," he replied. "If there's any trouble you can reach me aboard the Highwind until Fair takes command."

Drake saluted smartly. "Yes sir!" With that, he was on his way.

They were almost to Seventh Heaven when he and Tifa shared another smile, and then he went into the shed to collect Fenrir. The plan was that after he collected his swords, Cid would drop him near the former site of the Temple of the Ancients, so he could scope out the nearby Fort Raven which guarded the western side of the straights into the Central Sea. It was a very recent construct, but if they could take it, they might have an easier shot at Fort Condor, depending on what he found.

He lifted the kickstand before rolling it out of the shed to find Tifa waiting for him.

"Be careful," she said.

He nodded, giving her a look that spoke as plainly as if his lips had moved "_I will,_" before he cranked the engine and rode out to where Cid had brought the Highwind to land. As he approached, he saw the captain standing outside the loading hatch, a cigarette in his mouth. "Where ya been kid? I've been waitin'."

"Sorry," he muttered, wheeling the motorcycle up the ramp. "Let's get going."

* * *

><p>Elfe was waiting at the door to the apartment alongside Shears when Kunsel arrived with Luxiere over his shoulders. "I hope you have a good reason for coming," Shears said.<p>

"I'll explain later," Kunsel said, "I need a bed, plastic, and bandages…"

"But wouldn't a Restore…" Shears began.

"It won't this time," Kunsel barked. "Hurry, the last thing we need is for any of this stuff to get on anyone."

Enlightenment dawned on Shear's face. "You mean… that guy's got…"

"Yes, he does! Sorry about this, but there was nowhere else to take him!"

Elfe nodded and wordlessly ushered them inside even though Shears looked like he might be ready to protest. It was understandable. Elfe especially was high on the list of people who were believed to be at greater risk for the disease. As hard a life as she and Shears had in the last few years there had to have been times they'd thought they were going to die. As illogical a risk factor as that sounded it was one Rayleigh had identified fairly quickly. Elfe had also had more than her share of Lifestream exposure during Hojo's experiments but even so, she led him to a back room while Shears brought out a cot. Once it was set up, they placed a tarp over it before Elfe found a fitted sheet they could put over that. Once everything was in place, Kunsel lowered Luxiere onto the cot and then removed the cloak and promptly dropped it into a garbage bag so it could be dealt with later.

He then reached for his Restore materia. It probably wouldn't do a whole heck of a lot of good, but he could still cure the man's wounds that weren't infected. He had just begun casting, when something else caught his attention and his eyes widened in recognition.

Luxiere was currently lying on his back leaving the breastplate of the suit he was wearing exposed, and in the dim overhead light, Kunsel could now see the symbol pressed into the metal. Where had he seen that symbol before…? He knew he had. It looked a little like the SOLDIER logo, at first glance. In fact, from a distance, one might even mistake the two, but this one was much less angular, and the lines all connected. They were much more curved and elegant too…

* * *

><p>It was a few hours later when Cid flew the Highwind over the Wutai mountains, and Cloud looked out over the view from the main deck with anticipation. It wouldn't be long now before they reached the road on which the forge sat. Underneath them, he spotted a couple of mountain villages resting in the valleys but for the most part it was empty landscape. Not that he minded. It was tranquil, even over the Highwind's engine, and there was nothing wrong with that.<p>

Soon, the mountains began to fall away, leaving hillsides tiered with rice paddies, and not long after, he caught sight of the road that would lead them up past the capitol. He wordlessly observed the ground below them as Cid flew the aircraft over the city, catching site of the Da Chao cliffs and their iconic statues Zack had always talked about. In the afternoon sun they were quite a sight.

Finally though, the Highwind began to go lower and lower, until at last, Cloud caught sight of a flare off in the distance. "That's Yuffie's signal," Cid muttered. "Of course, knowing her, she probably robbed'em blind."

"Zack knows better," Cloud said. He knew his friend used to be rather trusting in the past, but he was sure he could handle Yuffie. Anything he'd ever lost to her, he either didn't care about it or had managed to get it back in the end anyway. The one time he knew of she'd actually gotten away with one of his materia, she'd mailed it back to him because, at the time, she'd been really young and hadn't been able to figure out how his Bahamut Fury materia worked. Zack loved telling the story, much to Yuffie's chagrin, and he had this way of telling her to knock it off when she went too far that was nearly impossible to believe.

It was a shame he didn't have that materia anymore, but Hojo hadn't been so stupid as to let him have something that dangerous while a laboratory specimen. It had been a wonder he'd been able to find his PHS again, or that it was even still working. How that oversight had been made on Hojo's part was anyone's guess.

Cid brought the Highwind in lower over the location from which the flare had gone off and soon, they were low enough that Cloud found himself looking down on a dirt road with Yuffie waving both arms up at them, while Zack and Aerith were watching from behind. Giving orders to the crew to remain on standby, Cid headed towards the weather deck with Cloud behind him and not long after, the two of them were climbing down the rope ladder to meet their friends.

"Hey guys!" Yuffie ran up to them excited. "Glad you could make it!"

Cloud dropped the last few feet to the ground once Cid had gotten out of the way and was just in time for Aerith to give him a hug.

"Has everything been all right since we've been gone?" Zack asked as he offered him a handshake.

Cloud nodded with a smile. "Rufus hasn't moved from the mainland, so we've been waiting to see what he does."

"I knew you could handle it. But anyway, Gin's in the back, putting on the finishing touches." Zack grinned. "I think we found the right guy. They look great."

Aerith nodded in agreement and the three of them led the way around the cottage to come to a small building separate from the house. Zack pulled open the door and beckoned that everyone go in and as their eyes adjusted, Cloud and Cid found themselves inside a workshop. Across the way, an older man sat hunched over a countertop, a set of tools strewn around him as he worked securing a woven red leather grip around the handle of a slender central blade with two prongs connected to a wide hilt with an expanding mechanism. Cloud recognized it instantly from his own designs, even as the man turned around, taking a brass cap in one hand in preparation for securing it to the butt of the grip.

"Welcome back, young Master Strife," the man spoke, a smile peeking through his greying black beard. "As you can see, I'm almost finished."

"Thank you." Cloud nodded in acknowledgement and smiled upon seeing the other blades lined up on a nearby table. He had already been certain it had been well worth the trouble to find this man. Zack had come with Cloud here a couple of months ago to discover that the work of the master sword smiths of the Okazaki family had been renowned throughout Wutai. Judging by Gin's immediate recognition of the sword Cloud had carried on his back as well as the variety of blades around his shop which both swordsmen had been able to appraise as being of excellent quality (one of which was an elegantly forged odachi not unlike the Masamune), that renown was well founded.

The Buster Sword, it seemed, had not been his work, but the work of his grandfather. A gift to Angeal's great grandfather for assisting in the delivery of modern weaponry for the time at great risk to himself during a piracy outbreak on Wutai's eastern shores. The circumstances were not well remembered as it was before Shinra's time, but one thing Gin had told them was that his grandfather would tell the story as an example of a foreigner who kept his honor as close as the Wutaians kept their loyalty to Godo's family line.

The grey-eyed black-smith with strong muscles in spite of his age had been suspicious at first but upon hearing the story of Angeal's end and Zack's acquisition of the sword, and seeing Cloud's designs, he'd leapt at the chance to get on board, saying his daughter would have been thrilled to work on something like this had she not disappeared during the war.

Cloud approached the other table, taking in the five blades that lay there. The hollow blade, and the two notched blades were there, as were the two switch-bladed ones, just as he'd drawn them. He picked one of the switchblades up to examine it more closely while the others watched.

"They look good," he said, checking the responsiveness of the folding mechanism while the smith was using a small hammer to knock the brass cap in place on the largest blade.

"I built them precisely to your specifications. I should hope they do." Gin knocked the cap in place with several precise taps and then proceeded to make sure everything was secure before reaching for an oil cloth and other cleaning supplies. "Although this'll be a heavy blade even for a SOLDIER when fully assembled."

"That won't be a problem," Zack chimed in. "The Buster Sword was already pretty heavy, and he can wield it like a pro."

Gin nodded, "I suppose that's true." He set to work oiling the two pronged blade as he talked. "This one and the switchblades will probably be the most difficult to clean since they have the most moving parts. You'll need to make sure the joints are properly cared for…" He paused for a moment, thinking, as he finished with the cloth. "Ah yes, and then there is the attaching mechanism…" he stood up and offered Cloud the hilt of the primary blade so he could see inside it. "I worked a powdered materia agent into the metal. That mastered Morph materia I asked you to leave with me did the trick perfectly." He reached for a switch on the hilt that caused the two prongs to fuse into one over the base before reaching for the hollow blade that would make the primary edge when attached.

"Set that in its appropriate slot if you would please," he said.

Cloud placed the hollow blade over the lower edge of the main blade and sank the handle into the First Sword's hilt. As he did so, he felt the slightest tingle, almost as though he had called on a low level materia, at which point the blades glowed faintly before fusing immovably into place.

The others watched, clearly impressed, and even Cid looked surprised. "Whoa," Zack muttered. "That really is some sword."

"How did it do that?" Aerith wondered.

"It draws on the wielder's natural supply of energy, much like materia does, though at greatly reduced levels. It makes it a lot less troublesome to disengage the blades, and they will come apart quite easily when you need them to," he indicated another small button on the inside of the hollow blade's handle, which Cloud promptly hit, causing the blade to gently pop free. He caught it in his hand, definitely impressed, before placing it back on the table, in favor of two of the notched blades, taking a test swing with them in a clear area of the workshop. "Well-balanced," he noted.

"Of course," the smith agreed, "Although… there is one last thing," he walked over to another table nearby to reveal a special sword harness made of black leather. "With the complex nature of this weapon, I felt you might need this," he said, offering it to Cloud.

"It wasn't part of the contract though…" he murmured.

"Nonsense. This has been the most interesting project I've had since my daughter… since the war even. Consider it a gift, for allowing me a break from making kitchen knives," Gin offered.

Cloud decided it was best not to argue, and so he took it from the man with a grateful "Thanks," before turning to Zack, and indicated the Buster Sword. "I guess it's time I returned this, huh?"

Zack grinned. "It might be a while before anyone will let me train with it, but I can't say I haven't missed it."

Cloud took a moment to unfasten the sword from the magnet and then undo the sword harness for it. Deftly, as though he'd been able to do it one-handed his entire life, Zack fastened the harness to his own armor, and then secured the blade to his back. He opted to forgo his once-traditional habit of swinging the sword in a circle before securing it behind him, but Cloud was sure he'd figure out how to do that one day too. "Look out world," his friend muttered, "Zack is back in the heavy-weight division."

Cloud chuckled as he strapped on his new sword harness, and then one by one, attached all five of the auxiliary swords to the first blade before securing it behind him.

Gin seemed pleased, though it probably hadn't hurt that they'd paid him in advance. "Is it all to your satisfaction, young Master Strife?" he asked.

Cloud nodded and offered a small grin. "They're perfect."

It didn't take long after that before everyone was headed back towards the Highwind, and they were getting ready to get underway when Zack noticed his PHS was buzzing. This was unusual because most of the time they'd have to connect through an adaptor that had been installed at the lodge, thanks to Shinra cutting the grid, but when they were out they could still use the encryption if someone was out in an available area. After a moment, he checked the caller ID and then answered. "Kunsel?"

Cloud was nearby as his friend listened. "He's alive?! That's… oh…" Zack's expression darkened with worry. "And you think he came out of where?" He listened a little longer. "Yeah, I can see why you'd want to take another look. All right, we'll be there as soon as we can." He hung up his PHS and walked over to Cid. "Change of plans, you're putting us down a mile or two outside of Kalm. Fly under the radar if you can. Hopefully that'll keep us from being noticed. We can rent a couple of vehicles and sneak into Midgar from there. Kunsel just found something big."

"Sounds insane," Cid muttered. "I like it. Let's go."

* * *

><p><em>So, we've dropped a few bombshells it looks like, and there's still more to go. Welcome to Part III. ^^<em>

_Not much to say without giving anything away, so I guess I'll just leave it here._

_See ya next week!_


	54. Rumor and Substance

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spin-offs That honor goes to Square-Enix.

**Part III: Demons**

* * *

><p>Chapter 54, Rumor and Substance<p>

**June 15****th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008**

It was ridiculously easy to sneak into Midgar if one knew how, especially if you wanted to get into the slums. So it was that after disembarking from the Highwind and instructing the crew to remain on standby out over the ocean to avoid the radar, Cid rented a van while Cloud followed along with his motorcycle and, with Zack, Aerith, and Yuffie riding in the back, the five of them quickly made the drive to the city, meeting Elfe and Lou near the entrance to Sector 6. It was Cloud who approached where the two of them waited in plainclothes.

"I see you made it," Elfe said.

Cloud nodded. "That speaks for itself, has anything changed since Kunsel called?"

Elfe looked troubled, and for someone who didn't generally show her emotions, that was saying something. "We can speak when we're somewhere private. Lou will ride with Highwind and I'll ride with you. We'll show you where to keep your transportation safe."

A few minutes later, she had directed them to the remains of an old warehouse where a couple of cars were already parked. "As you can see," Lou said when everyone was out, we've been using this place for our own vehicles for a while." Once they were out of the building, Lou secured it with two padlocks and then they made their way towards the service elevator that would carry them above plate, making sure to steer clear of check points where they could, cutting through Wall Market before eventually finding their way to the elevator shaft embedded within in one of the upper plate's smaller supports.

Lou shut the door behind them before hitting the lift button and typing in a probably hacked security code. "So what's the story?" Zack asked after a moment.

"Not much of one," Elfe admitted. "Freya told us Kunsel was on his way and then he showed up with that other SOLDIER. He only walked out of that back room to take a shower. Other than that, he hasn't left him.

"I see," Zack murmured. "Still…" he shook his head. "I'm having trouble believing it. Kunsel told me Luxiere'd disappeared shortly before he found us. We were almost certain he was dead."

"Even if he is alive, it probably won't be for long," Lou pointed out.

"We won't accept that unless it happens," Zack said firmly.

Aerith nodded in agreement. "We can't give up before we've actually seen him."

Yuffie frowned. "So why does Kunsel even need us, anyway?"

"Because there's some things more important than treasure," Cid grumbled, giving her a warning look.

As soon as the elevator pulled to a halt, Elfe took the lead and they threaded through the backstreets until they reached the apartment building that was their destination. Soon after, they were inside, and Cloud nodded to Shears as they passed him and Veld in the living area. Kunsel peeked his head out the door to the back room. "You made it," he said softly. He walked out into the living area, closing the door behind him. He looked tired.

"How is he?" Zack asked.

Kunsel sighed. "Not much different, he's asleep right now. Spent most of the night muttering about this guy, Usher. I tried to ask him who that was but I couldn't get anything out of him that made any sense." He shook his head, and reached for something that was leaning against the door. "But this is something you really need to see."

Veld and Shears both looked over and Cloud saw that Kunsel was holding what appeared to be a breast-plate in his hands, not unlike what some of the more recent SOLDIERs tended to wear. "Take a look at the symbol on the front," he handed it to Zack.

The dark-haired SOLDIER frowned upon seeing it. "Yeah, that does look kind of familiar."

Cloud moved over to take a look before recognition dawned. "That's the logo on the belt from my SOLDIER uniform. The one you put me in when… we got out…"

"You know, you're right," Zack said. "Come to think of it, why was that one different? It was in the same closet..." He stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Is it possible some of the same guys that took the professor were there?"

"That's a better guess than you realize," Kunsel murmured, and propped the door open so they could see inside. Aerith gasped, and Zack's expression hardened at the sight of the man slumbering in the dark but still wearing the suit with glowing blue tubes.

Kunsel shut the door again, his expression grim. "I considered taking the thing off, but then Shalua took one look and said doing that would kill him. Whatever happened to him, he's been made so dependent on the mako in that suit he can't live without it."

Yuffie looked a bit ill at that. In fact, everyone seemed to. "That's… disgusting…" she said after a moment.

"You don't think Hojo might have known something about this?" Zack asked.

"It's possible," Lou said.

"We should look into it," Kunsel said, "But first, there's something I want to check out here…"

There was a moan from the back room. Kunsel ducked back in to see what was going on and Zack followed him. "Lux?" Kunsel knelt by the man's side. "What's up?"

Cloud watched from the door as Zack sat down next to him in the dark, their three pairs of SOLDIER eyes only just outshone by the light from the suit. Luxiere's eyes narrowed. "I told you to get lost Usher… where's my… sister…? Who's Lux… And… why are there… two of you…?"

"Luxiere," Kunsel said calmly. "You don't have one, and that's your name, remember? My name's not Usher and there aren't two of me. One of them is Zack."

"Right… that $*&%# put her there… just like she put you…" He narrowed his eyes suddenly looking in Zack's direction. "I don't care how many times you drag me back…"

"We didn't drag you anywhere. It's okay…" Zack tried.

Luxiere seemed to be having more trouble staying conscious even as he was clearly fighting for some semblance of lucidity. "Don't lie to me… I got to the lift… Or did I… You're not a Tsviet… Why aren't you in uniform… Did you come from upstairs…?"

Zack frowned, definitely confused. "Upstairs? Lux, it's me, Zack!"

Luxiere looked over at the other SOLDIER and then back at Zack. "Who…?" The whole exchange seemed to have worn him out because at that point he trailed off and his eyes closed.

They waited a minute or two, before everyone left the room to give the man some rest. As they were leaving Cloud asked "What was that all about?"

"I don't know," Kunsel said, his expression grim. "But that was the other thing I wanted to investigate. I found him on the bridge in front of Reactor 5, but he had to have come from somewhere…"

"I get it. He did mention a lift didn't he?" Zack said, taking a seat across from Shears in the living area. "You want us to investigate the reactor, and see if we can find this thing. Maybe then we can figure out what happened."

Kunsel nodded. "Exactly. I don't know what good it'll do, but I think we should anyway. Something's not right here, and we've got to find out what it is."

"In that case, you'll probably need to someone to hack the security cameras," Elfe said. While they'd been in the other room she'd been in the process of getting together ingredients for dinner.

"That's true," Lou agreed. "And you'll probably want to go when there aren't a lot of people around."

"Shalua would probably be up to the hacking," Shears suggested. "She's been holed up in her room working for the last few hours, but I think she'd also be interested."

"Thanks," Kunsel said. He walked over to the kitchen counter, leaning against it as he considered the situation. "Why don't we go early tomorrow morning," he suggested. "That way, it's not likely we'll meet anyone. I just hope I wasn't already noticed when I found him."

At that point, Shears looked over at Veld. "You've been awfully quiet about all this. I don't know if I like it."

The older man frowned. "I'm not entirely sure I like it either."

"What's wrong Dad?" Elfe asked.

Veld shook his head and sighed. "If the Turks didn't already know about something of this nature… This could be an even more dangerous can of worms than we realize."

* * *

><p>Late that night, Tseng was working at his computer in his office, looking through a series of files lifted from Scarlet's computer. Unfortunately, Hojo's encrypted files had yet to be completely cracked. The man could be insanely paranoid when he had a mind to be. However, he'd just recently received a lead on a key that just might help in that regard. Further, he'd just stumbled upon a series of messages between Scarlet's department and Heidegger's that might provide a meaningful breakthrough. These too, were heavily encrypted, but after spending months pouring over Hojo and Hollander's missives these were simple by comparison. Hopefully he'd have them decrypted in a matter of days. There was one however that was in plain text and he looked it over with interest:<p>

_"From: Heidegger_

_To: Scarlet_

_Subject: ?_

_Has there been any word from below?"_

_"From Scarlet:_

_To: Heidegger_

_Subject: Re: ?_

_Nothing. There have been no communications since the event. Not even from Requisitions."  
><em>

After puzzling over them for a moment, Tseng came to a decision. He'd asked them a couple of times already if they knew anything, but perhaps if confronted with a request for an explanation maybe they would come forward. And if not, well, it was Rufus's prerogative to know what was going on in his company. And if they wouldn't tell him, he'd make sure they'd regret it…

His PHS registered a message just as it appeared on both the smaller device and the monitor at which he worked. He read the name of the sender curiously.

"Reactor 5 Security Detail?" Inside the mail there appeared to be a video file dated yesterday afternoon. Selecting it, he found himself looking at the bridge outside the reactor, and that was when he noticed the figure crawling out the front door.

He supposed it was understandable that they hadn't immediately noticed the man there. After all, the first security checkpoint wasn't until further inside the building and the functions of the reactor were almost completely automated aside from the regular checks by technicians. What was even less understandable was the fact that one of GUARDIAN was seen carrying the man away from the scene, and the fact that the man he was carrying... Tseng stared hard at the image of the Ex-SOLDIER looking over the prone figure on the ground and the uniform he was wearing.

It was a mako-powered suit, just like the one worn by the man who had taken the professor, and while he couldn't see former 1st Class Kunsel's face, he could tell by the man's body language, that he had apparently recognized the other person. But that didn't answer the question of how this man had gotten there in the first place. After a moment's deliberation, he reached for his PHS. The first call was to the First Sergeant of the Midgar Military Police that all sectors should be on alert for any sign of Kunsel.

The next call was to Reno. It rang a couple of times and then he heard the sound of someone picking up on the other end of the line. "_Yeah boss?"_

"I need you and Rude to investigate the Sector 5 Reactor first thing in the morning. I just received a feed and I'll be sending you the details via email as soon as I've alerted Rude."

"_We'll get right on it, yo."_

* * *

><p><strong>June 16<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008**

Everyone got up early the next morning and it wasn't long afterward that they were making their way towards the bridge, alert for any sign they'd been spotted. They didn't plan on staying long, but if there was a chance they could solve the mystery of what had happened to Luxiere to leave him in the condition he was in, it could only help. At least, that was Zack's opinion.

Of course they were planning to leave as soon as they had those answers, but not before. Sneaking through the streets, they made their way to Reactor 5 with minimal difficulty. All of them had plenty of practice at moving swiftly, and silently. Where there were roadblocks, they simply climbed to the rooftops and leapt from building to building. It was only when they actually reached the road by the bridge that they actually had to climb down and survey the area.

Zack dropped to the sidewalk, and Cloud landed next to him, allowing Aerith to slip down from where he'd been carrying her through the jump, while Zack visually scanned the alleys for guards. Kunsel took a moment to check the roads and Cloud looked across the bridge. Yuffie was still on the roof, since she was going to be the lookout. Cid hopped down next to the flower girl, his spear at the ready, and for once he wasn't smoking, lest the smell or the light from the end of it alert anyone to their presence.

After a moment Kunsel reported "Nothing on the main road, I saw a kid playing with an airplane down that way, but I saw him before. I think he lives around here."

Zack nodded. "All right then." He looked up at Yuffie and signaled they were going in. She nodded and then crouched lower on the roof of the building, out of sight, but with a perfect vantage point and only a small blind spot right at the far exit to the bridge. Zack reached for his PHS and dialed Shalua's number.

Once she picked up he spoke "We're in position."

"_Got it, looping security cameras now… confirmed. Get moving. You've got two hours before the program times out."_

"Thanks. That's more than enough time." He ended the call and motioned that everyone hurry towards the reactor. It was not lost on him that this was the very bridge he'd faced Angeal on. Aerith's church was right below them… but he couldn't think about that right now. The group hurried along the catwalk until they reached the T-intersection and turned to the main entrance of the reactor. Not long after that, they were through the doors and into the darkened corridors that led deeper, towards the core.

Kunsel knelt at a place, inspecting the floor. "Keep your eyes open, he very well might have come this way." The others watched as he went a little further and then stopped… "Damn it, I think the cleaners came through here. I saw a tiny bit of blood closer to the door, but here there's nothing. We'll just have to keep looking."

"What exactly are we looking for?" Aerith wondered aloud.

"Probably a seam in the wall or somethin'." Cid muttered. "He said somethin' about a lift, didn' he?"

"You don't think he meant the main elevator, do you?" Cloud asked, indicating a sign painted on the steel plating nearby.

Kunsel frowned. "It's possible. Maybe we should check it out."

"I doubt any of Hollander's stuff is still here," Zack said, "But where he was hiding out might not be a bad place to check either."

"You mean, from when you and Sephiroth came here looking for Angeal?" Kunsel asked.

Zack shrugged. "What have we got to lose?"

Kunsel nodded. "I guess you're right. Okay, I'll search the core. Zack, you and Aerith check where Hollander was." He looked over at Cloud. "How about you and Cid take a look at the walls here to see if you can find anything? If it's here, like Cid said, there might be a hollow wall with a shaft behind it."

"Sounds like a plan," Zack agreed. "If anyone runs into any trouble, we regroup back here."

With that decided, Cid commenced checking one side of the hallway and Cloud went to the other while Aerith and the two remaining SOLDIERs headed towards the elevator. It didn't take very long before they reached it, and not long after that, Zack and Aerith left Kunsel by the ladders as they proceeded to climb down onto the catwalks. It was a little odd, Zack reflected. Had it really been six years since he'd last been down here?

"Everything all right?" Aerith asked.

"Yeah, it's fine," he answered. "I was just thinking."

She nodded and the two of them walked on in silence for a bit. "It's terrible this happened," she said at last.

"I don't know if I can come up with the right word," Zack muttered, "Diabolical doesn't quite cover it." Looking ahead, he found they were almost inside the room where Hollander had been hiding out. It was clear that whatever had been here had been taken out years ago. Even the mako tube with the Genesis copy inside it had been removed. Not that he was surprised.

"Were you close to him, before?" Aerith asked.

"Kind of. We were buds before Nibelheim though I don't think we were terribly close. He spent more time with Kunsel. But he was an ambitious guy. Always boasting how he was going to make 1st before we would. Of course, we know how that turned out." The two of them began checking the walls and crevices for possible exit points.

"So that's why Kunsel seems so bothered by it," Aerith said after a moment.

"Well, I wonder if he feels a little guilty. After all, Luxiere disappeared just before me and Cloud came back."

"Like he… abandoned him to help you?" Aerith asked.

"Something like that," Zack said. "I don't think there was anything he could have done, but it wouldn't surprise me."

They continued searching for a few more minutes when Zack's PHS buzzed and he answered it. "Cid?" Soon after, he hung up and reached for his light broadsword. "We've got trouble."

* * *

><p>After parting ways with Zack at the catwalks, Kunsel continued further into the core, climbing down a few more ladders and walking along several pipes. It was eerily quiet down here, with the exception of the mako percolating below him, and he would be all too happy to get out of here once he was finished. But even so, the image of Luxiere, lying on that cot, barely able to move, or even recognize the people around him… Would that have been his own fate, had he not left with Zack? Or would there have been something he could have done to keep it from happening?<p>

He couldn't be sure, he told himself. There was no way he could have known… But that was exactly the problem. He hadn't known… If he'd known anything at all, he'd probably never have signed himself up for SOLDIER in the first place. That would have been the smart decision. His moment of self-deprecation on the catwalk was interrupted when just ahead, he heard voices. On getting closer, he realized it was one voice, and it sent his hand to the Gunblade at his hip.

"Man, this is a wild chocobo chase. I don't care if Tseng did see that guy around here, we've checked up and down this reactor, there's no way he came from down here." It was Reno.

So he had been seen. Damn it. He heard Rude grunt. Did that mean he agreed? He hadn't been around the Turk enough to know how he communicated nonverbally. Stealthily, he crept towards a nearby pipe, hopped onto it, and keeping his balance over the ocean of chemicals below, he started climbing deeper into the shadows. He was half listening when Reno spoke again below. "Hey, Rude. Who do you like?"

Rude didn't say anything at first, and Kunsel was a little surprised. What were they doing talking about relationships like a pair of girls at a time like this? Reno prodded the other Turk again. "What are you getting so embarrassed about? Come on, who do you like?"

Rude took an inordinate amount of time to answer, and when he did, Kunsel was even more surprised. "…Tifa."

"Hmmm," Reno also seemed surprised. "That's a tough one. But Elena's got it worse since she likes Tseng, but he likes Aerith."

Rude shook his head. "She married Zack."

Reno looked surprised. "How do you know that?"

"They were seen in Wutai."

"Well what do you know?" Reno chuckled. "I guess Elena does have a chance then."

Kunsel rolled his eyes. Back in the day, he'd have been all over gossip like this. But even so, he had better things to do right now then listen to them prattling on about their coworkers fantasies. He continued climbing, trying not to laugh.

He had probably made it about twenty feet up the pipe and was almost to the series of catwalks by which he'd come here, when he saw the two Turks come out of the area that housed the central core. Ducking down and creeping further away he started to head back towards the elevator, starting to type a message into his PHS. However, even with his lightning quick typing skills, he found himself interrupted by hearing Reno's PHS go off. The man answered it. "Yeah… what? Of course we're down in the core, where else would we be? Security thinks they've been hacked? All right, we'll go check it out."

Bad luck. There was no time. He jumped to the highest catwalk he could reach, landing lightly on it, and then hurried to the elevator. And that was when his own PHS buzzed. Cloud was calling? Not now. He went back to his message and sent it without bothering to answer as he reached for the button to open the elevator doors. Hopefully the matter wasn't too urgent. Still, he needed to get moving. The Turks already knew something was up, and it wouldn't be long before they figured out what. But he could still easily catch the lift a bit before the Turks could and that should hold them off for a little while.

* * *

><p>Yuffie was crouched on the roof of the building where the others had left her, keeping her attention on the surrounding environs and bored out of her mind. She knew it had only been a few minutes since the others had left, but she really hoped they'd hurry up.<p>

She was absently watching a young boy playing on the steps of one of the nearby buildings when suddenly, she felt a presence next to her, and then that presence entered her line of sight revealing that it was wearing a pair of familiar golden boots. Looking up, she blinked in surprise. "Vincent? What are you doing here? And how did you find us?"

"Freya," he answered. "I let Reeve know I was headed this way on a hunch and he asked me to get in contact with her."

"Ah, what kind of hunch?"

"Just a feeling…" Vincent murmured.

"Oh." Yuffie noticed that the boy seemed to be getting closer to the bridge, but he still seemed to be engrossed in the toy airship he was pretending to fly through the air. "Well, the others shouldn't be too long. Shalua hacked the cameras so no one would see them in there…"

Vincent answered with an affirming silence and Yuffie shrugged. Whatever. "Come on guys, get out of there…" she moaned.

A few minutes passed in silence and she found herself watching the boy again. Wait… he wasn't playing with that toy of his anymore. Instead, the little guy seemed to be looking cautiously towards the bridge, like he'd heard something…

"Yuffie…" Vincent got her attention and then pointed in the opposite direction, towards the main road into Sector 5, across the bridge on the next plate, which she knew led towards a military checkpoint. What looked like several regular troopers and a couple of SOLDIERs were headed from that direction.

"Yeah, I see."

She reached for her PHS and almost immediately, it buzzed indicating a text message from Kunsel. "_Turks in the core."_

"Damn it," she hissed. "Could this get any worse?" Her question was answered when Cloud and Cid backed out of the main entrance, wall spells glowing, their weapons drawn and she angrily drew her shuriken. This was going to suck, she could already tell.

* * *

><p>A few minutes before, Cloud had been working his way along the wall opposite Cid, checking for any sounds that might indicate a hollow space when he heard the other man speak. "So what do you think about all this?"<p>

"I'm not sure yet," he admitted.

Cid grunted in agreement. "Can't say I do either. But still, how crazy is this? Sniffin' around behind enemy lines when anyone with a pointy stick is lookin' for us. That'll get the adrenaline pumping for sure." He chuckled.

"If you go for that sorta thing," Cloud said. He tapped on the wall again with his fist. It sounded pretty solid.

Cid moved on to the next panel. "I gotta say, it's a lot more excitin' then hanging around Rocket Town." He paused, knocking hard on the wall. "But then again, I'll bet there's somewhere you'd rather be, isn't there… wait…"

At that moment, they both heard a noise from the end of the corridor leading deeper into the reactor. "Did you hear that?" Cid asked.

Cloud wordlessly pulled the First Sword from his sword harness and held it at the ready while Cid stood ready with his spear. Both men approached the far end of the corridor cautiously, to peek around the corner and Cloud tightened his grip on his blade.

His eyes widened as he saw the panel they'd been searching for suddenly slide open and three figures walked out. All were wearing versions of the same mako suit Luxiere had been wearing, along with helmets bearing only one lens for the wearers to view the world through. That was all Cloud noticed before he put up a Wall spell and ducked back behind the corner seeing Cid go for his PHS. Figuring it wasn't a bad idea he went for his own and whispered "You get Zack, I'll try Kunsel." He waited for a moment as it rang, but when the other SOLDIER didn't pick up, he slipped the device back into his pocket and readied himself to attack. That was around the time the three men cleared the corner, and he saw they were all packing what looked like machine guns. He soon saw four more of the strange men in the mako suits emerge from the opening and motioned to Cid that they should back up so they had more room to move.

The pilot agreed and they backed towards the reactor's main entrance. He felt his PHS buzz, but didn't bother to see if it was a text or a call. Instead, he cast another wall on Cid and the two of them moved out onto the bridge. At the same moment, he heard Yuffie running towards them and to his surprise, Vincent folded out of his cape at the intersection.

"Guys! We've got company coming!" the ninja shouted, right before he glanced behind her and saw several troopers advancing with SOLDIERs in their midst. He wasn't particularly worried about them individually. But get enough of them together, and they could still be overrun. He looked back at the combatants that were emerging from the main entrance and decided this needed to end quickly. He had no worries that Zack, Aerith, and Kunsel could get out, but they needed to make sure the way was clear enough they could escape without bringing the entire army down on them.

One of the soldiers from the reactor made a motion with his machine gun and the others fired. The bullets zinged off the wall spells as Cloud charged, bringing the First Sword around with a mighty swing and Cid vaulted in from overhead. However, the man he would have landed on stepped out of the way, attempting to come at the pilot with the butt of his rifle. Cloud's own opponent ducked, and he realized there was very little he could do here on this tiny catwalk where he could very easily take out Cid too if he wasn't careful. Cid seemed to realize this, as he leapt back and took a position with Yuffie and Vincent, who turned their attention to the approaching Shinra forces. Cloud rushed forward, cutting down two of the men with one swing now that Cid was out of his way. That was when he saw evidence of a Firaga being cast behind the men still coming from the reactor and then he heard Zack's voice. "Whoa, Cid wasn't kidding! Where the hell did these clowns come from?"

"Glad you could make it!" Cid called from the catwalk leading to the plate.

Zack quickly dispatched the enemies blocking his path before he looked around and saw the advancing SOLDIERs. "Man, I guess this isn't our day huh?"

"Did you see the shaft on your way out?" Cid asked.

"Shaft?" Zack asked, drawing his broadsword with his left hand. "I just saw these guys here…"

At that moment, Kunsel hurried out after him. "Zack! Turks!"

"You're kidding!" Zack shook his head in annoyance, "I think it's time to find a better place for this conversation, don't you?..."

His voice trailed off as the troopers finally arrived and one of the SOLDIERs held up a sword. "You are to surrender now or suffer the consequences…"

At that moment, Cloud heard the report of another rifle from the entrance to the reactor and the sound of it zinging off the SOLDIER's sword. There were more of them!? And they were fighting the Shinra troops? What was going on here?

After that, all was chaos. Cloud made his way towards the center of the bridge along with Zack, Kunsel, and Aerith, the three SOLDIER enhanced men doing their best to put up walls and protect her. At some point, he thought he saw a flurry of sparks and a head of red hair near the entrance behind the new wave of strange soldiers, but he couldn't be sure. That was when he saw something else near the end of the bridge that he and his companions were working their way towards. A pair of blue eyes peeking out of a mop of russet brown hair watched him at the edge of the bridge. A kid? Here? Damn it! This was all they needed!

His frustration turned to panic when he saw a few more Shinra troopers coming from the other way, causing the kid to run closer to the center of the bridge. Not really thinking, he ran in that direction, getting ready to cast a wall spell so at least the bystander wouldn't get hurt in this standoff.

He was almost there when something else entered the equation.

One of the soldiers from the reactor tossed a grenade.

There was no time to do anything else. Kicking the explosive towards the Shinra troopers on the Sector 4 side of the bridge, Cloud threw himself over the boy, sheathing the First Sword as he did so. It sort of worked. In fact, had he been on solid ground it would have been quite effective. Regardless, the explosion was huge enough to rattle his teeth, and the next thing he knew, he was falling. Somehow, the blast had knocked him so that the boy was on top of him and they looked each other in the eyes, both knowing what was coming as they tumbled through the air. After a moment, he pulled the kid close, attempting the most powerful Wall he could cast to shield them from the impact. But even that wasn't enough to stop the first blow from hurting like hell, or the second one from making everything go black as his head knocked against something hard…

* * *

><p><em>See ya next week!<em>


	55. Wow, What Were the Odds of That?

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spin-offs That honor goes to Square-Enix.

**Part III: Demons**

* * *

><p>Chapter 55, Wow, What Were the Odds of That?<p>

**June 16****th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008**

As soon as the air cleared, Zack realized Cloud was missing. And he wasn't the only one. The SOLDIERs and the troopers on the Sector 4 side of the bridge had retreated, and that meant they had an opening out of this firefight, even if it meant jumping over that gap leading down into the abyss below. "Guys! That way!" He yelled, continuing to shield Aerith behind his wall. He felt her channel a limit and to his relief it was the one that made everyone temporarily invincible. Great. Now to get the hell out of here before they were overwhelmed and so they could get down into the slums to find Cloud. Sheathing his sword and lifting Aerith up with his good arm, he leapt across the hole and the others followed. He didn't bother putting her down as he raced through the streets until the gunfire was well behind them.

He could hear the others following him, though at some point, he realized they had outstripped the few troopers that had decided they were the bigger threat than those guys that had come out of the reactor by several blocks and ducked down a nearby alley. The others joined him soon after. "Is everyone all right?" Zack asked.

"I think so," Yuffie said. "Where's Cloud?"

"He fell from the bridge," Vincent murmured. "We should go to the slums."

"And soon," Zack agreed. "Shinra may already be sending someone down there. At the very least, I think I have an idea of where he might be."

Aerith's eyes lit up in recognition. "You're right! We should hurry. I can show you the way from here." She beckoned that they follow her as she ran along the alley, away from the reactor.

"Where's that?" Cid asked as the others started to run after them. Everyone was in too much of a hurry to answer.

They continued on for a couple of minutes and Aerith had brought them to a set of emergency stairs when suddenly, Kunsel heard his PHS buzz. He reached for it even as Zack helped Aerith lift up the trap door leading down through the main plate. "Cloud?"

Zack paused, listening… And his advanced hearing caught the sound of someone breathing on the other end.

Kunsel's eyebrows furrowed in concern. "Cloud? You okay over there?"

Zack was listening with baited breath now. _"He's… I'm not…"_ The voice quavered. It didn't sound like his friend. The owner of this particular voice sounded a bit younger and very rattled.

Kunsel seemed to have come to the same conclusion. "Hey, calm down, kid. It's okay. Is Cloud there? Can he talk?"

Zack didn't hear anything for a second and then Kunsel spoke again. "Cloud?" Another moment passed and then Kunsel handed the PHS to him. "He wants to talk to you."

Zack put the phone to his ear. "Cloud? Are you all right?"

"_Mostly,"_ Cloud said, _"I blacked out for a bit. Only just came to. I think I'm still a little shaken up… world's still spinning… but the kid's okay… He just got a couple of scratches. You won't believe where we landed…"_

"Actually, I think I will," Zack said with a sigh. "Don't move from that spot, stay out of sight, don't go to sleep, whatever you do, and we'll be there in half an hour." He hung up the PHS and handed it back to Kunsel. "Let's go, he's at the church."

* * *

><p>When Cloud came to, he was at first not sure he was awake yet. He seemed to be surrounded by familiar yellow flowers, though they didn't look like they'd been properly weeded for a long time, and even more confusing, he saw a young face looking down at him. He groaned and tried to sit up. His stomach lurched but he managed to hang onto his breakfast, barely. That was when he'd seen his PHS in the kid's hand and took it from him so he could talk to whoever was on the other end. It was perhaps only then when he fully realized where he'd landed. The irony of the whole situation was not lost on him.<p>

He'd just hung up his PHS and was finally beginning to regain some sense of balance when he noticed the kid next to him start to sway. "Hey, you okay?"

The boy didn't answer as his knees went out from under him. Cloud caught him and carried him over to the bench, the same one where he'd slept through a lot of Zack's adventure with Zirconiaide. Looking him over, he soon realized the cause. A bandage that had obviously been applied by someone who knew what they were doing was wrapped around the boy's shoulder. It was peeking out of his shirt sleeve on his right side. Geostigma.

He wasn't surprised. Even above plate, the renegade Turks in the area had been reporting instances of it among the children here, and the strain from the fall couldn't have helped either. He tried to think what Tifa or Aerith would do, and after a moment he put his hand to the boy's forehead. The boy's was definitely warm.

Cloud straightened and looked around the empty church. Surely there was some way Aerith had kept the flowers watered around here… Ah ha! He saw a bucket standing by the door and walked out with it, searching for a tap. He soon found one and returned. Looking around again, he discovered a small rag in the back near an old washbasin and after taking a moment to make sure it was mostly clean, he returned to where the boy lay and dipped it into the bucket. He then placed the cool cloth on the boy's head before taking the First Sword off his back to lean it against the pew and sitting down on the floor next to it, leaning against the seat. He could already feel a headache forming and he reflexively cast a Cure to see if that helped. A few moments later, he heard the boy stir behind him. Looking over, he saw the kid blink and then try to sit up. He put out a hand to stop him.

"You should probably rest," he said. "I think you have a fever."

The boy looked at him in surprise. "Who…?" he asked.

"No one important," Cloud said.

It didn't help matters that the kid was looking up at him with a very curious expression. "You saved me?" he asked.

Cloud nodded and the boy's eyes widened as he smiled weakly. "That was cool…"

The swordsman wasn't prepared for that. "What were you doing on that bridge?" he asked.

"I heard noises, and then those SOLDIERs came…" the boy answered.

"You should have gotten out of there," Cloud murmured, standing and walking to the aisle so he could watch the door.

He could feel the boy's eyes watching him and it didn't help that the expression on the kid's face was one he recognized from when Marlene had first met him. Awe. There was a very uncomfortable silence until the door to the church swung wide open and he looked up to see Zack and Aerith both rushing in with the others behind them.

* * *

><p>Tseng listened carefully as Reno gave his report from on-site and found his pulse quickening slightly. So it seemed GUARDIAN had returned to Midgar to investigate. That, he'd expected. What he hadn't expected was the platoon of unknown, apparently SOLDIER enhanced militants with machine guns. This was unprecedented. Where the hell had these guys come from?<p>

According to Reno's report, they'd all been dispatched and their bodies were being removed by the SOLDIERs and troopers on-site, but they still had no clue what they had been doing, and that made the situation dire. The answers had to lie with that elevator shaft Reno and Rude had seen them exit. Since he was planning to meet with Heidegger on the matter within the next few minutes, he had instructed his two subordinates to guard the shaft and await further instructions. In the meantime, he had some pointed questions for the head of Public Safety.

Fortunately the bridge hadn't been completely destroyed by that grenade but several of their troopers had died, and it looked like the SOLDIERs on their side of the three-way fight had even taken a casualty or two. By Reno's assessment whatever those militants that had followed the members of GUARDIAN out of the reactor were, they were powerful fighters. Probably not on par with Sephiroth, seeing as from Reno's vantage point behind the majority of the combatants he'd been able to see that the advantage had been with GUARDIAN before Shinra's troops arrived. Still, they were definitely a force to be reckoned with, even though they had disappeared back into that elevator after the bridge was damaged. This was a dangerous situation.

He walked along the halls of the 43rd Floor, reaching the place where the two board members were waiting. Upon pulling open the door to the conference room, he saw Heidegger already seated at one end of the table in his usual military garb, and Scarlet was next to him, in her usual red dress. They had appeared to be talking until just a moment ago but now the last two remaining members of the original board looked up at him, both very concerned. Tseng pretended to ignore this and took a seat across from them.

"Thank you for coming," he said, attempting to suppress any sense of satisfaction he may or may not have had from being permitted to make Scarlet do what he wanted her to in favor of the seriousness at hand. He searched through the files in the briefcase he'd brought with him and produced the file containing the emails he'd recovered, along with photo stills from the security cameras at Mako Reactor 5, the photo stills from Hojo's escape, and several other files containing the exhaustive mountains of research he had accumulated over the last couple of months, including budgets going back at least three decades if not further back, correspondence with the president as well as Professor Hojo and each other and anything else he could compile to make his case solid.

For the maximum effect he made sure the image of the unknown man emerging from Reactor Five and the emails he'd recently intercepted were placed squarely at the top of the heap, and that the pile of neatly organized papers, which was at least the size of a large dictionary, landed on the table with a very satisfying thump.

"As you know, one of the projects Rufus has charged the Department of Administrative Research with over the last few months has been the investigation of the rumored top-secret project known as Deepground."

As dense as Heidegger was, he seemed to have noticed what lay in front of him right away and he definitely reacted with some nervousness, while Scarlet hadn't bothered to look at what lay before them because she drew herself up to her full height and folded her arms dismissively. "Kya-ha-ha. Tseng darling, I told you the last time we spoke on this matter. We all know very well that Deepground was simply one of the Science Department's little jokes that they spread around as a rumor to keep the SOLDIERs in line. They all had an absolutely wicked sense of humor; you should know that."

Tseng nodded. "Of course. But there is something else that is of equal importance that I felt might be related." He indicated the image of the unknown man climbing out of the reactor.

That was when she finally bothered to glance down at the photo and he saw her swallow hard. Tseng took a couple of moments let the image sink in before continuing. "Shortly after this image was taken, there was an incident at Mako Reactor 5, where this occurred. While it's equally troubling, in regards to our security, how GUARDIAN managed to find their way into sensitive areas, what is even more troubling is what occurred while they were apparently investigating the situation."

He slipped a final image on top of the file. It was a final still from the same security camera looking out at the entrance to the reactor. In it, Zack, Kunsel and several other members of GUARDIAN were standing at the T-intersection at the bridge, flanked by SOLDIERs and troopers on either side. It was right before the grenade had gone off. Cloud could easily be seen diving to cover what appeared to be a small boy behind them, even as he had drawn back his right boot to kick the explosive away. While it alone cut a rather dramatic image, that wasn't the reason Tseng had picked this picture. He had selected it because the small company of mako-enhanced men and women toting machine guns and clad in mako suits could be seen quite clearly at the entrance.

"Whether you know nothing or not, the fact remains that a small unit of physically enhanced militants with missing Shinra technology and," he reached for another photo Reno had sent him of the logo stamped on one of the enemy fighters' breastplates, "a symbol used by the science department in connection with some heavily encrypted documents even the Turks weren't privy to before our current president took office. This is a crisis. We have no idea who these people are, or if there are more of them. If there is something any of you know about it, it would be best to say something now."

It was at that point when the head of Weapons Development and the head of Public Safety looked at each other. For the first time, both of them looked worried, Tseng felt a sense of triumph even with his concern. He had them!

It was Heidegger who finally spoke, and in the face of this overwhelmingly obvious evidence, even he could see they'd been outgunned. "Perhaps… there are some things we can tell you."

"Is that so?" Tseng looked behind him to find Rufus Shinra himself standing in the door, with Elena behind him. He had apparently set himself up in an adjacent meeting room to overhear this interview.

"Mr. President," he acknowledged.

Rufus nodded in his direction, an undisguised smirk on his face. "I hope I'm not interrupting," he said.

Tseng shook his head. "No sir."

"Excellent." Rufus padded into the room with a calm, controlled demeanor, Dark Nation at his side, before taking a seat next to the leader of the Turks and looking across the table at his two wayward subordinates. Dark Nation sat on the floor next to him and Rufus nonchalantly reached out and scratched his pet behind the ears as he continued. "Because, I would be very interested to hear this."

* * *

><p>Shears was watching Elfe work in the kitchen when Shalua returned. "I guess the cameras are taken care of?" he asked.<p>

The woman nodded, depositing her equipment by the door to her room before looking around questioningly. "Where's Veld?"

"He took Lou and Rod out to watch from a distance," Elfe answered. "He doesn't want to be involved, but that's not saying he doesn't want to know what's happening." She was slicing through some vegetables with the same care and precision as she trained with her katana. Shears couldn't help but feel a little more relaxed by watching the familiar movements. Having the sick, injured, and potentially crazy SOLDIER sleeping in their back room was no small cause of concern to him. He didn't mind doing GUARDIAN the favor of keeping an eye on the man while they went to investigate. If not for Zack and his friends, Elfe might be dead right now, but he couldn't help but be worried. Having Elfe in such close proximity to a potential source of the disease made him edgy.

"Has anyone seen the charger for my PHS?" Shalua asked.

"I'm not sure…" Elfe answered. "Did you check the living area?"

The bespectacled woman nodded. "I checked all over the place… hmm…" she looked toward the back room.

"If you go in there, be quiet. That SOLDIER's still in there," Shears said.

"Mm…" Shalua seemed to be half listening. "All right…" He watched her walk down the hall heard a door open.

Shears was about to stand up and help Elfe with some potatoes when suddenly he heard someone yelling "You! Get the hell away from me!" He was at the door within moments and flung it open taking in the scene that lay before him. In the dim light of a lamp by a desk against the far wall, he could see that Shalua had jumped back from the cot in surprise, as the man had flung himself away from her, his glowing eyes reflecting complete and utter terror.

"What's going on?" he demanded.

Shalua looked completely confused, and no wonder. She'd helped Kunsel treat the SOLDIER's wounds not even a day ago. He'd been rather delirious at the time so he hadn't been completely coherent, but still… "I don't know," she said. "I only had the light on for a second and then he started shouting."

Shears looked down at the man cowering against the wall and knelt in front of him, careful to avoid the bandages as he tried to steady him and meet his eyes. "Hey, what's the matter?" It was a rather jarring experience. In spite of the fact Shears was not himself SOLDIER enhanced, Kunsel's friend was so weak the martial artist was still matching him in strength.

The SOLDIER glared at him before looking back in Shalua's direction, a haunted look in his eyes. His breathing was ragged like he'd run a marathon and he was curling up on the floor as though to protect himself from an invisible attacker. "It's that little $!#&%... She put him in my head… The transparent… Shelke… Get lost Usher… Where's my sister…?"

The SOLDIER's ramblings were getting less coherent by the second but at the mention of the name, Shalua's mouth fell open. A split second later she was kneeling next to Shears, even as the SOLDIER was continuing his fight for consciousness. "Luxiere," she said firmly, using the name Kunsel had used. "Are you saying my sister… Shelke did this to you?!"

"Tsviets… Go away Usher…"

Shalua grabbed him by the shoulder with her normal arm. "Where is she!?" the woman demanded. Unfortunately, the man had drifted off again.

"Shalua!" Shears gently pulled her away before lifting Luxiere up and pulling him back to the cot. "I don't think that's going to help."

For a second, he thought she was going to fight him, but finally, she let out a sigh of defeat. After watching him rearrange the SOLDIER on the cot and check to make sure his wounds hadn't opened again, she suddenly seemed thoughtful though. "Maybe not, but now I think I know what will." She walked to the desk, picking up the PHS charger before walking to the door.

"What are you doing?" Shears asked.

"Remember those encrypted files we stole back when we helped rescue those people from the Shinra building?" Shalua asked.

Shears nodded.

"Several of them had the same symbol in them that he had on that breastplate Kunsel brought him in with," the woman explained. "If Shelke is the one that did this to him, then those files might help me find her! They could get us all some answers!" She hurried out of the room, a new look of determination on her face.

* * *

><p>Zack reached the spot where Cloud stood first and the first thing out of his mouth was "Damn it Cloud, you scared us half to death! Are you sure you're okay?" He was already looking him over for injuries.<p>

"I'm fine," Cloud said, obviously trying not to sound too rattled by the experience.

Aerith was looking Cloud over with an appraising eye. "Well, we're definitely glad you're all right. It looks like the roof and the flower bed broke your fall."

Cloud looked behind him at the hole in the floor. "I guess. I'm amazed they're still here."

Aerith smiled. "Well, they're very resilient, because this is a sacred place."

"Well damn," Zack glanced behind him as Cid spoke to see the pilot looking at the greenery. "When you said Aerith could make stuff grow, even in Midgar, I didn't believe you, but you really weren't kidding!" The pilot seemed impressed, as did Yuffie.

"I guess it comes with the territory of being an Ancient," Kunsel mused.

"I really didn't do that much," Aerith said thoughtfully. "I think there's a special current of the Lifestream that runs through here and the area around where I used to live. Otherwise, I probably wouldn't hear the Planet as well here."

"That's a good point," Kunsel agreed. "Though I think this is probably something to talk about later. What happened?" He gestured to the hole in the roof, though it was clear he was indicating what had happened up on the bridge.

Zack turned his attention back to Cloud, and the young boy who was peeking up over the back of the first pew. "He's right," he agreed. "What did happen up there?"

"A live grenade," Cloud said. "I kicked it away but the blast still sent us flying."

Zack took a seat behind the bench where the kid was. "Well, that was some quick thinking." He looked at the boy. "What about you kid? Are you all right?"

The boy nodded and then pointed at Cloud, saying quietly "He saved me."

Kunsel also sat on one of the front benches, deep in thought. "But there's definitely something going on up at that reactor. Whatever those guys were, they were wearing the same mako suit Luxiere was wearing."

"That's true," Zack agreed. "What was their deal anyway? What were they even doing there?"

Kunsel was quiet for a moment before replying. "I don't know what you remember of the rumors that used to fly around the Shinra building back in the day, but I have a theory. Do you remember hearing anything about a project called Deepground?"

"Not really," Zack said. "What kind of project?"

Kunsel shrugged. "I never heard anything specific, but right around the time Luxiere disappeared, for whatever reason some rumors cropped up about sightings of strange helicopters and someone said they saw a distinctive symbol somewhere. I wasn't quite sure I believed it, but now…"

"We shouldn't hang around here longer than we have to. Shinra's troops are probably already on their way," Cid pointed out.

"True," Zack agreed. He turned to address the boy. "So, do you have a name kid?"

"Denzel," the boy answered looking up at him nervously. He was sitting up now, though he still looked exhausted.

"Well Denzel," Zack began. "Don't worry about a thing, we'll get you home as soon as we can." He turned his attention back to the current situation. "First thing's first. We need to get out of here." He started to the door and everyone moved to follow him.

It seemed it was not a moment too soon either, as Zack was certain he'd seen a search team approach the church right as they'd turned a corner. They were almost to the base of the stairs when Kunsel's PHS buzzed and he answered it. "Shears? What is it?"

He listened for a while and then nodded. "Okay, I'll be back in a few minutes. Has anything else happened since we left?... Oh, okay… Thanks." He ended the call. "Apparently Luxiere just woke up for a bit but he still doesn't know who he is." Pocketing the device, he considered for a moment. "Veld took Lou and Rod to investigate some of the other reactors and see if they have any similar elevator shafts, though I guess we should probably figure out what comes next."

"Yeah," Zack agreed.

"These people are the same ones that took Professor Hojo," Vincent pointed out. "Investigating Nibelheim might be informative."

"That's a good point," Zack said. "That was also where I got Cloud's SOLDIER uniform and it had that logo on it. Maybe we can find out some more there."

Kunsel paced back and forth at the base of the stairs a couple of times. "The other thing to consider is the fact that as long as we're here, Shinra's going to be tearing the city apart for us." He looked at Zack sheepishly. "Sorry I dragged you into this. It's just…"

Zack shook his head. "No, Luxiere was in trouble, and we might have been able to help. Even without the stuff that's going on, you know we would have come anyway. He was my friend too, don't forget."

Kunsel considered for a moment. "Yeah." Finally, he seemed to have come to a decision. "You guys go investigate Nibelheim. I'll take the kid back to his parents, and stay with Luxiere until you can figure something out."

"You sure about that?" Cid asked.

The SOLDIER nodded. "The fewer of us are here right now, the harder it'll be for Shinra to find us."

"All right," Zack agreed. "Be careful."

Denzel looked up at Cloud who wordlessly nodded and gestured that he go with the other SOLDIER and then everyone left Kunsel and the boy on the stairs. They still had to get to Sector 6 before they could safely leave.

* * *

><p><em>And the plot thickens.<em>

_See you next week!_


	56. More Secrets From Shinra Mansion

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spin-offs That honor goes to Square-Enix.

**Part III: Demons**

* * *

><p>Chapter 56, More Secrets from Shinra Mansion<p>

**June 16****th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008**

Kunsel and Denzel had just reached the top of the stairs when the SOLDIER saw that the boy was getting tired. "Why don't we rest a bit before we go on," he suggested.

Denzel sat down on the last step below the ladder that would take them up into the Sector 4 Plate, and leaned against one of the support beams that kept the stairs stable. There was an awkward silence for a moment and Kunsel reached into his pack, unearthing some rations he generally kept with him. "Are you hungry?" he asked.

The boy looked over and saw that he was offering him an energy bar. He nodded after a moment and accepted the food, pulling the wrapper open and eating hungrily. He winced a little after a moment. Apparently leaning forward had hurt him. That was when Kunsel noticed the bandages. He should have known, he guessed. Perhaps it was because of all the reactors in the immediate vicinity, but somehow Midgar had become the epicenter of the Geostigma epidemic.

He was about to ask if the kid was all right to continue when he heard a question. "That SOLDIER, the one who saved me, his name is Cloud, right?"

"Yeah," Kunsel answered.

Denzel smiled. "He was really awesome on the bridge."

The SOLDIER sighed. "That was really dangerous though."

The kid thought about it for a bit before nodding. "When we went over the side, I didn't know if we would make it. But then he made that force field and…" he suddenly went quiet again, thinking. "Can all SOLDIERs do that?"

"Some can, if they have the right materia," Kunsel said. He looked up at the ladder. "We should probably get going."

Denzel had finished with the energy bar by now and he nodded again, this time in agreement.

"Do you think you can climb up or do you need help?"

Denzel considered the ladder and the look of discomfort was evident. Seeing this, Kunsel draped the boy over his shoulder. "Hang on tight, okay?" he said.

This the boy did, and Kunsel climbed up the ladder before throwing back the trap door. They hurried along in silence, even though in his own mind, Kunsel found himself thinking about Luxiere. Just what had happened to him? From the sound of what Shears had told him, it seemed almost as though someone had actually gone into his mind. Kunsel had heard of normal brainwashing techniques before, but to totally eradicate one's previous memories, replace them with new ones and give a person a new identity. It was a frightening prospect.

What sort of hell had he climbed out of, that its denizens would do things like this? He sincerely hoped that Zack and the others would find some answers in Nibelheim because they were answers that he desperately needed. He continued to ponder the question in his own thoughts, even as they snuck through Midgar's backstreets.

After a while, they drew near the street where he'd first seen Denzel playing with the model airplane and the boy pointed to a nearby door on the other side of the road. "That's my house," he said.

"All right," Kunsel answered. "I'll be watching until you get inside. Next time, stay out of trouble."

Denzel once again answered with a nod and then walked out of the alley and up to the door of his house. He was greeted by a woman who was probably his mother, and before the door shut, Kunsel heard her demand angrily "Where have you been?! We've been worried sick!..."

Deciding it wouldn't do to stay so near the scene of their escapades from earlier this morning, Kunsel turned and made his way back towards the safe house, making doubly sure that no one was following him. Especially not any curious children.

* * *

><p><strong>June 17<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008**

Elena was riding in an elevator deep below the Shinra building. By now, she was well below the plate level, ground level, the sewers of Midgar, even the fifth level basement, which was the furthest below she'd ever gone before. Tseng was feeding her the instructions through her PHS as Heidegger was providing them. SOLDIER 1st Class Bradley, and SOLDIER 1st Class Herche, the two top ranking SOLDIERs in the entire unit were behind her on the elevator along with a few Troopers.

Her ears popped uncomfortably as the elevator ground to a halt, and the sight that met her eyes was staggering. They were standing on a bridge to another support tower that also descended into the gloom below them and out of sight. This was already outside of the blueprints and judging by the depth of the gap below them, there was still a long way to go. How had such a thing not been noticed? Had it all been built under here by the denizens themselves?. "All right sir, we've reached the lowest that last elevator will go. We're seeing a bridge across a huge gap leading to a door. Proceed?"

"_Affirmative. If the information from Heidegger and Scarlet is correct, then once you've passed through the door you should come to a large elevator. Proceed with caution. According to them, the President's entrance is down that shaft, however, due to the fact they've refused Scarlet and Heidegger's communications since the incident they reported to us, it's hard to say what sort of reception you'll receive."_

"Roger that. We're beginning our approach." Holding her gun in her hand, the Turk nervously walked along the catwalk with the two SOLDIERs flanking her. Upon reaching the end, she typed the code Heidegger had given them into the keypad and after the door whooshed open, they found themselves on the large platform Tseng indicated. This was above and beyond all doubt an elevator shaft, even though the elevator cables were supported by a single central beam poking up through the center of the floor. A control panel stood nearby. "Elevator shaft confirmed, preparing to descend," she said into the PHS.

She moved to the panel while the troopers boarded and was about to hit the switch to descend when suddenly one of the other troopers spoke up. "Ma'am? We've got a heat source approaching us from above." The Turk looked up at where the trooper was pointing. There was definitely something flying around up there.

She listened intently. If she didn't know any better she could have sworn it sounded like small helicopter blades. A second passed, and then another and she went for her PHS. "Sir, we may be about to make contact with something flying around in the shaft. We're not sure what it is but…"

That was when the object fired a spray of bullets at the squad on the platform, and Elena returned fire along with everyone else…

* * *

><p>Vincent stood on the bridge early that morning as Cid stood at the wheel of the Highwind behind him. The Corel mountains were flying by underneath them as they were drawing closer to the point where they blended with the Nibel Mountain range. It wouldn't be long now before they returned to Shinra Mansion. The place where Lucrecia had conceived Sephiroth with Hojo. The place where he had allowed the most dangerous being in the world to come into existence at the expense of the one he respected most. The place that lay at the heart of his sins…<p>

…_It had been over thirty years ago. Vincent stood in the music room of the Shinra mansion, by a small coffee table. Across from him was an attractive woman about his age in a lab coat, her hair pulled back into a high ponytail. He spoke smoothly and professionally as he made his introduction. "Vincent Valentine reporting for duty ma'am. I've been assigned to you as protection."_

_The woman seemed taken aback for a moment and he heard her mutter something that sounded disturbingly like "No…"_

"_Hmm?" He gave her a questioning look._

_She pulled away from him, deep in thought. "Why would they… send his…"_

"_Excuse me?" He asked the previously unspoken enquiry a little more directly now._

_The woman seemed to have finally remembered he was there, because she looked up at him at that moment. "Oh… I apologize. This is… the first time I have ever met anyone from the Turks." She smiled and held out her hand to him to shake. "Lucrecia Crescent. Pleased to make your acquaintance Mr. Valentine…"_

"Morning Vincent," he looked up and noticed that Zack was standing next to him. He must have just gotten up. They had been flying through the night and it was still early morning.

"Good morning," he answered.

The dark-haired SOLDIER was standing next to him looking grimly out over the mountains. "So, are we getting close?" he asked.

"It should be another hour or so," Cid reported.

Zack nodded. "I see," he said at last. He let out a sigh. "To tell the truth, it's not something I'm really looking forward to, but… well, like last time, it's something we have to do I guess."

Vincent grunted in agreement and the two of them stood there in silence for a little before Zack tried to break the silence again. "I told this to Cloud the last time, but I think I should probably tell you now, you don't have to face this alone. You never said anything to us before, but we know something happened to you down there and it had to do with Hojo. So we're in this together, all right?"

Vincent looked away. It seemed Zack's naturally protective tendencies were being extended to him as well. "Your concern is not unappreciated, though I do not think it necessary."

"You're part of GUARDIAN. It's going to happen anyway," Zack said.

Vincent chuckled softly. "Well then, I suppose we're all about to get another glimpse of hell."

"I think we got a bit of that back in Midgar too, come to think of it," Zack muttered. He turned his attention to Cid. "Has there been any word from the Renegades about what they found in the other reactors?"

"Yeah," Cid answered. "We got the contact a couple of hours ago. There's elevator shafts in all eight of them. They were real hard to spot, especially with Shinra investigating too, but it seems like Rufus is gearing up for something big. Reeve's even got a Cait Sith lookin' into it, though it seems the cat hasn't infiltrated deep enough to get any real good dirt yet." He pulled a cigarette out and stuck it in his mouth before reaching for a lighter.

"Really tense situation out there, isn't it," Zack observed.

"No shit," Cid agreed. "It's like we're sittin' on a land mine and waitin' for it to blow."

It was at that moment when Vincent looked behind him and realized that Cloud had appeared at the entrance to the bridge along with Aerith and Yuffie.

"Oh yeah," Cid offered as he nodded to the others. "Got a little more news. It seems Veld had Mao and Tanjuu doing a little pokin' around here for somethin' so they'll be waitin' when we get to the mansion."

"Always good to have help," Zack said. He had not taken his eyes off the Nibel Mountains since they'd appeared a few minutes ago under the sunrise.

* * *

><p>Rufus stood in the President's Office atop the Shinra Building, looking at a series of statistics and bulletins on a large projector with Tseng. It had been about an hour since Elena had returned, the forces with her repelled by the machines that had been left to guard the way in. A contingent of troops now waited at each elevator shaft in the reactors as well as just above the president's entrance. He reached for his PHS. "Reno, what's your status?"<p>

There were sounds of someone walking on the other end and then Reno answered _"We just finished our survey of the area. It seems clear."_

"I see," Tseng said. He turned to Rufus. "Sir?"

Rufus looked at the projector as he spoke. "Tell Reno to back out for the moment. The investigation and containment operation will commence immediately."

* * *

><p>Veld stood on the viewing platform of a skyscraper in the business district near Mako Reactor 6, looking down at the activity below through a pair of binoculars. He wasn't the only one. A number of sightseers on the building were watching the goings on with interest. All the better. It made it easier for him to blend in. They had been investigating the various reactors in plainclothes through most of the day and now, he could see that the squad of soldiers both normal and enhanced, were beginning to move. A small explosion caught his attention just as his PHS went off. It was Lou.<p>

"_Sir, it looks like they're blowing open the shaft at Reactor 3._"

"Yes, they're doing the same here at 6." His PHS beeped and he confirmed that he had three more missed calls. One from Shears, one from Elfe, and one from Rod. Knowing that each of them had gone to investigate one of the other reactors, he had a feeling he already knew why. "Stand by for further orders. We'll wait and see if Rufus has things in hand for now."

* * *

><p>The Highwind flew into position near the entrance to Nibelheim. No one was here. All of Shinra's employees had fled when it was clear that Rocket Town was lost. It was uncertain where they had gone, but now, all the rebuilt houses stood vacant, the mako reactor lay dormant in the mountains, and all that remained of Cloud and Tifa's childhood home were the memories of an attempt by Shinra to cover up their misdeeds. It was a town of ghosts in more ways than one.<p>

As they reached the main gate, he saw Mao and Tanjuu waiting for them and Zack hurried forward to greet them. "Glad to see you guys. So how have things been going?"

The two at-large renegades nodded and Mao gestured that they follow him. "We only got here just recently ourselves, but I think the staircases are mostly stable." They began making their way across the deserted cobblestone path to the hill that led to the mansion.

"That's good," Zack said. "Though obviously we're most interested in the stuff below ground."

Tanjuu nodded. "It seems to be mostly functional. We got the lights running on a generator we discovered behind the mansion. Hopefully, that should keep us able to see while we're here."

"Have you seen anything relevant to our search?" Vincent asked.

They had passed the well and the hill was beginning to slope upwards now. "None that I've been able to tell," Mao answered. "Though we've only just started so that's probably not surprising."

They continued the climb up the hill and through the wrought iron gates until at last, Mao threw open the door and everyone was able to take a look inside. It did indeed seem as though without anyone to maintain the building, the mansion was finally beginning to fall apart a little. A few of the floorboards had been pushed up by vines beginning to peak out from under them and while it was hardly a jungle in here, Vincent found himself thinking that if left to its own devices, the place probably would start falling apart sooner or later.

Cloud finally spoke, moving towards the stairs with his hand on his sword. "The sooner we finish here the sooner we can leave."

"I won't argue with that," Zack agreed.

"It doesn't seem so bad," Cid said, falling in step behind the two swordsmen. "A little old, maybe."

"You weren't with us last time," Aerith pointed out. She turned to Zack with a serious look. "Zack, you and Cloud don't have to go down if you don't want to."

"I'll be fine this time," he assured her. Aerith decided not to argue the point further, and so the party cautiously made its way up the stairs and towards the bedroom leading to the secret door. It wasn't long before they reached it, and Zack pulled it open without ceremony, looking down into the darkness with no small amount of apprehension. "Careful guys. There's no telling if the Sahagin population hasn't done some growing while we were gone."

"I'll just stay up here," Yuffie said at last. "Slimey Sahagins and dusty old books aren't any fun at all."

"All right," Cloud said. "You can keep watch then."

"As if anything's gonna show up." Yuffie sat down in a chair by the door, folding her arms impatiently. Mao produced a flashlight and the seven of them began to descend into the dark. It was not long before they were traveling through the old stone tunnels and shortly afterward, they came to the intersection that led to the crypt where Vincent's coffin had been on the left, and the lab up ahead.

They had almost reached the door to main lab when he heard Zack say "So, I guess the first thing we should check out would be the library, huh?"

"That makes the most sense," Mao agreed, reaching for the door. "Although, we shouldn't forget the second lab through the crypt to the right."

"That was Lucrecia's," Vincent said. Everyone looked back at him, apparently not having expected him to say anything.

"Who?" Cid turned look at him.

"You mean Sephiroth's mom?" Zack asked.

Vincent nodded in the affirmative. "She was conducting research of her own down here."

"How about we split up then?" Cid said, fiddling absentmindedly with a cigarette from the band of his aviator goggles. "Might be able to cover more ground that way."

"Not a bad idea," Tanjuu agreed. "So who goes where?"

They spent a little time dividing themselves up and soon Cloud, Cid, and the two Turks went into the lab to investigate the library, leaving Zack, Aerith and Vincent in the darkened cave. Deciding he didn't care to make conversation, Vincent walked to the crypt on the right side of the cavern and through it without hesitation, pulling on the chain that drew back the secret door and leading the way down what he now saw to be a line of cells. Privately, he was disconcerted by this. These cells had not been here the last time he remembered walking this corridor. Had they been built during the years he'd been asleep? It was possible. He had been down here thirty years after all.

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard Aerith speak behind him. "Zack?" He turned and noticed the swordsman was clearly making a conscious effort not to look at the cells.

"Don't worry about me, Aerith. I'm not gonna flip out like last time. I'm fine. I just hope Cloud's doing okay…" Zack said, trying to be reassuring. Aerith nodded and simply held his hand as the two of them continued towards Lucrecia's library.

Vincent turned away from the couple and continued onward. Zack didn't gawk at him while he faced his own demons. It was only right that he return the favor.

It was not long after that he strode into the library. He had a few memories of this place. Most of the time prior to his 'death', he had spent in the upper levels but there had been points where he'd run items down to the scientists here while they were working. Now, it was all empty, save for Lucrecia's books. To his left lay a doorway that appeared to lead to another lab. Red eyes glanced over the bookshelves until he noticed something sitting on a table nearby. It was a small data recorder with a crystal housed in it.

He heard Zack and Aerith walk in after him as he approached the table and reached for the recording device. It wasn't a common model. Probably one of Shinra's inventions that had never been released to the public for fear of losing control of the tech. He wasn't sure why he felt the need to examine it. Perhaps it was curiosity as to what reason Lucrecia would have had to keep such a thing, but all thought of the whys and wherefores was wiped from his mind when after picking up the small globe, it suddenly lit up. When his eyes adjusted, he opened his mouth in surprise.

"Lucrecia…" he murmured softly. He noticed Zack had stopped his searching at the shelves, as had Aerith, both their attentions drawn to the person now standing in front of the door they were facing.

"_Vincent… Right…?"_ The woman spoke. _"Have you come… to check up on me…?" _She smiled sadly as she spoke, and then walked forward across the room. His suspicions were confirmed when she passed through him like a ghost through a wall. That was all she was. A hologram. A recording from a time long since passed. She seemed uncertain as to the best way to continue, but upon completing her walk across the room she continued. _"Omega. His awakening is upon us."_

She spoke the words as though reciting a passage from a book. "_Soul wrought of terror corrupt, quelling impurity purging the stream, to beckon forth an ultimate fate. Behold. Mighty Chaos. Omega's squire to the lofty heavens… I came across this passage while studying the scriptures of the Ancients. The chronicles of yore. Omega. The end. Just as all other sentient beings, he too was born of the lifestream. However, his only purpose is to cleanse the planet of all things living and lead their immortal souls through the abyss of ether to a new beginning, far, far beyond the never-ending sea of stars. Just as life circulates through our planet, so too does our planet through the universe, or at least in theory. However, what I can be certain of is, if Omega awakens, then all life as we know it will end. And when omega has embarked on his journey to the cosmos, our planet will wither, and die."_

Lucrecia's image turned to face him. "_I will leave a copy of my records here for you Vincent. Though I… I cannot imagine what help they might be, if any at all… Just remember…" _Her voice broke as she tried to stop herself from sobbing and she looked down at her feet. "_I am so sorry…" _As the woman's image disappeared from view, the crystal dissolved in Vincent's hand. Ignoring everyone else for a moment, he walked back to the desk, spotting a red computer disk next to the recorder, and picked it up.

"What was that all about?" Zack asked coming up behind him. "I don't mean to pry, but it sounded serious."

"I am not certain, though her mention of Chaos is troubling," the man admitted.

"Why's that?" Zack asked.

Vincent placed the disk in his pocket. "Chaos is the name of one of the beings within me."

Aerith had been listening with rapt attention up until this point but now she approached the two men from the other side of the desk. "So that's what the Planet was saying when we found you."

Zack looked confused and Vincent raised an eyebrow as the flower girl went on. "I couldn't make much of it, because it was saying so many other things at the time, but it did say something about Chaos being awake in you. I didn't know what that meant at the time. It didn't seem terribly worried though." She frowned. "I haven't done much reading of the Cetra texts, but I think I have heard the Planet talk about Omega on occasion, usually like it's not supposed to do anything for a really long time."

"That's a relief," Zack said. "Maybe it's just a misunderstanding?"

"We can hope," Vincent said, beginning to walk to one of the shelves and look through its contents. "But even so, we should find out what's on this disk as soon as possible."

Seeing that as their cue to get busy, Zack and Aerith resumed searching the bookshelves for anything relevant to an army of top secret super-soldiers.

* * *

><p>Cloud was looking through a small pile of books that he remembered Freya had left on the desk while Cid and the two renegades were digging through the shelves when he happened across a series of reports that had been discarded from the main pile for some reason. Leaning in and lifting up the papers, he was about to start reading when he heard Cid cough dramatically behind him. Turning to see what the matter was, he noticed that the pilot seemed to have been covered in a cloud of dust, and it was beginning to settle around him. The source was revealed to be a stack of old anatomy books he'd pulled from the top shelf. The pilot was uttering a few curses as he attempted to put the books back on the shelf, having identified them properly.<p>

"Doesn't look like there's anything here," he said.

"Whatever you do, don't use a lighter," Mao suggested. "With all that dust you'll light up like a candle."

"No shit, genius, you think I don't know that?" Cid returned, grumpily pulling out what appeared to be a pamphlet on lab protocols for Hojo's assistants as he dusted himself off. "Rule #1, always make sure hands are washed and tools are clean and sterilized. Outside agents can compromise experiments… This doesn't look helpful…" He tossed the pamphlet to the side and Cloud turned his attention back to the report in his hands. He had been reading for several minutes when something caught his eye. It was a list of SOLDIER Deployment records. Sephiroth's first military deployment was among the first, along with Genesis, Angeal, and several others whose names he didn't know, though most of them weren't of note. However, a few entries caught his attention.

"**07/13/1977**

**President has requested the 14****th**** SOLDIER Division moved to Midgar from Junon. 1****st**** Class Gabriel to assume command of unit."**

"Has anyone ever heard of the 14th SOLDIER Division?" He asked.

"The what?" Tanjuu asked.

"The 14th SOLDIER Division," Cloud repeated.

Mao frowned and took a look at the report over his shoulder. "I think there used to be, but it's listed as disbanded following... 1978…" His voice trailed off as he continued to read over the swordsman's shoulder and Cloud continued to scan the document.

**11/02/1985**

**Contact from Hollander's sycophantic lackey Solomon. Uprisings have broken out. SOLDIER Unit established as permanent force. Word has it they have taken to the role, calling themselves the Lost Force. It is good someone's down there to keep order. Especially when the President still seems determined to use Hollander's failure as a source of future experiments.**

"The Lost Force…" Mao muttered. "This must have been that report Kunsel was talking about when we were here last time. I didn't know what he was talking about when he mentioned it but with the events in Midgar, it suddenly makes a lot more sense."

"You don't think those people in the reactor were with the Lost Force, do you?" Cid asked, also coming over to take a look.

"From the pictures you sent, I'm not sure. The one thing I do know is that they definitely look like the guy that took the Professor," Mao reached for a cleaning cloth in his pocket and took a moment to clean his glasses before reading a few other entries aloud.

"**04/08/1992. **

**1****st**** Class Gabriel was slain on the Wutai Battlefield while gathering the wounded. 1****st**** Class Keter to take command. **

**10/01/0000**

**1****st**** Class Hester was slain on the Wutai Battlefield. 1****st**** Class Coach was authorized to bring assailant to Nibelheim.**

**10/15/0000**

**Those bottom-dwellers stole my work! Subject A removed from Nibelheim by Tsviets on Solomon's orders. He will pay for this!"**

"The professor was a piece of work wasn't he?" Cid commented.

"You can say that again," Cloud muttered, taking a moment to massage his temple. He suddenly found himself thinking back to that moment the last time they'd been down here, when he'd remembered being strapped to that table in the other room. After a moment he stood. "I think… I need some air," he said. With that, he walked back out into the cave and towards the stone spiral staircase leading back up to the main part of the house.

* * *

><p>In the depths of the elevator shaft, hundreds of feet below Mako Reactor 5, a squad of SOLDIERs was rappelling down into the dark. A 3rd Class SOLDIER listened to the sound of his fellow squad members breathing into their mics. What would they find down there?<p>

The dark was only lit by the dim glow of SOLDIER eyes as the squad continued deeper and deeper, the ropes lowering them further and further away from the light. At last, he felt solid ground under his feet.

"We've hit the bottom," their squad leader said to the team above them through his communicator. "Disengage ropes."

The SOLDIER did as ordered, reached for his sword in the process, and stood at the ready until the whole squad was set. A cursory look around the bottom of the shaft put them at the entrance to a tunnel that seemed to lead somewhere. If only he could see where.

His superior officer looked in his direction. "Scout the terrain, we'll be right behind you."

He nodded and walked a short ways into the dark. It was quiet as a tomb down here. He could hear his own breathing and even the slight suction of his boots squishing into moist clay. Swallowing hard, he gripped his sword in his hand and continued a little further.

That was when he looked ahead and off in the distance, he caught sight of an eerie blue glow before being mowed down in a hail of bullets.

Not long after that, a powerful force overran the SOLDIER squad like a wave, climbing up the shaft as though running across horizontal ground. The crew at the top of the shaft only had a few moments advanced warning before the outpouring of men and gunfire. Like erupting geysers, the mako reactors began to bleed men and women, and ground zero, where the largest of these eruptions was taking place, would later be determined to be directly under the Shinra Building…

* * *

><p><strong>June 18<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 2:00 AM, Mideel Central Time**

It was nearing the early morning hours as Cissnei walked back to the lodge through the woods. It had been a long couple of days scouting for any remaining Shinra forces, but it had been her own choice. She'd thought Zack would be coming back yesterday and though she couldn't possibly bring herself to say so in front of him, she'd been wanting some space. It wasn't that she was jealous… Okay, maybe a little… but she'd known all along that Zack's heart belonged to Aerith. It was what had enabled them to catch him on the road to Midgar. It hadn't been a surprise when he'd proposed. Aerith was the kind of girl most guys could only dream of. Even so, part of her still hurt even as she smiled at the news and congratulated him.

It hadn't hurt nearly as much as when she'd told him her real name, but she still felt the need for some distance.

The lodge pulled into view after a moment and she made her way to the front door, just in time to see Tifa walk out with a water bottle in her hand. Upon seeing the former Turk, she smiled. "Good to see you're back. Things have been a little busy."

"Oh?" Cissnei fell in step with her as she walked the recently built path towards the planning room. Tifa explained where everyone was before adding "Reeve's on duty right now in case there's any news." She gestured to the water bottle in her hand.

The two of them continued until they reached the large cabin where meetings were now held, past the rooms Cid and Shera occupied when they weren't in Rocket Town or aboard the Highwind to the main room, which had been set up with a communications terminal at one end and a table for meetings down the center. Reeve sat at the desk clearly trying not to fall asleep, with a Cait Sith next to him. He looked up to see the two of them enter. "Did the bar just close?" he asked.

Tifa nodded. "I brought you some tea." She offered him the water bottle and he took it gratefully.

"Thank you," he said, taking a drink from it and stretching before turning his attention to the screen on his right. "I called Veld a short time ago. He says the military is investigating those shafts we discovered in the reactors. The Cait Sith unit I still have in Midgar has been watching the developments with Rufus quite closely. But right now, it seems they're waiting to see what the army finds down those elevators."

"Has there been any word from Zack and the others?" Cissnei asked.

Reeve shook his head. "Not since they left the Highwind to check Hojo's library in Nibelheim again."

"I can't believe they went back there," Tifa said shaking her head. "Especially considering what happened last time."

"They felt it needed to be done, I suppose," Reeve took another sip of his tea before nearly spitting it out.

"Hot?" Tifa asked.

Reeve reached for a napkin and shook his head, his attention glued to a screen on the left side of the desk. "That is Cait 6's visual data," he said. "He's watching what Rufus is seeing from a ventilation shaft in the president's office."

Cissnei moved in to take a look. On a projector in the president's office, just over Rufus's head, she was seeing security camera images from almost all the reactors as he was talking animatedly to someone by PHS. Out of each reactor, SOLDIERs and troopers were fleeing, some stopping to defend, only to be mowed down by men and women in mako suits. There was no question who was dominating the fight.

For several minutes, the three of them watched in shock. The enemy soldiers just kept coming and coming. It was like there was no end to them. Finally the direct line they had hacked into Shinra's existing communications grid rang to life. Reeve picked it up. "Yes?" He listened for a moment. "Cait's been showing us the whole thing. I agree. All of you get out of there now." Hanging up he looked at the others. "The safe house is being abandoned. Whoever is in charge of this operation, they are taking Midgar like it was nothing."

* * *

><p><strong>June 17<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 8:15 PM, Midgar Standard Time**

In the coastal town of Howling Point, a small group of men and one woman, now clad in a more comfortable pair of jeans and a button down shirt, were seated around a table at a local inn when the news came onto the television.

"_Strange activity continues at the reactors. It appears SOLDIER and military police units have been called though we still have not had an official statement from the president. A spokesman says they are monitoring the situation and will let us know if there is any further… Hang on… The SOLDIERs are falling back. What are those men coming out of the reactor?"_

Freya watched the report from in between a couple of her SOLDIER companions, her mind reeling from the implication. What had happened in Midgar during her absence. Was Kunsel still in there? What was going on? Suddenly her PHS rang and she brought it to her ear. "Yes?"

"_It's Reeve. Get to Kalm immediately."_

"Roger that." She paused before a thought occurred to her. "Are Kunsel and the others all right?"

"_He's evacuating with that SOLDIER he found. He and the renegades will be out of the city soon. They'll meet you in Kalm."_

"Got it." Hanging up she turned to the SOLDIERs. "Guys, we have an emergency. Seems we won't be leaving the Eastern Continent so soon after all."

* * *

><p><strong>June 17<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 11:45 AM, Nibel Mountain Time**

Cloud had just walked to the base of the ladder up to the Highwind's weather deck when one of the ship's crew called down to him with a salute. "Commander Strife Sir! There's an urgent message coming in from Commander Tuesti! He wants to talk to everyone as soon as possible!"

Cloud nodded and assuring the man he'd return soon, he hurried back to the Mansion and past Yuffie on the way to the stairs. Shortly afterward, everyone returned to the surface and it wasn't long before they had gathered on the bridge. Once everyone was assembled, the man at the communications terminal opened a channel. _"There you are. Things have become rather busy since you left."_

"What is it Reeve?" Zack asked.

"_Perhaps it would be better if I showed you."_

After a moment, images of the chaos in Midgar played across the holo-projector in front of the com-station. All of GUARDIAN that was present watched in surprise and shock. It was almost inconceivable to every single one of them that SOLDIER would be driven back, and yet, at every single reactor Shinra's forces were being pushed back in droves. "I guess they've shown us where they're comin' from," Cid said.

"The SOLDIERs," Yuffie murmured, leaning in to see better. "Why can't they fight them?"

"_It's probably partly due to us,"_ Reeve said. "_Because we've been stretching them so thin, Midgar has been weakened to the point where it was an easy target. Especially if the enemy's numbers are consistently as high as they seem to be."_

There was a heavy silence permeating through the main deck of the Highwind as the group watched the recordings. It wouldn't be long before Midgar was completely overrun, and as things stood there wasn't a thing they could immediately do, except perhaps go and help the survivors.

"How bad is it?" Zack asked after a moment, clasping his good hand around Aerith's.

"_It's hard to say at this time… But if we assume the worst, then… in the words of our esteemed colleague Captain Highwind…"_

* * *

><p><em>It seems we've had ourselves a very full chapter this time around. I hope everyone was able to follow what was going on all right. <em>

_That being said, due to my much touted backlog having thinned a bit in the last few weeks, next week will be a catch-up week, which means there will not be a new chapter until the following Thursday the 18th/Friday the 19th at the usual time (Midnight). I do this because it is my hope that I can maintain the standards I would like to hold myself to, and the quality you expect when I post these chapters every week. I'm still deciding whether or not there will be another interruption later down the road, but if there is, I will always let you know in advance. _

_I apologize for any inconvenience... and the evil cliffhanger... ^^;_

_See you in a couple of weeks!_


	57. Oh (Censored)

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spin-offs That honor goes to Square-Enix.

SOLDIER 2nd Class Eli is an original character.

**Part III: Demons**

* * *

><p>Chapter 57, "…Oh $#&amp;%"<p>

**June 17****th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 10:00 PM, Midgar Standard Time**

There was panic in the streets outside as the renegades were finishing their final preparations to pull out of Midgar. Kunsel had gathered up all of his belongings and after finding a sterile covering to wrap Luxiere in so he could carry him safely, he gently lifted the man off the cot and headed towards the exit. Lou and Shalua were waiting at the door, their guns held at the ready before they hurried outside. Elfe, Shears, and Veld followed Kunsel out and down the stairs before they hurried towards the elevator down into the slums, doing their best to avoid the stampede of rushing men, women and children fleeing the soldiers in mako suits. Some civilians were aided by Shinra forces while others moved on their own power. Either way, those who had not opted to stay in their homes were simply trying to get out.

"Rod's at the garage below plate. The van's all ready to go when we get there," Lou reported.

"Good," Veld agreed. "The chances are high that we won't be able to leave if we take too long. If we aren't fast enough, the checkpoints out of the city could all be taken."

"Then we'll just have to be faster than they are," Kunsel said as Shears spared a moment to cast a Wall spell from a materia in the bracer on his left arm, sending a flurry of bullets intended for all of them back at a squad of the enemy soldiers that had just appeared behind them.

They were soon heading down an alley towards the service elevator and Lou started to type in the combination. It was at that moment when there was a loud crashing sound nearby, followed by what Kunsel could have sworn was the sound of a mortar making contact with a nearby building. The others had apparently noticed too.

"What was that?" Shears asked.

Elfe turned her head to look up the alleyway in which they stood, her eyes narrowed in concentration, her hand on her katana. "It sounded big, whatever it was."

Kunsel slowly lowered Luxiere down to the ground as Lou punched in the final portion of the combination. They were just waiting for the elevator now. Cautiously, he went for his gunblade and strode a few paces back the way they had come so he had a view of the main street. There was indeed a large crater in the side of a nearby skyscraper to his left. It was when he looked down the street to his right that he saw the origin of said crater.

Standing in the middle a mostly cleared street, due to most of the fleeing crowds wanting to be a lot farther away from the immediate vicinity right now, stood what could only be described as a huge hulk of a man. He had to be at least one and a half times the height of an average SOLDIER, and probably a few inches taller than that. Further, the blue-haired giant in a custom mako suit with unnaturally glowing yellow eyes (unusual even for a SOLDIER) was wielding what appeared to be a hand cannon that was about as big as he was.

Whatever this guy was, he couldn't possibly be normal. That was about the extent of Kunsel's thoughts before he was forced to dive back into the cover of the alleyway as another blast rent its way through one of the buildings behind him.

Elfe appeared next to him as the tremors from the blast ceased. "What is it?"

"Something we don't want to mess with," Kunsel replied. Looking around, his eyes landed on the crater that was now about ten feet up from where he'd been standing. Had the giant spotted him? Quickly he turned his attention to a huge dumpster that was sitting nearby. Sheathing the gunblade again, he hurried behind it and used every ounce of strength he had to push the thing in between them and the approaching menace. A shockwave vibrated under his boots, closer this time and he heard someone laughing. "You think a container of garbage can stop me little man? That _you_ can stop me?"

He didn't answer, because at that moment, he saw that the elevator had just opened. Seeing that Elfe had dragged Luxiere safely inside, he joined everyone there, just before the gate swung shut. The last thing he saw before their transport sank into the darkness below was the dumpster bursting into a million pieces. He waited with baited breath for a few moments, before another tremor, fainter this time, wracked its way through the elevator car. "What was that thing?" Shears asked aloud after a moment, echoing Elfe's question.

"It was either a huge man or a very small Behemoth," Kunsel said. "Either way, it didn't seem a good idea to fight it." He might be able to hold his own if he didn't have Luxiere to think about, and Shears and the others might have been able to help, but it would take time away from getting out of the city. Time they probably didn't have.

Another tremor rumbled through the elevator and Kunsel looked down at Luxiere's face to find his eyes were open, though they seemed unfocused and he was breathing shallowly. "Azul…" His friend murmured. It was hard to know if he was aware of what he was saying, but Kunsel knelt next to him, offering him a drink of water from a canteen he'd brought with him.

"Just take it easy, we'll be out of here soon," he said as the man took a few small sips. When the elevator finally opened out near the garage where the renegades stored their vehicles, he found himself hoping what he was telling him was true.

* * *

><p><strong>June 17<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 11:00 PM, Midgar Standard Time**

Rufus stood before the large projector in his office, watching as one by one, the marks on the map were slowly but surely disappearing. It seemed that Scarlet and Heidegger had not exaggerated when they had boasted of Deepground's fighting capability. With his own resources reduced from his campaigns against GUARDIAN, it was far too difficult now to withstand the might of this new opposing force.

According to his two remaining members of the board, they had lost contact with the installation a little over three months ago, when an attempted coupe had taken place down in the depths around Reactor 0. It had been on their orders that Hojo had been taken there, but the Professor's fate was unknown at this time. Perhaps it would remain a mystery…

"Sir," Tseng's voice shook him from his thoughts as another unit blinked out of existence. "If we don't retreat to the helicopter soon, there is a high chance the barricades will fall before we can withdraw."

"I know," Rufus agreed. He reached for the building-wide intercom that was installed on his desk. He had never imagined he would have to use it to give the orders he was about to issue. But at this point, if the fight continued, a lot more of his troops would be lost, leaving him unable to fight at all.

"This is Rufus Shinra. All of you are ordered to retreat. Take what you can with you, and keep our civilian infrastructure intact where possible, but you are to withdraw to Kalm immediately. Midgar will be retaken, but only if we can live to fight another day." The sound of his own voice reverberated through the speakers across the breadth of the Shinra building, and many of the SOLDIERs and troopers looked up in shock. The old President never would have done so. He watched through a security camera as one particular SOLDIER battalion on the ground floor began to hold the line to enable the retreat of other troops and employees. A few ran into Deepgrounders on the way out, but the vast majority of civilian employees were being defended. Many were already on their PHSes to their families, imploring them to leave.

At that point, Reno, Rude, and Elena ran up the stairs. "We were able to bar the door," Reno said through short breaths. "But it won't hold for long."

"Then it's time we left as well," Tseng beckoned for Rufus to follow him to the roof. "The helicopter is prepped and ready."

"It truly is time then," Rufus agreed. Falling in step behind Tseng, with Dark Nation at his side, Rufus walked the familiar path out the door of his office towards the helipad, feeling a sense of disbelief that this was actually happening. That the empire his father had built over the course of more than half a century, would suddenly crumble under the heel of a monster of the original President's own making. Irony was a cruel monster indeed.

Shortly after the helicopter took off, he could clearly see several enemy soldiers climbing up the steps to examine his office, and he promised himself, somehow, he would stand in that office again. He may have lost it, but he had fought too long and hard against his own father to win it the first time. He wasn't about to lose it so easily.

* * *

><p><strong>June 18<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 5:00 AM, Midgar Standard Time**

Cissnei brought the small prop-plane she'd borrowed from GUARDIAN's air division in for a landing on a remote strip of highway that she knew wasn't used that much before she and Tifa climbed out of the vehicle and began the short walk towards Kalm. Shortly after Reeve had made the call to Zack and the others the two of them had volunteered to check out the situation there and verify how things had changed since the Shinra communications grid had gone out altogether.

It was close to dawn. As the two of them neared the usually quiet mining town, they found themselves greeted by the site of several encampments spread across the surrounding land, and lines of refugees were still fleeing from the direction of Midgar. The renegade Turk and the martial artist gave each other worried looks as they neared the boundaries of the tent cities, which seemed to be expanding little by little even as they walked past the clearly overwhelmed SOLDIERs and troopers standing guard and sending worried looks in the direction of Midgar. They were too distracted to even bother with the wanted war criminals in their midst. The two of them walked right by one of the regular troopers and he was far too busy handing out blankets to pay any attention.

Tifa looked around feeling overwhelmed by the sea of people. "This is awful," she muttered.

"There were refugees when we took Rocket Town too," Cissnei pointed out. "There were a few taking shelter in Corel when I went to check it out. And Costa Del Sol too. Whenever there's war, there's people who will be displaced, either because of the brutalities of one of the two sides fighting or because they find one side so objectionable they can't stand to live under their tyranny, regardless of who's actually more tyrannical."

"It sounds like you gave this a lot of thought," Tifa said.

"I've done a lot of traveling to scout for us while I've been away. It gave me a lot of time to think," Cissnei replied.

"Was it like this in the Wutai War too?" Tifa asked.

"I was never deployed," Cissnei answered. "But Mao would sometimes tell me stories and he said it was. Veld used to send him a lot since he was part Wutaian and could blend in pretty well on stealth missions."

"Oh…" They continued through the town square, eyes open for anyone they knew, however, they'd made several passes before determining there was no sign of anyone they knew. Tifa caught a glimpse of herself in the window glass of one of the shops, not really paying attention to the new leather vest she was wearing, her thoughts instead directed towards several renegade Turks, and two SOLDIERs who were supposed to be here. It was very possible they were hiding out someplace, but without the communication grid active, they couldn't very easily use their PHS's to find each other. Cissnei had even tried the safe house they had decided ahead of time would be the fallback spot but there had been no sign of them.

"Where would Kunsel have gone?" Tifa wondered aloud as the sky was quickly becoming brighter. She knew for a fact that Cloud and the others were safe for the time being because they were on their way here, but their friend who had stayed behind had not been in contact since Reeve had gotten the call early this morning.

"It's possible they got delayed on the way here," Cissnei suggested. The two of them were now standing outside of the safe house, considering their options. "We'll just have to wait for the others to arrive and make our decisions from there. It couldn't hurt to see if we can find out what Rufus is up to while we're waiting. If they aren't back by the time we are, we can start worrying."

Tifa nodded. "You're right." She paused after a moment before reaching into the front pocket of the half skirt she had taken to wearing over her shorts and producing a notepad and pencil. Shortly afterward, she had slipped a message under the door. "This way, they won't worry," she explained. With that, the two of them looked around the town square for any sign of the Turks or any other indication of the Shinra Company president's whereabouts.

* * *

><p><strong>June 18<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 7:00 AM**

For the past few hours, Elena's mind had been cycling through a whirlwind of shock, disbelief, and intense frustration, bordering on anger. How could this company be so screwed up that its own board members would keep such important information from the President like this? Hadn't Scarlet and Heidegger realized they'd been sitting on top of a ticking time bomb this entire time? Instead of heading things off before they'd spiraled out of control like they should have been doing, they'd had the nerve to keep this information quiet, leaving everyone cowering here in Kalm like a bunch of Mu hiding in their holes. If she ever got a moment alone with those two, she found herself wondering if there would be two fewer board members in the room when she was through.

The two currently ex-board members had been sequestered in a nearby building with a secure room. Of that, Reno and Rude had personally made sure. And now, she and Tseng were returning to Rufus's headquarters in the house at the far end of town.

Her musings were interrupted when up ahead she noticed her boss had paused. Looking in the direction he was glancing, she realized what he had spotted across the town square were several familiar figures in a back alley. Veld was stepping out of the passenger seat of a van. Rod was coming out on the driver's side. But it was the first person coming out the back door that got her full attention. _Sis…_

She was at once relieved, furious, and worried. What was Tseng going to do? As the three renegade Turks looked up, she could see the fugitives Shears and Elfe climbing out afterward followed by Kunsel, who appeared to be carrying someone. Elena searched her heart, trying to find an answer, even as her hand wavered between the gun in her breast pocket and her tie which she desperately wanted to loosen. Was Tseng going to order her to do it already? She'd made her choice, she decided. She put on the suit… didn't she?

After a moment, Tseng continued walking as though he'd seen nothing and hurried on towards the tower. Elena stared at his back for a moment, and then continued on, not entirely sure what she'd just witnessed.

* * *

><p><strong>June 18<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 8:00 AM**

Freya hurried past the main gate in Kalm, her brow furrowed with worry as the three SOLDIERs followed after her. If the situation hadn't been so serious, it would have been laughable. In her mind, all she could think of was what she'd seen on the news before the communications grid had died. She could only hope the others had made it it out before it was too late.

She hurried into the village, heedless of anything that didn't lead to her goal and made straight for the safe house. Once there, she wrapped on the door in the agreed upon fashion and waited impatiently before it opened and she saw that Shears was the one who answered. "Where's Kunsel?" she demanded.

Shears got out of her way (which was probably for the best), and gestured towards the stairs. She completely ignored the others as she marched up the steps, only remembering to put her shotgun back over her shoulder as she started climbing. It wasn't like she was planning to shoot anyone here…

She only vaguely heard Elfe tell the SOLDIERs to have a seat, before she reached the second floor and hurried down the hall, looking into the first room she could find. Her faintly glowing copper eyes met with a pair of hazel ones and as her vision adjusted she could see he was seated near a bed, where the SOLDIER he'd picked up in front of the reactor was resting, definitely asleep and with fresh bandages on his wounds. She tried to cover her frustration with resignation. "I hope you know I was worried about you," she said. "After the grid went down, I was afraid you'd been trapped in the city."

"It was a close call," Kunsel said. "We got a little delayed because we had to hide out in the canyons for a bit. Those guys that came out of the reactor? Not only were they using vehicles capable of air strikes, but they've started using some of of the weaponry Shinra left behind too." He let out a tired sigh and looked over at the sleeping man. "He's getting worse. He wasn't breathing this shallow back at the Midgar safe house."

He reached for a wet cloth from a bowl on the table, and as he squeezed the water out with his hand so it wouldn't drip before applying it to the man's forehead. She could even tell in the dark that he was upset and her own frustration seemed to fade at that point.

"I know you're doing everything you can," she offered.

"It's not good enough," Kunsel muttered.

For a moment, Freya stood at the door in silence thinking about what she wanted to say before finally walking across the room. "Is there anything I can do?" she asked.

"I don't know," the swordsman replied. "We asked a local doc to take a look at him before we got here. Even if we could get Rayleigh, it'd put her in danger and even she wouldn't be able to do anything we can't. The Geostigma's real advanced… Just moving him made him bleed more. We had to change the bandages again too." He gestured to an IV leading to a bag filled with a familiar glowing blue-green substance. "At least someone here knew where to find some mako and that let us give him some so he won't die from the withdrawal but…" He stopped, taking a deep breath as he seemed to have realized he was getting too loud and stopped. "Why did it have to be like this?" He asked after a moment.

Freya took a step closer and put a hand on his shoulder. It was as tense as the tone of his voice. "I wish I had an answer," she said, meeting his gaze solemnly as he looked up in surprise at the touch and after a moment, she felt his right hand curl around hers, a silent request for reassurance. The moment was broken by Shear calling up the stairs. "You two better get down here! The grid's back and this is something you need to see!"

Kunsel stood and the two of them hurried from the room and back down the stairs to find themselves looking at a television that was situated in the living room. Everyone was watching it intensely.

In front of the screen stood a single person, it was hard to tell under the ornate black cloak and and the helmet whether or not it was a man or a woman, but the person appeared to be tall, and through the eyeholes, Freya recognized the tell-tall glow of blue mako-eyes.

The person waited a moment or two before speaking, revealing through the sound of his voice that he was probably male. _"Good morning citizens of Midgar, and the surrounding areas. I come to you today to inform you of the identity of your new rulers and masters. I am Keter, one of several currently active Restrictors who up until now held jurisdiction over the subterranean Sector 0, unofficially known as 'Deepground.'"_

"So the rumors were true," Kunsel murmured, and Freya noticed his fist clenched at his side.

"It would seem that way," Veld agreed.

Keter continued. "_We have now been given control of the eight sectors of Midgar, on behalf of your new leader. As you have seen, all vestiges of the Shinra Electric Power Company have been driven beyond the city limits. As such, I take this opportunity to declare the city under indefinite martial law. Any outspoken Shinra loyalists will be executed outright. This is necessary to ensure obedience. Those who would choose to continue living would do well not to resist."_

"Fat chance of that happening," Rod commented. "If Rufus has anything to say about it, he'll go in there and kick their asses."

Lou shushed him as the Restrictor continued speaking. "_For the time being, any act of violence will be met with equal force, not only by our regular troops but by our special division, known among our number as the Tsviets. I assure you they are an even greater elite fighting force than SOLDIER at its height, and that any among its number can fight at levels higher than that of 1__st__ Class SOLDIERs, perhaps even equal to Sephiroth in his prime. You have been warned._

_I now call on Shinra's acting president to negotiate a surrender. Should that happen, arrangements will be made for the peaceful transference of the rest of the Shinra company's resources. Further, to all members of the organization known as GUARDIAN, and all citizens of the last empire of Wutai, the same terms are extended to you. In the instance that you fail to comply, Deepground will march on the central city for each of your territories, and the surrounding towns will follow. I can personally guarantee that each and every one of them will be burned to the ground. Should any of you wish to avoid these consequences, your leadership shall make contact within one week. _

_Any resistance will be met with a guarantee that every man or woman who stands with the leadership of these organizations shall be terminated on sight. This, 'President' Shinra, 'General' Fair, and 'Emperor' Kisaragi, is your only opportunity."_

With that, the screen went blank, leaving nothing but snow as the communication grid was once more deactivated. "What now?" Shalua wondered.

Kunsel looked back over at Veld, his expression hard and suspicious. "You knew, didn't you."

Veld shook his head. "I had heard some rumors and reports from my subordinates of encounters like this, but I was instructed when it came to my attention that I was not authorized to have information on them. If I did know the details, do you think I wouldn't have found some way to warn Tseng when Rufus took power?"

Kunsel folded his arms, apparently too angry to say anything.

"What now sir?" Lou asked.

"We must contact the other renegades," Veld said turning to Rod. "I want you getting our server up and running immediately, we can still route it through the Junon grid if we're careful. I want every renegade that can to be here by Midnight tomorrow night. This is an emergency."

"What about us?" It was one of the other SOLDIERs that had spoken from where the three of them had been sitting as the Restrictor had given his announcement.

"That depends on what you can do to help." Everyone glanced towards the front hall to see Zack, followed by everyone who had left for Nibelheim, and the two renegades they'd met there. He looked over at Kunsel. "You all right?" he asked.

"Terrific," Kunsel replied sarcastically. "Did you hear…?"

Zack nodded, his jaw tight in an angry grimace, and held out a small audio device that Cid had built to be tied to the Highwind's com channels. "That guy started broadcasting right as we finished walking to the town limits and the crew patched it through to us. We heard the whole thing."

"It doesn't paint a promising picture, that's for sure," Shears commented, walking back to the living after having locked the front door again.

It was at that moment when Cloud appeared behind Zack, his eyes scanning the room for someone. Finally he asked "Where's Tifa?"

Kunsel pulled a note out of his pocket and handed it to him. "I found this when I got here," he said. "I didn't think it wise to go looking just yet when I found it but that was about an hour ago."

Cloud looked over what was written and the concern showed on his face. "They've been gone too long," he said. "We need to find them."

* * *

><p><strong>June 18<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 8:45 AM**

The sun was sliding higher up on the horizon as Cloud and Freya drew closer to the building where Rufus was housed. The huntress hadn't appeared to have seen any evidence of their comrades' whereabouts. The others were busy trying to get communications up and running again.

The two of them crept through a back alley near the house, and Cloud recognized one of the SOLDIERs standing guard at the front door. Eli had just taken off his helmet for a moment to brush some hair out of his face before putting it back on. It was a small comfort to know at least some of their allies among the SOLDIER ranks had made it out safely.

The two of them quickly ducked out of sight. No sense compromising anyone's position when they didn't know Rufus's at the moment. Ducking through the morning shadows, they at last came to a small side street by the house and that was when Freya caught sight of something in a patch of mud. "Tifa was definitely here," she said. "Those are tread marks from her sneakers."

Cloud knelt next to her. "Are you sure?" he asked.

She looked mildly annoyed by the question. "Of course I am," she said. "Judging by the slide marks here… and here…" She pointed them out with the hand that wasn't gripping the shoulder strap of her shotgun, "it looks like she took a fighting stance… and then went… that way…" She stood and started for the back of the house.

At that point all vestiges of the gravel and cobblestones were gone entirely, leaving a backyard of dirt that looked like it had once been maintained as a backyard lawn. Probably made infertile by the effects of Midgar's reactors if Cloud were to venture a guess. However, it was at this point when Freya stopped.

"What the…?" The uncompleted question was flush with incredulity.

"What is it?" Cloud asked.

Freya pointed at the ground near a patch of dead grass. "See this here? There was a man standing here. But he wasn't a SOLDIER. These are not SOLDIER boot treads. They have the wrong pattern on the ball of the foot, and on the heel too."

"It could be a new pattern…" Cloud guessed impatiently. Freya had shown him a little bit about tracking in the last few months, but at the first sign of combat boots, he was perfectly ready to march right into the building they were crouched behind and demand where Tifa was right now. If Rufus had done anything to harm her at all, the President's life was forfeit as far as he was concerned, and he didn't care how many he had to plow through to make good on that threat.

"Maybe, but that's not the oddest things about it…" Freya continued, pointing to the set of tracks they'd been following. "Tifa's tracks stop here. It's almost like she was alone at this point, and this man's prints? He only took two steps at most. But he had to have come from somewhere… There's no way he could have appeared out of thin air… right?" She frowned as she voiced the problem. "But if so, how did he get here? He couldn't have jumped. The trajectory would have shown as skid marks… and where did he go?"

It was at that moment when Cloud heard a noise and his hand went for the First Sword.

"Looking for something?" Reno stepped out from behind the far wall.

Cloud didn't bother with pleasantries. "What did you do with Tifa?" He asked gruffly.

"Cloud… I'm not sure they had anything to do with this…" Freya said. "The evidence doesn't add up."

"You better listen to her," Reno said, his voice serious. "We didn't. But we did hear some noise out here. Rude was about to do something about it, but he didn't have time. We have reason to believe the guy got Cissnei too."

Rude came into sight around the side of the house, a disk in his gloved hand.

"All right, what happened then?" Cloud demanded, still not quite sure he believed them. Zack might be willing to take the remaining Turks at face value sometimes, or at least he trusted them to act like Turks and do what the Shinra Company had ordered them to do. But the fact remained that their last standing orders had been to kill GUARDIAN members on sight if they got the opportunity. Cloud saw no reason to believe those orders had been changed, even under the current circumstances.

Reno shook his head looking over at the man who had not taken his hand away from the First Sword. "Before we talk, you might want to take your hand away from that sword. Just sayin'."

Freya gave Reno a nod. "All right then. As long as you aren't planning to shoot us full of holes, I'm sure we can talk like civilized people. Right?" She glanced sideways at Cloud.

After a tense moment, Cloud slowly let his hand ease away from the hilt of his sword. He was still very suspicious, even if, admittedly, they were the ones trespassing. "What happened?" he demanded, his eyes narrowed in a glare.

Reno relaxed a tiny bit once he saw that Cloud wasn't planning the immediate execution of violence. "We saw the whole thing recorded from that camera up there," he pointed to a security camera that was angled at them from the far corner of the house. He reached into his pocket revealing a disk. "You could search our headquarters if we were to let you but you wouldn't find her. Some guy showed up and poofed her and, we guess Cissnei too, off somewhere. We think it was most likely Midgar, based on our sources."

It was Freya's turn to give Reno a look of disbelief. "Poofed? Like he teleported? Because that's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. Even an Exit materia only creates a distraction and then increases your speed so you can run really fast."

Reno seemed unperturbed. "You'll think differently when you see what this guy did yo. Seems he was one of Deepground's Tsviets. Some guy they call Nero the Sable."

* * *

><p><em>Glad to be back guys! It was a nice couple of weeks and while I'm still not quite happy with where my backlog is, there's a little bit more of a buffer now. I may go for another break in the second week of May, but that's a ways off, so we'll see.<em>

_See ya next week!_


	58. Some Events Are Just Doomed to Happen

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spin-offs That honor goes to Square-Enix.

**Part III: Demons**

* * *

><p>Chapter 58, Some Events Are Just Doomed to Happen<p>

**June 18****th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 12:00 PM**

Zack watched the footage again, still not quite believing what he was seeing. Somehow, not only had this strange man (he guessed it was a man though it was hard to tell with that strange headgear and the winglike appendages) managed to completely catch Tifa completely unawares, but he had pulled her through what seemed like a dark hole ripped in the fabric of reality. They were standing on the bridge of the Highwind, out of sight of Kalm, and Cloud was pacing irritably behind him.

"I still don't get why Rufus would just let them give us this information," Yuffie said from her position next to Aerith by the rail in front of the window.

"I think it's pretty obvious. He wants to poke Deepground to see what they'll do, but he doesn't want his own people to bear the consequences," Freya said. She was leaning against the front of the com-station, her arms folded as she watched the images.

"That doesn't matter," Cloud said. "We still have to find them."

"We will," Zack said patiently, he looked around at those assembled. "And I guess it can't hurt to take a look around and see what we're up against. It's not like we found much at the mansion unfortunately."

"We know that this Keter..." Tanjuu interjected, "is definitely one of the previously thought disbanded 14th SOLDIER division. That tells us that at one point at least, they used to be SOLDIERs. It's a shame Shalua has been unable to complete the decryption of Hojo's remaining files, we might have been able to glean some more from them not just about him, but also about this Nero person. What did he have to gain by grabbing Cissnei and Tifa when he could have just as easily gone after you and Rufus? What we really need to know is who exactly is in charge, because the Restrictor as he referred to himself, sounded only like he was speaking as a representative." He frowned as he considered that particular puzzle piece.

"Is it possible Rufus already knows?" Cid asked.

"Reno didn't say much. It's hard to say what Rufus knows," Freya said. "He always has been good at keeping his cards close to the chest. Though from what Cait Sith told us before we lost contact, he was at least looking into the possibility of Deepground's existence. Tseng apparently came up with some things. What we do know is that there are definitely more people like that person they were calling Nero, and according to this transcript that he sent with the footage," she stepped forward indicating several lines of text on one of the smaller images over the holo-projector, "When they interrogated Scarlet and Heidegger about the project, they identified the others."

"How many?" Vincent's question carried over the bridge from the back wall.

"According to this, there were six named ones," Freya squinted. "Tseng was always the better researcher wasn't he… From what it looks like… Aside from Nero the Sable, there's a Weiss the Immaculate, Azul the Cerulean, Rosso the Crimson… Shelke the Transparent… and Argento the Lustrous. They don't provide a lot of physical description, but apparently they were all the products of different research projects attached to Deepground's facilities. The Restrictors were initially under direct command from President Shinra, but after he died, Scarlet, Heidegger, and Professor Hojo were the only ones to have knowledge of the project. Hojo didn't care, so Scarlet and Heidegger decided to try and use it for their own ends rather than alert Rufus." She chuckled derisively. "I'm not surprised."

"So what happened?" Zack asked.

Freya started to read aloud, "According to Scarlet… 'We ordered Professor Hojo retrieved from custody because his knowledge could be useful to Deepground. A short while after we moved him down there, there was report of an attempted coup. We lost contact with the Restrictors a couple of months ago and even though I sent some of my machines down to investigate, none of them returned.'"

"It figures," Cid muttered. "Only person less competent than those vultures on the board was Palmer." His brow furrowed. "That still don't explain who their leader is. If not that Restrictor fella, then who?" He was playing with another cigarette in his hands as he asked the question, daring himself to light it.

"It looks like they don't seem to know," Freya said, backing away from the images. "At least if they're telling us the truth."

"Tsviets…" Aerith murmured and when everyone looked in her direction she added, "When I talked to Shears while everyone was busy, he said Luxiere mentioned something about them too. Apparently Shalua was really upset because he said the name Shelke. That was also the name of her sister."

"It's not beyond the realm of possibility that they could be the same person," Mao said, "It's not a very common name."

"It's awful close to be a coincidence," Zack agreed. "But this just means that if we go out looking for Tifa and Cissnei, we'll just have to keep an eye out for them too." It was time to get back on the other thing they had been looking into. "So what have we learned on the front of getting back into Midgar?"

"It certainly doesn't help that they've even got the slums in lockdown now," Tanjuu muttered. He and Mao had gone to check it out almost as soon as they'd learned of the city's evacuation. "Most people don't have a chance of entering or leaving now; there's guards at every gate."

Cloud shook his head. "If they're in there, we've got to get them out."

"It looked like there were a few exceptions," Mao said. "When I was looking around the Sector 6 entrance I noticed something that was rather interesting."

"Oh?" Zack looked at the other Gongagan.

"It would seem that Don Corneo has been allowed to come and go. Apparently, he wants to bring some women back into the city to… provide services… to the occupying forces."

Yuffie looked a little ill. "That's disgusting," she said.

"But it could be a way in," Freya said thoughtfully. After that, it's just a matter of searching around. We could get valuable information about the environs in there too." It was at that moment when Zack realized that her eyes had lit up. She seemed excited by the prospect. "We could send some girls in, and then have them break off once they're past the gate and look for Tifa then."

"Except we don't have a lot of girls with the kind of experience we need at the moment," Mao said. "It's not just a matter of looking like they belong, they have to be able to disappear when they need to, and fight when they need to do so."

"He's right," Tanjuu agreed. "Don Corneo has a nasty reputation when it comes to interviewing girls for that line of work, too. I think I'd know. I worked for the guy. But on the other hand… he's got people all over, and if they're letting him run freely, he just might be able to tell you some things about what's going on in there."

"You think he'd be willing to do that?" Zack asked.

The ex-gangster shrugged, "If you came prepared, I'm thinking. But you'd have to get his attention long enough for him to talk to you."

Suddenly Aerith started giggling. "What if… some of them only looked like girls?"

Zack wasn't the only one who seemed a little worried when Freya started walking around the room, gazing at the various male figures. "You know what Aerith? You're a genius! No one'll see that coming in a million years!"

He looked over at the two women, with a raised eyebrow. He had a sneaking suspicion he knew already, but in case he was wrong… "I probably don't need to ask, but you aren't thinking what I think you're thinking are you?"

His wife grinned at him and he fought down the urge to shiver. He knew that look. "You're right," the flower girl said. "There was no need to ask."

* * *

><p><strong>June 18<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 4:00 PM**

Cloud couldn't believe what he was doing.

Not that he wouldn't do it. If there was a chance it would let him find Tifa, he would do it without question, but he still couldn't believe he was doing it. It had been a bit of a surprise to him, when after comparing appearances to see who was the most 'effeminate' and the least likely to be recognized by Corneo and his compatriots, it had been decided that he would be among the infiltrating party, along with two of the others. It had taken a little time and a visit to a local dressmaker in Kalm that also sold accessories, as well as a hunt to find someone who sold spare makeup kits, and coincidentally running across a displaced and very disgruntled… um… workout enthusiast… who happened to have a wig the appropriate length. But now that all the equipment had been assembled, it was time to get ready.

At the very least, everyone who was going on the 'mission' was getting ready in separate cabins. But it was no less embarrassing.

"Hold still!" He was currently sitting in a chair in front of a mirror in the cabin while Aerith was holding a bottle of mascara in one hand. She had volunteered to help him with certain parts since Zack had put his foot down when she suggested being one of the ones to go.

"_Aerith, I know you want to help," he'd said, trying to be diplomatic about the whole thing, "But as your husband, or even as the leader of GUARDIAN, there is no way on this planet you're going. What if something happens in there?"_

"_Something could happen just as easily with Cloud. You're not worried about him or the others?" She'd retorted._

"_Of course I am. But if anyone so much as looks at Cloud funny, I'd feel sorry for them," he'd replied. _

"_And you're saying I can't take care of myself when I grew up down there?" she'd asked, annoyed._

"_Not at all…" Zack answered stubbornly. "Listen, I know you'd go, and Hell, I'd go too if I could, but we're needed here, okay? __I__ need __you__ here." _

Cloud had felt a little embarrassed to hear that argument, but it seemed to have worked. Thus it had transpired that instead of getting herself into a dress, Aerith had decided to devote her time to helping Cloud with his, or more particularly, with getting him into some appropriate makeup. Except he kept having trouble trying not to blink reflexively whenever she got close with the mascara brush.

It took some doing, but finally, they were finished, and then Aerith slipped outside while he pulled on the violet dress they'd asked the dressmaker to appropriately alter for the occasion. It was rather jarring, looking down over the high collar of the thing to see the curvaceous bosom it gave him the appearance of having. After taking a moment to adjust the wig, Cloud finally dared to look at himself and found he wanted to go crawl under a rock. Add the uncomfortable heels, and the tiara someone had apparently left in the care of the owner of Kalm's accessory shop before skipping town, and the ensemble was complete. At the very least, the dress had enough room that he could stow the two switch blades from the Fusion Swords underneath, along with the rest of his regular clothes in a rucksack, but it gave the appearance that the dress had been fitted with a bustle.

Once he was satisfied, relatively speaking anyway, he took a deep breath and stepped out into the corridor leading out to the bridge to find Aerith waiting for him. She was trying not to laugh as they continued along, but finally she said "Walk more nicely… like this, Miss Cloud," she took a couple of steps in front of him to demonstrate.

"…What do you mean nicely?" Cloud asked after utterly failing to emulate her movements.

"Well try not to let your footfalls be so heavy," she tried to clarify. She took another moment to look him over as he attempted the appropriate walk a second time before grinning and clasping her hands together in front of her. "Oh, you're so cute, Miss Cloud."

He could only take that to mean he had started doing it right. He rolled his eyes, but kept going. This would be the most humiliating thing that had happened in his life so far… if it wasn't about to be compounded by the fact he was about to go waltzing out into enemy territory in this getup. Still, he tried to tell himself, he'd survived mako poisoning, Sephiroth and who knew what else to get to this point. By comparison, cross dressing should be a small inconvenience…

This pitiful attempt to rationalize the situation was brought violently to a halt when he looked down the corridor and saw Zack. The other swordsman was speaking with Freya, who looked every inch the part in a slinky green dress that accentuated her tall figure and more feminine attributes, with her hair piled up in a style that still allowed a few intentionally stray locks to fall dramatically across her shoulders.

It wasn't her appearance that lost him his train of thought, so much as it was the look on Zack's face when he realized Cloud was there. "Whoa… Uh… Cloud? Wow, Aerith knew what she was doing."

"Yeah…" He gritted his teeth as his face grew warm from embarrassment. The fact that he was blushing only seemed to be making things worse.

Zack was obviously torn between wanting to tease him and wanting to be a good friend and leader by not pushing his buttons any more than they'd already been pushed in the seriousness of the circumstances. The other swordsman rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "I'm sorry man, I'm just having trouble with the fact that you don't look half bad as a woman... Not that you aren't a good looking guy either… I should probably stop right now…" He laughed nervously.

Freya too had done the smallest of double takes, but either her experience or iron discipline had kept her from doing more than raise her eyebrows and allow the corner of her mouth to raise in a barely concealed grin. "Well, we're almost all ready then," she said at last. "I wonder how our other 'lady-friend' made out."

That question was answered when one of the other cabin doors opened and at first Cloud wasn't sure what he was seeing. The woman before him was clad in a lovely black silk dress with a high collar concealing her neck, though it was sleeveless and she had accompanied it with a red shawl that brought out the color of her eyes, along with a pair of long black opera gloves. Her meticulously styled long hair had a silky sheen under the overhead lights and was completely devoid of any red headbands or bandannas. The whole affect gave her a smolderingly mysterious allure… And then she opened her mouth and the moment had suddenly become a lot more weird.

"Are we all prepared?" Vincent asked, his deep voice drawing a stark contrast to his current appearance.

"Yeah…" Zack said, doing his best not to grimace. "You might want to let Freya do the talking while you're in there, though. Otherwise, I think they'll find you out."

"Probably for the best," the gunman agreed.

That was when Cid appeared on the scene. "Hey ladies!" he said. "You might want to hurry along, time's a wastin'!"

Cloud stormed past him towards the main hatch. The sooner they got this over with, the sooner they could find Tifa, and the sooner he could ensure that this 'Nero the Sable' had a sword run through him.

* * *

><p><strong>June 18<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 6:00 PM**

As the sunset was drawing near, and the Midgar wastes were slowly descending into the twilight of long shadows, the van Cid had rented in Kalm pulled up behind a low hill, a few hundred yards from a small camp, just in front of the Sector 6 gate.

Zack crept up to the crest of the hill, a pair of binoculars in his good hand. Once he reached the summit, he got down in a crouch so he could see without presenting an easily visible profile, and brought them to his eyes. His right hand shook slightly and he felt a small painful twitch as he tried to use it to assist in the operation. He winced in annoyance before attempting the maneuver again. Most of the time, the muscles in his arm didn't bother him that much pain-wise, but every once in a great while, he'd notice them spasm or do something else they weren't supposed to do.

What he saw was a pair of men at the campsite talking with a number of women dressed unusually nice for the rugged setting near what was clearly another van. A few Deepground soldiers stood at the gate, but aside from giving the women a couple of interested looks, were not paying them much mind. The info had been spot on in that regard, not that he was surprised. The renegades were all Turks after all. "All right," he said. "I think we've confirmed our entry point." He looked back down the hill. "You three ready?" he called.

"All set," Freya replied. She had stepped lithely out of the van as though she'd done this every day of her life. He found himself wondering a little where she was hiding her clothes and her shotgun in that dress she was wearing but decided it was probably best not speculated upon if he knew what was good for him.

Vincent and Cloud followed after her, Cloud looking slightly less graceful than Vincent, but then, that wasn't so surprising. Vincent seemed to have taken a very calm attitude about the whole thing.

Finally, it appeared that the Deepground soldiers were looking the other way, so he signaled that the three infiltrators make their way to the group of ladies at the camp. This they did and he finally felt his own mirth fade a little. He watched with baited breath as the men at the campsite spoke to the group of girls a little longer before asking that they get into the van. This they did, and soon after, it pulled in through the gate, right under the noses of the soldiers.

"Don't get yourselves killed in there guys. We need some good news right about now," he whispered.

After the van pulled out of sight, he climbed down the hill and walked to the driver's side of the van, to see Yuffie sitting in the passenger's seat. "You want to help me do a sweep of the area before we go back? See if there are any possible extraction points?"

The ninja nodded. "Okay."

* * *

><p><strong>June 18<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 7:00 PM**

Cloud tried to make himself relax as he found himself sandwiched between Freya and some other strange woman in the back of the truck. Perhaps it was his imagination, but he could have sworn his motion sickness was coming back, and to make matters worse, with all the different perfumes that the various girls were wearing in here, on top of the cologne Aerith had insisted he use, it made the air in here very thick.

Freya sat next to him, calmly checking her appearance via a compact and Vincent simply leaned against the wall of the truck next to her as though the change in apparel made absolutely no difference. He supposed he really shouldn't be surprised. Both of them were former Turks; they were trained to handle things like this professionally.

"_Just remember Tifa"_, he thought to himself. She was the reason he was doing this. If they got intel on what was going on in the rest of the city in the bargain, well, that was good too. He just had to do his best to ignore the awkward sensation of not wearing pants while his toes were being pinched in his current footwear.

Finally, a silence fell over the van as the engine died and the back doors opened. A black man with a mohawk looked inside with a lecherous smirk before drawling "All right ladies, this way please. No need to keep the manager waiting."

There were eight women in total, give or take a couple of quotation marks, and they all climbed out of their transportation to find themselves behind a building, the front of which, judging from the backglow over the roof in the smog, was bathed in rose-colored lights. They were led through a back door and down a hallway until they were in a very gaudily decorated chamber that looked like it was designed to cater to this 'establishment's' wealthier clients.

On the other side of the room, Cloud noticed, there was a thin man in a suit with the front two buttons open, who stood from an easy chair near the bed and spread his arms in welcome. "Hello my dears! Welcome to the Honey Bee Inn. I am the manager of this establishment. Most of you, unfortunately, will not be getting a 'personal interview' with the Don. But there are plenty of folks here who will _love_ to get to know you better before you start work."

He began walking around the women in the room as he spoke. "The Don is however, still in the process of looking for a lovely bride for tonight." He paused in front of Vincent, who had produced a scarlet fan from somewhere and was pretending to be coy by hiding his face behind it. The manager walked on, looking at another lady in a light blue evening gown before moving on to Freya.

"Therefore, I think it would be only fair to pick three of you and he'll make make his final decision when you get over to his estate. How does that sound? Hmm?"

"It sounds lovely…" Freya's laughter was light and Cloud was not exactly certain whether it was fake or not, though it had to be. There was no way anyone could be anything but disgusted by this whole affair in his opinion.

The manager smiled at her words before moving on, looking at a couple of other women, and then Cloud suddenly found the manager standing directly in front of him, and he had the distinct feeling of being ogled like a piece of meat.

The man spent a little more time taking in the other women that had come with them before whispering something to a white guy in a green jacket and sunglasses and walking out the door. The man watched him go and then Cloud saw him come closer. "All right, the girls who are going to the Don are you, you, and you. The rest follow the manager out that way." The other ladies in the room cleared out, and to Cloud's surprise, (and possibly horror or relief, he wasn't sure which,) he found that the only ones left were himself, Vincent, and Freya.

* * *

><p>Yuffie was making her way along the outskirts of Midgar, eyes alert for any way out that did not involve passing Deepground soldiers. Thus far, her efforts had not yielded any results, and as she was nearing the main checkpoint for the Sector 7 slums, she was starting to get a little frustrated. Part of it was that she was truly beginning to understand just how huge Midgar was. Yes, she'd been in the city, and had seen the skyscrapers, but having to traverse even a portion of the circumference of the city was a huge undertaking. It was not the easiest thing to try not to be seen, but she was a ninja, right? She ought to be able to handle it.<p>

Gripping her shuriken, she sprinted between a couple of rocks before peeking over the one she landed behind to check if anyone had noticed. It looked okay. The soldiers at the checkpoint were talking with what appeared to be a woman in a Deepground Commander's uniform, though her appearance was very different from that of the other soldiers. For one thing she could actually see the woman's facial features, revealing a woman who was probably in her early thirties. With her long dark hair, she might even be Wutaian. Her uniform appeared to be predominantly white with black trim, the exact opposite of most of the other troops. She was also wearing what appeared to be a three-pronged visor, though after giving it another look Yuffie realized it was an ornate forehead protector, not unlike the much plainer one she wore herself. Her right eye was covered by an eye-patch, and it appeared she was wielding a broadsword instead of a gun.

Interesting… It was at that moment when the woman looked over in her direction and she ducked out of sight. Had she been seen? She shouldn't have been. She'd been very quick. She hurried on her way, just to be on the safe side, and was soon making her way past an oasis surrounded by dead shrubs and undergrowth. It wasn't the kind of place you'd want to take a drink from, but at the very least she had some cover.

She stopped at the edge of the water and sat down, grateful that it wasn't polluted enough for the water to smell. She allowed herself a sip from her canteen and leaned against a rock, well aware of how close she was to the wall, and hoping that she wouldn't be noticed in the last of the evening twilight. It wouldn't be long before she'd need to get back to the van and report to Zack what she'd found…

A stick cracked nearby, and she pulled herself into a crouch near the boulder she'd been leaning against, her shuriken at the ready. Her breath caught in her throat as she recognized the sounds of the approaching footfalls. They were the sounds of a pair of heavy combat boots. Had she been followed?

She waited for a few seconds, before her question was finally answered as a lone figure walked out from behind one of the trees, a single grey eye glowing faintly, even as it was getting harder to see the woman's face under the stars slowly twinkling into existence.

The woman walked to the edge of the pool, and Yuffie attempted to creep slowly away through the bushes when she heard a low, husky female voice call out "Just as I thought. Come out little one, I don't intend on killing you, yet."

"Hey!" She scowled into the dark and stood up to her full height. "Just who are you calling little, lady?"

The woman looked in her direction and Yuffie detected the tone in her voice turn derisive. "If this were below, you would be a dark blemish on the bedrock before you finished that sentence. Fortunately for you, I feel no need to demonstrate. If I did…" Yuffie suddenly found herself staring directly into the woman's single eye, though she had no idea how she had moved in front of her so quickly. "…You would not be standing here now."

The ninja looked up at the swordswoman defiantly. "Well, if that's not what you're after, then what _do_ you want."

"I am sending out a call for help," the woman said.

"Help?" Yuffie raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "From what I can see, you didn't need any help taking over the city."

"Then perhaps you misunderstand what Deepground is," the woman answered her, looking warily back towards Midgar's city walls. "Because a vast majority of us did not become part of Deepground of our own will. Many of us are the products of Shinra's experiments. Within the limits of that place, it is often kill, or be killed, and the Restrictors play us against each other like puppets on strings. Even standing here and speaking to you rather than killing you immediately is a huge risk that could mean the end of my life."

"And you think I can help you with that?" Yuffie asked incredulously.

"I think you have friends who can help us with that," The woman clarified, producing a data disk from her pocket. "We cannot actively rebel even if we wanted to. However, if someone else were to succeed at killing the Restrictors, it would win us our freedom, while at the same time destroying the linchpin that is holding our forces together. All you need to do is take this disk to Zack Fair. It will tell you all that you need to know." She tossed the disk in front of the ninja.

"And how do you even know I know him?" Yuffie demanded.

"Did you think we wouldn't be given the information necessary to recognize GUARDIAN and Shinra personnel on sight, Princess Kisaragi? What use are trained monsters, if they don't know who and what they are supposed to destroy?" The woman smiled wryly as she spoke.

Yuffie's thoughts turned to Cloud and the others who were currently inside the city. Had this been a trap? Had they already been discovered? "Just who are you anyway, and how do I know we can trust you?"

"You may call me Argento, and given the circumstances the facts should speak for themselves. Those of us who long for freedom truly have nothing to lose," the woman replied. With that, she vanished into the dark leaving Yuffie staring at the disk on the ground in front of her. After a moment, she reached out to grab the small object before sprinting back through the shadows towards the place where Cid was waiting with their transportation back to Kalm.

* * *

><p><strong>June 18<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 7:30 PM**

A few minutes after being selected, Cloud, Vincent, and Freya found themselves following the man in the green jacket through the streets of Wall Market with the man with a mohawk bringing up the rear. Cloud had never been down here before, but even he could see that under normal circumstances, these streets would have a certain amount of dubiously motivated activity. The bars were uncommonly quiet, and there were no Shinra guards around, but plenty of Deepground soldiers. He couldn't see if they held any vestiges of humanity under those cyclopean helmets they were wearing, but he could have sworn a couple of them were looking his way as he and the others continued through the dingy streets.

It wasn't long before the trio followed their guide into a courtyard and through another ridiculously ostentatious foyer that looked like the place where all of Wutai's rejected souvenirs went to die. Cloud was no interior decorator, but he found himself thinking if anywhere needed one, this was probably the place. Scotch led them up a gaudily painted staircase and beyond the gilded landing until they found themselves in an office that made the tackiness of the outer areas of this mansion seem like a classy antique shop. And as the two gangsters took up positions to either side of the desk, he found the person sitting behind it was a balding and ridiculously fat blond man with a mustache.

"All right, ladies!" the man with the mohawk said, "Line up in front of the Don."

Freya and Vincent immediately took positions on either side of him, leaving him in the middle, with a horribly perfect view of 'the Don' as he leaned forward in his seat to get a good look at them, muttering "Hmmm! Good, splendid!"

In a feat unexpected from a man so large, he leapt over the front of the desk and landed directly in front of them before walking over to take a look at Vincent, who was on his left, and was once again holding up the fan he was carrying. "Now, now, no need to be shy…" Don Corneo said, "Now let's see… Which girl should I choose? Hmm-Hmm-!"The grunting was almost guttural, as though he was combining the sound one made when they were thinking with an attempt to clear his gravelly throat.

He finished looking Vincent over and then Cloud found himself the object of the Don's scrutiny. He looked away uncomfortably as the man tried to meet his eyes. "This one?" The Don wondered aloud, still pondering his choice. The moment was made even more uncomfortable, when he reached up to lift his chin as though to get a better look at his face, and Cloud had a burning desire to reach for the two switchblade swords he held concealed within his clothing and cut this man to ribbons.

It was hard, but he staunchly resisted and prevailed until the Don moved on to Freya, looking over the only actual woman in the room with the same scrutiny. "Or this one?" The lady Turk smiled at him, batting her eyelashes seductively, which seemed to make him pause for a long time before walking back to the middle so he had a good view of all three of them.

He fidgeted with the curl of his mustache as he considered his choice before rubbing his hands together with excitement. "Woo-hoo, I've made up my mind! My choice for tonight is…"

He paused dramatically to let the significance sink in for everyone in attendance before making his choice. "This healthy-looking girl!"

For a moment, Cloud felt his heart stop beating as his eyes widened in shock. This had to be some kind of mistake or cruel joke but no, it was a cold undeniable fact… _The Don was standing in front of him!_

He could not stop himself from backing up a step. "Wa…wait a sec!" It was only then when he remembered he was supposed to be a woman and tried to bring the pitch of his voice higher. "I mean, uh, please wait a moment!"

The Don did not seem to want to wait a moment. "Woo-hoo! I love chickies who play hard-to-get! Yeowza!" He turned to the two men who were not in drag behind him. "You can have the other ones!"

His two henchman saluted and said in unison "Yes, sir! Thank you sir!"

The Don immediately turned back to Cloud, clearly ready to get down to… he supposed 'business' was an extremely polite way of putting it. "Well then, shall we go my pretty?"

Cloud grimaced as the man walked towards a wall screen near the back and he looked over at Freya who seemed a little surprised that she hadn't been chosen, but nodded that he follow him. He then looked at Vincent whose expression was carefully blank. The other man also nodded. Feeling his face already going beet red, Cloud slowly walked after the fat man, as though walking to his own execution. Soon, he found himself in a room that looked even more like the country of Wutai had thrown up all over it, staring at the edge of a very extravagant bed as the Don flopped down upon it.

"Ahh, we're finally alone…" the Don sighed and then looked up at Cloud, his eyes filled with lust. "All right, pussycat… Come to daddy!"

Cloud swallowed hard and wished he was fighting a Malboro instead of facing this monstrosity of a human being, but he simply looked back at Corneo, trying to decide how best to begin the interrogation. His thoughts were interrupted when the Don said "You're so cute, I never get tired of looking at you. Do you… like me, too?"

His mind went blank. At least he resisted the urge to shout No! outright. "Ummm…"

The Don leaned closer, his expression mockingly hurt. "You don't like me? There… There isn't someone else, is there?"

He waited for Cloud's answer, while Cloud waited for his brain to stop doing loops. It was only after what seemed like forever that he finally had a moment of clarity. _I'm already in. It doesn't matter much now._ For a moment he presented the Don with a wry smile, "Sure there is. Her name's Tifa…"

The Don blinked. "Who? You don't mean to tell me… you're a lesbian?!"

Cloud rolled his eyes and this time he didn't even bother with the faux feminine voice as he ripped off the wig. "No you idiot, I'm a guy!"

"A man! You tricked me…!" Corneo started to say.

Cloud reached under his skirt quick as lightening to reveal the first of his switchblades, "You'd better not call for help, because if you do…"

"No one'll come." He almost sighed with relief when he heard Freya's voice and glanced behind him to see the lady Turk and Vincent, still in their dresses, but Vincent was packing Cerberus, and Freya had her shotgun over her shoulder. It was a rather jarring image, though probably no worse than the one he presented.

Don Corneo looked between the two new arrivals. "You're the ones from before! Wh…what the hell's going on?"

Cloud did not allow him to ruminate further but stuck the switchblade in front of the Don's face to silence him as Vincent took a position at the far end with Freya between the two of them. His deep voice coupled with his black evening gown so disturbing Cloud found himself looking at the Don just to keep from losing his composure. "You will answer our questions," Vincent said calmly, "Tell us as much as you know about the power structure within the city right now. Otherwise…"

Cloud took that moment to rest one foot on the bed, sparkly heels and all while he gestured at his target with the sword in his hand. "…I'll chop them off."

The Don's eyes bugged out at that. "No! Not that! I'll talk! I'll tell you everything!"

Freya smiled wickedly at him. "All right then little bird…" She leaned in just slightly, bringing her voice down to a poisonous whisper. "Start singing."

The Don nodded. "I don't really know who the guy is who's really in charge, but I know that Midgar's been divided up into four districts…"

"What else?" Vincent asked coolly.

Corneo scowled at them. "Either way, they're going to find you and tear you all into little pieces so why bother?"

"Wrong answer," Freya leaned in further, putting her own foot on the bed. "And honey, if you keep saying the wrong things…" She cracked the knuckles on her right hand as she balled it into a fist and Cloud noticed then that she had reached into her pocket to produce a bangle with several materia in it. "…I'll freeze them off."

The Don seemed quite horrified by that. "Waaaaaaaaah-! Okay! Each pair of Sectors is governed by one of those Restrictors, and each of them have a Tsviet under them… They just decided who went where this morning!"

"Their names, and capabilities, what are they?" Vincent asked. When it looked like Corneo might back off, he too rested a foot on the bed, brandishing Cerberus. "I _will_ shoot them."

Corneo looked very pale by now. "…You're serious, aren't you… …ohboy, ohbooy, ohboy… I'm not fooling around here either you know." As Vincent did not seem about to relent, he went on. "The Tsviets, they've got four of the elite ones and then a few minor ones… Sectors 5 and 6 here were given to the Restrictor that got Shelke the Transparent. Real cute little thing too… Don't know how she got to be an elite." Seeing the look of disgust on Cloud's face, he decided it would be best to move on. "Azul the Cerulean was given to the Restrictor that got sectors 3 and 4. He's a nasty bruiser. You don't want to run into him. Rosso the Crimson was given to the guy that's in charge of Sectors 1 and 2. She talks real funny but she's got a nasty pair of blades and she likes usin'em. And then there's Keter, the Restrictor who did the broadcast? He runs Sectors 7 and 8. The guy in charge gave him Argento the Lustrous. She seems like a normal swordsman, don't know what makes her special..."

Vincent narrowed his eyes at the man. "Have you ever heard of Weiss the Immaculate, or Nero the Sable?"

"Never! I swear!"

The three of them looked at each other, before Vincent said to the Don, "We'll let you live, for now…"

They were almost to the door when the man seemed to have finally regained some composure. "Just a second!" he called after them

Cloud narrowed his eyes. "Shut up," he said.

"No wait, it'll only take a second," the man said. "How do you think scum like me feels when they babble on about the truth?"

Vincent took a look around the room and then Cloud noticed that he seemed to have changed his stance. He wasn't sure why at first, but then Vincent said, "You think you've won, don't you?" His tone was low and venomous. Freya appeared to have noticed the change too, for, she had also tensed as though ready to jump back a couple of steps.

Corneo nodded, apparently not noticing the man's change in demeanor. "Correct!"

Several things happened at that moment. Mere moments before a trap door opened in the floor below them, Vincent dematerialized, Freya jumped back into the doorway, and Cloud leapt up into the air before kicking off the frame of the bed to land next to her.

Vincent reappeared next to the bed, his usually clawed hand directed down into the tunnel leading to the sewer. Magic channeled through the air and Cloud detected what could only be described as a roar of surprise followed by a significant drop in temperature and a bright flash of cold blue light from below. Corneo's eyes widened as the gunman thrust Cerberus' triple barrel directly into his face. "Shiva apparently dealt with your pet quite efficiently," he growled. "There will not be any more of this foolishness, or you will die right here. Are we clear?"

Corneo nodded and Vincent withdrew, folding again into his cloak and reappearing next to Cloud. The three of them left the room and quickly headed out the front door before ducking into a back alley. They soon found themselves in what appeared to be a graveyard of broken down trains and they started searching for a place to stop and get their bearings. Once they were a lot further away from Wall Market, Vincent said coldly, "We will not speak of this again."

"No arguments here," Cloud said, pausing a moment to switch out the shoes for his boots from his pack. "Let's get out of these clothes, and then try to find the girls."

Freya looked thoughtful. "Well, the first thing we probably ought to do is find a safe place to change, and then someone who actually knows about Nero the Sable. Then we might be able to find out if anyone knows where he is, and hopefully from there we can find them."

"That seems like a rational approach," Vincent agreed. Right at that moment, however, all three of them stopped in their tracks just as they were coming out from between two train cars.

Right in front of them, was what seemed to be a young girl with short red hair, in a Deepground mako suit, sitting on the top of one of the other cars with her feet hanging over the side and looking down at them with emotionless glowing blue eyes. It appeared she had just been taking a moment to herself and hadn't expected to see them there. She blinked as though mildly surprised at their appearance before her face returned to the disinterested mask of before. The three looked up at her, not knowing what to expect from this encounter.

Finally she spoke, her words as flat as the expression on her face. "Cloud Strife. Vincent Valentine. The both of you look completely ridiculous."

* * *

><p><em>I've heard people mention a little disappointment that the cross-dressing scene had not come up, and it made me itch to say something but I didn't want to spoil anything. Now that its here, I can say without reservation that it's been in the cards since day one. I hope I did it justice, even under the drastically different circumstances. ^^<em>

_And for those of you who are not terribly familiar with the Online Content from Dirge of Cerberus (It's okay, I totally understand why as it isn't officially available with the release of the game that's in English and has only been subbed to my knowledge), Argento is a character from that portion of Dirge. It's unknown what exactly happened to her following what transpired in that story, which was supposed to explain how the Tsviets managed to take over Deepground, and is also the source for the Restrictors. It is believed Argento expired in a conflict with another Restrictor at some point between the time of the OC which took place roughly somewhere around Meteorfall and the events of Dirge (three years later in the original timeline). Seems we have yet another person who got a new lease on life out of Reno's sneeze. ^^_

_See ya next week!_


	59. Who's the Real Puppetmaster Here Anyway?

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spin-offs That honor goes to Square-Enix.

**Part III: Demons**

* * *

><p>Chapter 59, Who's the Real Puppet Master Here Anyway?<p>

**June 18****th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 8:15 PM**

Cloud looked up at the young girl suspiciously with the two Turks standing behind him, ready to act if necessary. This girl might look like a child, but the fact that she wore a Deepground uniform was more than enough to make him wary.

"Who are you, and how do you know who we are?" He demanded.

"How I know who you are should be self-evident. Anyone with access to the net would know that Shinra wanted GUARDIAN's leadership dead. As to who I am; that is irrelevant. I am a Deepground soldier, my duty is to carry out my orders."

"You seem awful comfortable sitting up there. Any particular reason you aren't trying to kill us right now?" Freya interjected.

The girl didn't make any motion to indicate her preference one way or the other. "I have other standing orders at the moment," she answered. "I don't know how you made it into the city looking like that, but it is my understanding that you are searching for someone."

"You know where they are!?" Cloud asked his voice accusing as his eyes narrowed dangerously.

"I need a minute to contact my superiors before I lead you to the rendezvous point. What I can say is that Tifa Lockhart, and the Turk known as Cissnei will be there." the girl answered, reaching for a PHS at her hip. With that she disappeared behind the train car.

Vincent seemed to have decided he'd had enough of dressing like a woman at that point because he walked into one of the other vacant cars. Cloud decided that since their self-proclaimed guide was occupied at the moment, the gunman had the right idea, so he found another one. He was reattaching his armor as he walked out of the car when he saw that Freya was back in her usual hunting clothes, and Vincent in his usual body suit and cape, though how he had managed to smuggle in his armored boots and clawed left glove would probably never be explained.

It was at that moment when the girl reappeared. "A meeting point has been established. Follow me." She turned, leading them through the abandoned railway cars until they had reached what was apparently the Sector 7 train station. Several Deepground Soldiers stood on guard at the entrance, and they tensed when the four of them approached, but upon seeing the girl, they saluted. She paid them no heed, simply beckoning that the three GUARDIAN members follow her onto the train.

* * *

><p><strong>June 18<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 8:45 PM**

Tifa opened her eyes to find herself looking at nothing but blackness. At first she wasn't sure what had happened, but then her memory began to return with wakefulness.

She'd been outside Rufus's Kalm headquarters with Cissnei… And then she'd heard a strange sound behind her… and then… darkness… what had happened?

She stirred when she felt something cool and hard underneath her. Sitting up, she tapped the floor experimentally. It sounded metallic. Without her vision to guide her, she pulled herself to her knees and began to feel around the area, finding it to be an enclosure, all made of the same material. A few moments later, her hand brushed against someone else's prone form. "Hello?" she called.

The other person groaned and she found it was Cissnei. "Tifa…?" the renegade asked.

"Yeah, it's me," the martial artist confirmed. "Are you all right?"

She heard movement next to her which sounded vaguely like someone was sitting up and then Cissnei answered "I think so. Where are we?"

"I don't know," Tifa took that moment to stand up and after reaching above her, found that the ceiling of the location they occupied was not terribly high, and appeared to be made of the same material. "We might be in some kind of shipping container…" She started moving around, feeling her way along the walls, still blind in the oppressive dark. It wasn't long before she had traversed the entire space and met the younger Turk again. "What do you think?" she asked.

"I think they took my weapon and materia," Cissnei said with annoyance.

"Hmm…" Tifa regarded their prison for a moment. "Well, they won't have it for long." She reached into her pocket to produce a glove, made of black leather, and slipped it onto her hand before tapping around to find a good spot. Once she found one to her liking, she took stance. "Stand back," she said.

The renegade did as she said and she drew back her fist before pounding it into the casing of their prison. It connected with the wall, causing the sound of screeching metal and upon feeling the spot again, she could tell the punch had definitely left a dent in the wall. She drew back her fist and punched at the wall again.

There was a cracking sound and the metal bent this time. A little light started to filter in, a bright beam in an otherwise darkened space, and she was about to go for another punch when she heard a voice outside. "Oh, it would seem our guests are awake."

There was the sound of shrieking metal from one of the other sides of the container, before finally, light started searing in and both women were temporarily blinded by the illumination…

* * *

><p>Zack watched the small playback device in front of him play the message recorded within it for the second time, taking in every detail of the face of the woman who stood there. <em>"…As you have seen from these recordings, we, the Tsviets are unable to take out the Restrictors under our own power. However, I am confident that with your assistance, the Restrictors can be eliminated. All you need do is remove them and you could alter Deepground's balance of power with a single stroke. Our current leader would not last a day without them to keep him in power..."<em>

"I don't trust her," he looked behind him to see Kunsel had come down from the upper floor of the safe house.

"I'm not sure I do either," Zack replied. He looked over at Shears. "Have you seen Shalua around?"

"Not recently. She locked herself in one of the rooms upstairs since you sent her that data that Rufus had."

Zack pulled the disk Yuffie had given him out of the playback device. "I'm going to run this up to her. If she can verify this information, we may be able to stop things right off before they get too terrible."

He passed Allen and Valerie on the way to the stairs. The two of them had just driven in from one of the southern roads leading through the mountains to Junon and were awaiting orders from Veld. As the renegades had slowly filtered in, Veld had been hastily assigning each of them the directive to find a way into Midgar and start opening communications and surveillance channels in the various sectors. Tanjuu had already left, as had Mao.

Cid had already gone; as soon as he'd seen the information disk he'd asked the pilot to go pick up Barret and Nanaki from Cosmo Canyon and Rocket Town respectively. If what Argento had said was true, then he wanted all hands on deck for this operation. They'd been caught woefully off guard. The last thing he was about to do, was let Keter follow through on his promise to sack every single settlement in the world because they'd screwed up.

He shouldn't have let Cloud and the others go in… It was a hot-headed maneuver. He should have known better… Not that he wouldn't have done the same… If things had been different. If Aerith had been the one Nero had grabbed… He probably would have been donning the calico right along with them just to make it within firing distance of both the Tsviet and the monster pulling his strings no matter what the circumstances. He'd admit it. And the truth was, if they hadn't needed him here he'd have gone with them anyway.

Especially if what Argento was telling them was indeed the truth… How could he have been such an idiot? _"You guys had better get back to us alive… All of you…"_ he whispered as he reached the top of the stairs. Sometimes being the leader was so frustrating, simply because it felt like he was sitting here doing nothing.

He paused at the door to the room where Luxiere was, just as Kunsel had returned with a glass of water. "How's he doing?" he asked.

Kunsel shook his head. "Not good. I think the evacuation must have been harder on him than we thought. I sent one of the younger SOLDIERs out to go find the doctor to see if there was anything more we could do for him, but he hasn't been back yet. If this keeps up, I don't know…"

Zack sighed. "We just gotta keep hoping."

Kunsel nodded and walked back into the darkened room to relieve Aerith, who had been watching their friend while he'd stepped out. Zack couldn't help but feel a bit conflicted about this whole situation. He had received a mail from Luxiere at some point during his time on the run from Shinra, and while he had disregarded it at the time, he remembered it had sounded rather suspicious. Considering that the other SOLDIER had asked him to let him catch him it was only natural, and judging by the way Kunsel had talked he obviously hadn't known about it. Zack wasn't the type of guy who liked to point fingers. Especially now when there was no way to tell what his friend's motives had been. What good would it do? It didn't make what had happened to him any less grievous. Given what seemed to have happened to him, it was quite possible the Luxiere they knew might already be dead in a sense. Even so, maybe something would happen. They had to keep their hopes up, otherwise, things definitely wouldn't turn around.

Zack continued onward, towards the room at the far end of the hall and knocked on the door. To his surprise, no one answered. "Shalua?" he called, curiously.

No answer.

"Shalua!" he called again. "I'm coming in!" He opened the door.

The room was vacant, except for the computer on the woman's desk. He walked over to take a look at what was displayed on the computer screen. It was the file Rufus had given them on the Tsviet known as Shelke the Transparent.

* * *

><p>It had taken Shalua a while to get the rented motorbike to the Midgar city walls after the others had left for the rescue mission, but it had been well worth it. Soon, she had found her way to a service hatch down into the slum sewer system that the old AVALANCHE had once used, and had made her way to Sector 7.<p>

It was foolhardy, she knew. But if Shelke was still alive, if her one and only little sister was out there, she would find her. She had been working towards this goal for the past eight years. She had lost her left arm and damaged several vital organs, but not even facing death in the field or on the operating table had stopped her purpose, and if that wouldn't nothing would.

She was nearing the Sector 7 train station, her boots dripping the last of the sewer's leavings, when she spotted Cloud, Vincent, and Freya.

Her first response was to wonder what the hell they were doing walking out in the open, but that was before she spotted the girl that was leading them and her breath caught in her throat.

The girl wore a Deepground Uniform, and had mako eyes, but there was no mistaking the short red hair, or the youthful facial features. "Shelke…" she whispered. Gripping her gun in her right hand, she hurried towards the train tracks, and, moving carefully to avoid the Deepground Soldiers, she crept into the back of the rear car. Nothing was going to keep her from knowing where her sister was going, and where she was taking everyone.

Nothing.

* * *

><p><strong>June 18<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 9:30 PM**

The train pulled to a halt in the shopping district in Sector 8 and as the doors swung open, the girl led them down the steps and away from the train station. Cloud watched the Deepground Soldiers that were patrolling the area warily, but as with below-plate none of them seemed to be interested in fighting them with Shelke as their escort.

They had almost left the area around the train station and were walking towards the fountain that marked the crossroads leading to the Shinra building and Loveless avenue, when overhead, he noticed a crane lifting a huge storage container overhead. At first, he paid it no mind, but that was before it was suddenly swallowed by something that he could only describe as a void. "What was that?" He asked the girl.

"Samples of pure Lifestream," the girl answered. "The man who currently has control of the Restrictors desires it for a project of his."

"And that black void?" he pressed.

"That was Nero the Sable," the girl answered.

Cloud looked back at where the void had been, and reached for his switchblade swords, but the girl held out a hand to stop him. "Those will be useless, he has already returned to Sector 0."

"Is that where you're taking us?" Freya asked as they drew closer to the crossroads.

"I don't know what our current master plans for you," the girl answered. "but for now, we are at our destination."

Cloud looked ahead of them and saw that this was indeed true. A contingent of Deepground Soldiers stood on alert behind someone in a black cloak with an elegant black helmet obscuring their facial features. There was little Cloud could see about this person aside from that they were slightly taller than himself, and carried a weapon that looked a bit like a scimitar. However, by this point, his attention was redirected to the two women that stood with their arms secured behind them.

"Cloud!" Tifa called out to him.

"Tifa! Are you two all right?" He asked turning a cold eye to the soldiers keeping her and Cissnei where they stood.

Cissnei cast a disdainful look at the man holding her still. "We're fine. But it would have been better if you hadn't come."

At that point the person in the black cape spoke and while Cloud could tell now that he was male, he had a distinctly different voice from the Restrictor who had called himself Keter. "That's enough of that. Welcome Cloud Strife, Vincent Valentine, and Freya of the renegade Turks. I hope that after Shelke found you our troops were more… hospitable, shall we say."

Cloud looked at the girl again, this time with a new perspective. So this was Shelke the Transparent? It made him feel rather ill to think how young she looked, not that Shinra taking children for their experiments was a surprise to him anymore. After all, Sephiroth had been one of Hojo's playthings from the time he was still in utero.

When no one else answered the Restrictor, Freya spoke, "They were. I was a bit surprised actually. Maybe if you'd rolled out the red carpet from the start, we might have bothered trying the front door."

The Restrictor laughed. "Joking aside, we're here to conduct serious business." He turned his attention to Cloud and Vincent. "You see, once we realized GUARDIAN would be a threat, we took it upon ourselves to learn everything we could about you." He took a couple of steps forward. "But of course, then we learned that Cloud Strife and Vincent Valentine were among their number. As it turns out, for reasons undisclosed to us, our master requires your presence."

"And just who are you that you can conduct such business for this master of yours?" Vincent's voice carried across the silent street perfectly in spite of its usual softness.

The Restrictor seemed to look in his direction, though it was hard to tell with the helmet. "Forgive my manners. I am Dart, of the Lost Force, now charged with jurisdiction of Sectors 5 and 6. I am also the one who authorized Nero to enter Kalm in search of a hostage." Almost immediately, Cloud's hands inched towards his switchblades, but two of the Deepground soldiers pointed their guns directly at Tifa, making him pause.

The Restrictor waved a finger at him. "Ah-ah-ah. We're not here to fight… yet. We can if you want, but rather than setting my attack dogs on your lover and your Turk friend right away…" the man sounded like he was enjoying seeing Cloud squirm, "I was hoping we could settle this like gentlemen."

"What are your terms?" Vincent demanded.

The Restrictor's voice was condescending as he named them. "It's quite simple. The two of you, for the two of them. If you both surrender, I'll let them go."

"And what will you do with them once we're free?" Tifa demanded.

"Take them to our master of course," Dart replied. "I would have thought that would be obvious."

A moment passed, and then another in tense silence, and then Cloud stepped forward. "Hey Cloud! Wait! Let's talk about this first…!" He heard Freya hiss behind him, but it was already too late. He'd moved towards the fountain.

"Is that a promise?" he asked.

"On my honor," the Restrictor answered.

Cloud pulled his swords from his sword harness and placed them on the rim of the fountain. "All right, let her go," he said.

"Cloud!" Vincent was at his side now. "Have you considered what you're doing?"

"Is there another way?" He asked angrily "If we don't, he might kill them…"

"And their boss might do the same to you!" Freya looked like she was about to walk forward too, but then she noticed the Deepgrounders pointing their guns in her direction.

"We have no interest in you, renegade," the Restrictor said calmly, before turning his attention to the gunman. "If you are to surrender, Vincent Valentine, you should lay down your weapon."

Vincent narrowed his eyes as though debating what to do, before finally, he lowered Cerberus down next to the switchblades. "It seems you've decided for us," He whispered.

At that moment, the Deepgrounders holding Tifa and Cissnei marched them forward to the opposite side of the fountain, where they unbound their hands just as two other soldiers came to claim Cloud and Vincent's weapons. "Your materia too please," one of them said, holding out his hand. Reluctantly, both of them reached for their bangles, before they were checked for any un-accounted for equipment and their hands were bound in turn. Cloud looked over to see Tifa had retrieved her gloves and materia, and had joined Freya as Cissnei walked over, checking that her own equipment was in order.

As the swordsman and the gunman were led under guard to where Tifa and Cissnei had been when they had first approached, he heard Freya call after them. "Don't worry guys, we'll find a way to get you out of this somehow!"

"That's right!" Tifa added. "It's not going to go down this easy! We won't let it."

"Really?" Dart turned his attention to them. "And did you think I'm going to just let you march out of Midgar unhindered? My dogs need a challenge after all, fully equipped, you ought to fit the bill nicely."

Cloud's eyes widened as he looked back at Tifa before he glared in the Restrictor's direction. "You said you'd let them go," he growled.

"Of course I did. But I didn't say I would give them a safe path out of Midgar, did I?" Cloud looked at Tifa and the two renegades again, before his muscles tensed as he was about to run at the Restrictor. What he was going to do when he got there, he didn't know, and there wasn't enough time for him to figure that part out. The next thing he knew, he felt something sharp connect at his elbow, and then the world went black…

* * *

><p>"Cloud!" Tifa cried out, and Cissnei and Freya both grabbed her before she could run back. Both he and Vincent had suddenly dropped, vanishing from sight as they were whisked away into the throng of soldiers, and the lady Turk could tell by the way the Deepgrounders were spoiling to come at them, trying to go back to the two GUARDIAN leaders now would be suicide. The soldiers may have been human in species, but as Dart had named them, they had the bearing of hungry attack dogs waiting for the order from their master to go in for the kill.<p>

She could almost see Dart smirking underneath his helmet. She could hear it radiating from the tone of his voice and it made her furious! He was mocking them and even she could see that a direct approach to teaching him a lesson would be completely stupid. "As for you," the Restrictor said. "It certainly wouldn't be sporting of us not to give you a five minute head start. Just remember, Deepground is everywhere in this city now, and they know exactly who you are. They'll smell your approach, recognize the sound of your breath and be able to count the hairs on your head through the scopes of their sniper rifles. Even if you make it out alive, we'll still find you eventually. We always do. Those five minutes begin now."

"And if you do find us," Freya responded angrily. "I swear you'll regret it." She looked over at Cissnei who was still holding onto Tifa and gestured silently that they get moving.

Cissnei pulled Tifa's hand urgently. "We can't do anything for them now that won't get us killed. Let's go."

"But…" Tifa started.

"But nothing!" Freya snapped. "If you die here, how does that thank what Cloud did for you? We'll try to rescue them when we make it out, but if we're dead, we can't save anyone."

"She's right," Cissnei said. Finally Tifa allowed herself to be pulled away, and soon they were running as fast as they could.

* * *

><p><strong>June 18<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 10:00 PM**

Several minutes later found the three women hurriedly creeping towards an entrance to the upper plate sewers. It had been a really close call a few moments ago when they'd nearly walked right into another squad of Deepground foot soldiers on patrol. It had only been Cissnei's quick thinking to pull Freya back into the shadows that had kept them from being spotted.

The lady Turk really didn't want to think too hard on that as she reached for the manhole cover. Certainly even she was fallible, but this was not a situation where she could let herself fail. Tifa moved to help her, and soon, they were climbing down into the tunnels below.

Unlike the sewers down in the slums, these were a lot better maintained, even if they still smelled. At least here, they would be less likely to find creatures that looked like they belonged in a swamp. Her thoughts were interrupted when up ahead, she saw signs of what looked like a couple of normal SOLDIERs. They paused where they stood listening to the two men talk.

"So Marcus thinks they're down here?" one of them said.

"That's what he said," the second SOLDIER answered. "We know the Turks should be especially slippery, but if you think like them, where's the best place to go to ground? Somewhere your enemies don't want to follow."

"I can see that," the first SOLDIER answered. That was when she spotted the symbol on their belts. As if the conversation wasn't a complete giveaway, the Deepground logo was more than enough evidence.

"It looks like they're guarding a ladder that could take us deeper," she whispered. "Though there's only two of them."

Tifa considered. "We should be able to take'em," she replied at last.

"Probably, but remember, we'll have to be quick and quiet, otherwise they'll sound the alarm." Freya said. "Are we ready?"

The two women nodded, and Cissnei hand-signaled that the other Turk could go ahead. She nodded and signaled to the other Turk which SOLDIER she was going after first before calmly walking out into a dim light emanating down from a grate above. The SOLDIERs were conventionally armed with standard swords. The lady Turk began to cast a Silence spell from her bangle as Cissnei raced forward, a Barrier already coming into existence over herself as she and Tifa raced to jump the SOLDIER she hadn't silenced.

The SOLDIER that hadn't been silenced raised his sword and had just been about to shout for backup when Tifa slipped underneath the blade to land a stiff uppercut to his jaw just before Cissnei sent a Bolt3 jolting through him. Freya had quickly cast an Ice3 on the silenced SOLDIER, freezing him in place until the spell ended and he collapsed just after Tifa and Cissnei's dropped.

The lady Turk joined them at the door they were guarding. "Okay," Cissnei said, "If I remember the maps correctly, we ought to be able to get down to the Sector 7 service exit from here."

"That'll be good," Tifa said. "I used to live in the Sector 7 slums, I know my way around there."

"All right then, let's go," Freya said, pulling open the hatch and climbing further down ahead of them. The others were joining her on the next level when she heard another voice. "Found them!"

The tense silence that had followed them since they'd lost their last few pursuers was suddenly broken as someone fired a shot which grazed Freya's leg as she turned to take a firing stance. She fired a shotgun blast in the direction of the man who had just come around the corner and he fell to the ground before she cast a low level Cure and started hurrying in the opposite direction. "There was no way no one heard that," she said as she passed Tifa.

"We need to go right from here," Cissnei said from behind her.

"Got it," the lady Turk knelt briefly at the corner, checking to see if there was anyone waiting there before dashing forward along the walkway that ran along the stream of sewer water. "It's probably going to get really interesting from here on out." She said.

"We can't let that stop us," Tifa said. It seemed she had recovered a little since they'd left the crossroads at Sector 8.

"That's the spirit," Freya agreed. She made sure to check the ammo of her gun at the next corner before looking around it. Three more Deepground Soldiers were there, along with a rather large looking fellow with what appeared to be a missile cannon mounted on his right shoulder. "Don't they know how stupid it is to have that kind of artillery in an enclosed space?" she whispered. "Someone could do something like this…" she reached out to pick up a piece of debris and tossed it deftly toward the ceiling on the far side of the tunnel before ducking for cover and pulling the other two down with her, so both of them could take refuge under Cissnei's barrier. Almost immediately, an explosion wracked its way through the space they were in sending a few stray beams from the streetlights overhead down into the tunnels.

Once she was quite certain they had smoke cover from the explosion she signaled to the other two to do their thing. Cissnei sent her rekka flying around the corner while Tifa raced after it, casting Ramuh as she went. The electricity had just dissipated when the nearest gunman became the recipient of a blow from Cissnei's rekka while the second nearest one received a flying sidekick. Freya quickly loaded a single shot slug into the now empty barrel and fired it with precision, directly at the heavy artillery gunner's head before sliding the pump on her weapon to reload and raced in. Tifa finished off the last soldier in this cluster with a powerful Bio spell and the smoke was barely clear when Cissnei ran ahead, holding her Rekka at the ready in case they found another squad.

"Are you crazy?" the younger renegade called behind her, "You could have brought the roof down on us!"

Freya simply shrugged. "I figured we were far enough away we'd be all right. Besides, the sewers above-plate were built with reinforced steel, it would have taken some serious force to totally destroy them!"

Cissnei shook her head before gesturing ahead of her, "Next tunnel, we go left!"

Hearing another noise behind them, Freya paused, turning and firing two buckshot loads at three more soldiers that had appeared before racing around the corner after the other two women, reloading her shells as she went. The sooner they got out of here the better.

* * *

><p><strong>June 18<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 10:30 PM**

The door to a service elevator opened at the base of one of the pillars in Sector 7 and Tifa follow the two renegades out into the filthy streets. It wasn't long before they had to duck behind a building for cover as two more soldiers came running, guns blazing. It had been like this much of the last hour, and they'd been counting themselves lucky the whole city wasn't after them yet.

She cast Ramuh again behind them before racing ahead to punch her fist into another Deepgrounder, just as she felt the shield triggered by one of Freya's limit breaks form around her. She'd be invincible for a short period of time, she'd better make it count. Channeling a limit of her own, she passed the soldier she'd just laid out on the ground to jump at a heavy-armor soldier unleashing a Beat Rush followed up by a Meteodrive. The soldier was still twitching as Freya fired another pair of shotgun blasts behind them for cover fire before the renegades joined her in running along the alley they were currently in. Cissnei threw her rekka and it took out a sniper nesting in the supports of one of the pillars as they raced past before she caught it in midair. It was at this moment when Tifa realized where they were. "I think I might know a place we can hide until things die down," she said as they dove behind some garbage. "Unless they found it already."

"And where would that be?" Cissnei asked.

"Our old hideout is in Sector 7, and depending on whether or not Shinra found it after Elfe found Jessie, it might still be safe."

"Well, Cait Sith never found any record of it in their files," Cissnei mused.

Freya looked back over the pile of garbage cautiously to see if any soldiers were still coming their way. "Anything's better than sitting out here, waiting to be picked off," she agreed. "Lead the way."

"Hang on a second," Cissnei crouched next to the lady Turk and revealed a particular materia on her bangle.

Tifa looked over as Freya gasped. "How by the Planet did you get away with them letting you keep that?! It's a summon materia isn't it?"

"Kjata," Cissnei admitted. "I was surprised they let me have it too, but I guess Dart really is convinced his people can take us out. Either that or they didn't check what was in my bangle before giving it back."

"Well that was a big mistake on his part," Freya said with a wry grin. "I think I'm a little offended."

"Me too, almost," Cissnei laughed. "Still, I thought it might be good for a distraction."

"I'll say," Freya agreed. "That one's mean! It'll at least keep them busy a few minutes."

The younger renegade nodded and turned her attention to the street outside the alley where they were hiding, focusing her energy on the casting. Soon a catyclysm of energy started erupting in a kaleidoscope of elements and the three of them fled as the giant bull unleashed its wrath upon the gathering soldiers.

It wasn't long before they had reached the street where Seventh Heaven stood. Tifa had almost made it to the swinging doors, which admittedly looked to be in worse shape than the last time she'd seen them when she heard a voice behind her.

"Ah, so this is vhere you vere hiding," she looked behind her to see the two renegades standing defensively in front of her, but it was the person in front of them that had her more worried.

Freya seemed to be curiously looking over the woman with cruel red eyes who was wearing a rather more revealing mako suit as Tifa joined them. "I take it you're Rosso the Crimson?" the lady Turk said.

The woman smiled and laughed coyly, yet there was something completely dangerous about it. "That vould be my name," she answered. "And here ve haf Freya and Cissnei of the Renegades," she returned. "and Tifa Lockhart, all in vone go. Looks like I get to haf all the fun myself."

"I thought this was Argento's jusridiction," Freya commented.

"Who cares about Argento?" Rosso said. "She couldn't be troubled to stick around, not vhen our leader insisted on calling her to the skyscraper. No. All I care about is seeing just how much you'll bleed." She licked her lips hungrily.

Tifa took a fighting stance next to the renegades. "Not at all if we can help it," she said.

"Oh?" The Tsviet gave her a look of mock surprise. "This should be good then, because lording my power over pathetic humans who only run avay is hardly a challenge. You'd better make this entertaining darlings." She reached behind her revealing a two-handed weapon with a pair of blades curved backwards, like a bow almost and Tifa realized it had a gun built into the hand grip.

"You know," Cissnei said, "We really don't have time for this. Those soldiers could be here any minute."

"Then we'd better do this double-time," Freya said, clicking the slide on her shotgun. "Let's scatter."

Tifa went right while the two renegades ran left, just as the Tsviet opened fire. She had apparently chosen to follow the renegades first, judging by the fact Cissnei had put up her barrier again and Freya had ducked behind some debris nearby to give cover fire. Once she'd established her spot, a single-shot slug grazed Rosso's arm, distracting her just enough for Cissnei to channel a limit, quickly unleashing two attacks with her rekka that Rosso only just barely dodged before she ran at the renegade, her eyes alight with bloodlust. Tifa took that moment to race after her, sliding under her blades to deliver a power low kick to the back of her knee.

The Tsviet glared at her as she dropped to the ground, already coming around with a blade but Tifa pushed herself into the air, flipping over the weapon and landing in a crouch before leaping up to deliver a hard punch to Rosso's face. That seemed to be less of a good idea in hindsight, since the Tsviet was now looking at her even more hungrily as she backed away to avoid the Tsviet's blades. "I suppose this should be expected if you von the heart of Sephiroz' svorn enemy, but that just makes it more fun."

She moved to aim the gun on her handgrips, but at that point Cissnei jumped in again, throwing her rekka to knock off the Tsviet's aim. The report of a shotgun registered to her senses just as Freya called out "There's a squad of Deepgrounders coming up the street, we gotta get out of here!"

"Running avay so soon?" Rosso taunted.

"Perhaps," Cissnei said. She tossed her rekka into the air one more time. Rosso only just deflected it before a bright flash lit up the area and Tifa suddenly felt a sensation similar to a haste spell except faster. Apparently Cissnei's weapon had been equipped with an Exit materia. No time to worry about the why, it was just time to run for it. She followed the two renegades down the street as she heard Rosso yell with rage after them.

"I didn't know you'd picked up an Exit!" Freya called after her as they slowed back to a natural speed about two streets over.

"Mao gave me one after he mastered his," Cissnei said. They turned down an alley to run towards the sector's outer wall. "He said he didn't want what happened with that Raven to ever happen again."

"Well, remind me to thank him when I see him!" Freya replied.

"Do we have any idea how we're going to get out?" Tifa asked as she caught up with them. The three of them paused.

"Not really," Freya said, shouldering her shotgun. She looked over at Cissnei. "Do you think the Exit should be enough to get us through the Sector 7 gate?"

They took cover behind a run-down house as the younger renegade considered. "Probably not on its own, but…" she suddenly had an idea. "Do you have an ether?" she asked.

Freya nodded. "Just the one, but I have it."

The younger Turk considered. "Okay. Does anyone have an All?"

"I actually got one from Cloud a few weeks ago," Tifa answered. Cissnei reached into her bangle, and handed one materia to Tifa and one to Freya. "We'll need to be quick about this, otherwise, we might end up getting shot, but here's what I'm thinking…"

* * *

><p><strong>June 18<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 11:00 PM**

It was deathly silent at the Sector 7 checkpoint, when suddenly, Kjata was unleashed directly in the middle of the gate, along with Ramuh. There were several seconds of complete chaos as the Deepground soldiers scattered, trying to determine the origin of the summons, before three fast moving people fled through the chaos, past the gate and out into the night, just barely missing the hail of bullets that was flying around in their wake. They were several hundred yards shy of the first rise when they slowed to normal speed and soon afterward, they had ducked for cover behind some rocks.

"They'll probably have a search party out here after us soon," Cissnei commented.

"Yeah," Tifa agreed.

"We can probably lose them in the canyons if we go about this right," Freya said, turning her attention eastward.

That was when Tifa's ears picked up the sound of someone nearby. "Well, I thought we'd find something if we got close enough to the fireworks…" All three of them went into a fighting stance as the owner of said voice walked out from the darkness, flaming red hair just visible in the light from the gates.

"We don't have time to fight Reno. How in the hell did you find us out here?" Freya said tensely.

"That was actually complete dumb luck. Rufus had us poking around to see if we could find any holes in their defense. Those summons are like a couple of beacons yo. We knew right away what we were dealing with." The Turk didn't even have his weapon out. He simply stood there with his hands in his pockets.

"So now that you've found us, what are you planning to do?" Tifa asked.

Reno shrugged as Rude appeared behind him. "Well you could say Rufus has something he wants to talk to Zack about, and he's willing to do some favors in return."

* * *

><p><strong>June 19<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 12:45 AM**

_Vincent found himself standing in a room and he recognized it as one from Shinra Mansion, and he was looking across it at a familiar man in a lab coat. "Talk! Why did you let this happen?!" Vincent yelled angrily._

_The man gave him a look of utter disdain. "Silence. You… Silence!"_

_A sharp pain shot its way through his chest as a bullet ripped through his lungs before he dropped to the ground. As he lay there he heard the person muttering to himself. "Why, hmm? Why can't these people just. Keep. Quiet!" He took a few steps away when suddenly he seemed to have an inspiration. "Yes… I can use this body for my next experiment…" He cackled with laughter before continuing, almost seeming to forget Vincent was still alive, still breathing shallowly… his lifeblood pooling under his wound…_

"_A genius…! That's what I am! Yes! Success here will justify previous failures…"_

_The room faded away, and the next thing he knew, he was lying on an operating table. He tried to lift himself up but he blacked out…_

_The dull burn of mako… he knew the sting all too well… a mako tank? In the state he was in he barely recognized the familiar figure who seemed to be looking through the glass at him…_

_Lucrecia…?_

Vincent opened his eyes to find himself unable to move. Immediately, his Turk training kicked in, and his red eyes took in his surroundings.

He seemed to be bound to a gurney by metal restraints. The room was unfamiliar, but he saw it seemed to contain a variety of tables, and scientific equipment. A large specimen tank stood right next to where he lay. At first he though he saw someone in it, but then he realized that the person in question was instead seated in a chair on the opposite side looking rather bored. It was a woman with dark hair in a white Deepground commander's uniform, with a visor that vaguely resembled a three-pronged tiara. She might be Wutaian, he couldn't tell through the glass.

His gaze went to the right and that was when he saw Cloud. The swordsman was still unconscious, also secured to another table, but he seemed to be otherwise all right for the moment. The thing that grabbed Vincent's attention the most however, was the man hunched over him. "So this is the failure he's so interested in…" the man cackled. Vincent could not help his eyes widening a little or his body almost unconsciously straining against his bonds. He could not forget this man or forgive him. His lank dark hair, those beady eyes behind a pair of thick glasses, the familiar white labcoat. He almost couldn't believe it. Here he was, the man Vincent had sworn to kill, right here, and he was powerless to do anything about it.

Professor Hojo.

* * *

><p><em>In case anyone's wondering about Shalua, she's wearing her Before Crisis costume, and because of changes that have thus far occurred, she's not missing an eye in this timeline.<em>

_I'm in a pretty good mood this week. Had my novel submitted for a professional review a couple of months back and the results came back on Monday. To my surprise, it was mostly positive. ^^ I know I've said so before, but feel free to check it out on Amazon if you have the time. You can find the link on my profile, and I hope you'll all be here next time when we finally start learning what Hojo's been up to the past few months. Don't miss it! ^^_

_See ya next week!_


	60. Argento's Work and Lucrecia's Legacy

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spin-offs That honor goes to Square-Enix.

**Part III: Demons**

* * *

><p>Chapter 60, Argento's Work and Lucrecia's Legacy.<p>

**June 19****th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 1:00 AM**

Zack made his way across the grassy plains outside of Kalm, with Kunsel at his side along with Veld, Elfe and Shears. It had been about two hours ago that public com channels had been reestablished outside of Midgar, and about half an hour ago that Zack had received a near frantic call from Tifa. Right now, he felt like he had entered a sort of twilight zone where everything had been stood on its ear. Rufus had authorized the Turks to pick up Tifa, Cissnei, and Freya, and now the President of the Shinra Electric Power Company was demanding a meeting with him over neutral ground.

They had parked their van a short distance away behind the cover of a hill, leaving Rod to watch over it a couple of minutes ago. Right now, he could see the headlights of another vehicle up ahead of him shining a barrier beyond which none of them could see very easily in the dark. The only thing he could see very clearly, was Rufus standing directly in the headlight beam, his white suit standing out like a beacon in the dark. Upon coming closer, he could see several SOLDIERs along with Tseng and Elena.

He was almost to the vehicle in question when he saw someone running towards him. "Zack?" It was Tifa and Freya and Cissnei were following after them at a walk.

"Hey, are you girls all right?" he asked as they reached him. "Where's Cloud and Vincent?"

"Cloud… he gave…" Tifa started, but that was when Rufus cleared his throat.

"I hope you'll see this as a token of good will," the President said smoothly.

Zack looked at him suspiciously as the three women joined Kunsel and the others standing just behind him. "And why would you want our good will when you made it pretty clear you wanted us dead?"

Rufus smiled. "It's a reasonable question, though I assume you saw the ultimatum our friends in Deepground delivered this morning. Situations change. I'm sure you understand that much."

"That they can," Veld agreed. "At the drop of a hat."

"Which brings us to the situation at hand," Rufus finished. "We have conceived of a plan to deal with the Restrictors. Unfortunately, that plan requires resources you currently control."

"I'm listening," Zack said.

Tseng stepped forward. "We are unaware how much you know, but we have determined through contacts within the city that the person who is currently in charge of Deepground is none other than Professor Hojo."

"What?!" Freya exclaimed and then seemed to come to a realization and groaned. "That idiot!"

Zack looked back at Freya curiously. "Is there something I'm missing?"

"Cloud," Cissnei said softly. "The reason he and Vincent are not here with us is because they gave themselves up to one of the Restrictors so they'd let us go."

Zack looked from the two renegades to Tifa, and then back to Tseng and swallowed hard. Finally he took a deep breath, deciding that if Cloud and Vincent made it back alive, he was probably going to kill them for the heart attack he was threatening to have right now. To think of either of them in that madman's clutches again... It was all his worst nightmares come true.

After a moment, he turned his attention back to Tseng. This was more important. He could be upset later when he wasn't in the presence of what remained of Shinra. "Keep going."

Tseng nodded. "As I was saying, even though the Professor is nominally in charge, he has delegated most of his control over the Deepground soldiers to the Restrictors, otherwise known as the Lost Force. Most of them are believed to have been remnants of the 14th SOLDIER division, but there are a couple that we have unearthed through the recent decryption of some of the former President's files that one or two may have been Tsviets themselves at one time or another and were promoted. Regardless, they control the Tsviets through a series of microchips that have been implanted in their brain stems. The way they managed to get it to work, is through a series of corresponding chips within their own bodies."

Zack saw Elfe and Tifa visibly shiver at the thought, and he resisted the urge to do the same. "So what does this have to do with us?" he asked.

"We have determined through our research over the last few hours that these chips also contain tracking devices. Normally, we could use our communication towers to locate them, with the right equipment, however, as long as the Restrictors are in Midgar, they're under a communications blackout, making this impossible. We were discussing the possibility that this could be circumvented using a piece of experimental technology." Tseng looked behind him, clearing his throat.

To everyone's surprise, a morbidly obese old man appeared next to Rufus, rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet like a child who had a secret. "Hey hey everyone!"

"Palmer…" Freya whispered.

Zack had never met the man, but he'd heard he was something of an idiot. He looked like he was rather advanced in years too but even so, when he spoke, he sounded unusually confident. "Back before Shinra gave up on the Space Program, our scientists were working on a potential use for it. We came up with an electronic device called a 'satellite.' We built a prototype for it to launch during the first space mission, in order to gather information about what space was like. It seemed like it could be a lot of fun!"

"And this is supposed to do what now?" Zack folded his arms as he started to get impatient.

Tseng continued, while Palmer wandered off, apparently attracted by a chocobo that was grazing in the distance. "We theorize that if we can get this satellite into a matching orbit above Midgar, we may be able to use it to circumvent the communications blackout, enabling us to locate the Restrictors wherever they are so that a strike team could conceivably take them out, neutralizing them, and Hojo, entirely."

Zack suddenly realized what they were getting at. "And you need the rocket to launch it, don't you…"

"Unfortunately, we lost control of it due to your little war," Rufus said with a nod. "However, if we can get this satellite into the air…"

"You've got it," Zack said, reaching for his PHS. Argento's words were still echoing in his thoughts. He had to admit, he wasn't entirely sure what the Tsviets' goals were, or if doing what they wanted was even a good idea, but with Cloud and Vincent in Hojo's clutches, and Midgar's population held prisoner, there was no time to be worrying about strange alliances. There was a proviso or two he wanted to make however. "We can arrange to let any technicians you want on the scene flown there from Junon by tomorrow morning, but we'll be watching them, and I want one of our guys behind the controls. There's only one man I want in that pilot seat, and I'm calling him right now."

Rufus nodded. "Due to the severity of this situation, I think we can make allowances."

* * *

><p>Cloud's return to wakefulness was about as rude as his forced descent into unconsciousness. The first thing he became aware of was a needle being painfully jabbed into his arm. His eyes opened blearily trying to make them focus and when he succeeded, he immediately regretted it. Standing over him, stood a familiar sallow-skinned man who was looking down at him coldly. It was a face he barely remembered, yet he instantly knew to whom it belonged.<p>

"Hojo…" he growled out the name as though it were the filthiest of slurs and he would have sat up but that was when he discovered the restraints.

The man leered at him as he withdrew the syringe and Cloud could see it was now filled with his blood. "So you remember me Specimen C. I have to admit, I had completely forgotten what you looked like until just recently. I'm not usually interested in reminiscing about failures."

"My name is Cloud," he spat.

"Whatever you call yourself doesn't matter," the scientist replied. "I have more important things to think about." He walked over to what seemed to be a centrifuge and placed the sample into a test tube.

Cloud glanced around the room. He had no idea where it was, but if he had to venture a guess, he seemed to be in a lab. He spotted Vincent near a large tube, also bound to a gurney. Thankfully, he looked unharmed. He heard the whir of the centrifuge and watched as the professor extricated the sample, pouring the newly separated liquid into a new syringe. "Like what?" he asked after a moment.

"I would have thought that would be obvious, you moron." He paused, and then continued. "Hmm… actually, you might make a good scientist." He turned away from him, carrying the syringe across the room. "It's because my son needs my help." That was when Cloud noticed the woman bound to a chair across the room. In spite of the restraints, she seemed to sit in it as regally as if she were sitting on a throne. She was wearing a tank top, leaving her arms exposed, but her dark hair didn't hide that her right eye was obscured by an eye-patch. She remained silent as he approached, watching him with cool disinterest.

Hojo continued speaking. "He never knew, of course. In fact he still looks down on me. But I offered the woman with my child to Professor Gast's Jenova Project. When Sephiroth was still in her womb…"

"We know what you did to Lucrecia," Vincent said. "It was all there in Dr. Rayleigh's research for everyone to see."

"It was my desire as a scientist," Hojo said, his lips curling up in a sadistic smile.

Vincent's eyes narrowed. "The one who should have slept, was you Hojo…"

Hojo cackled. "I doubt you'll have any success before Sephiroth summons Meteor." He jammed the syringe directly into the woman's arm.

"But he's dead," Cloud interjected, trying unsuccessfully to sit up again.

"Not as much as you think, Specimen C," Hojo released the woman's arm. "He's been working on his own within the Lifestream for quite some time trying to resurrect himself using what remains of the active Jenova cells in the world, but once he saw that I had a better plan. Well, even he can recognize a shortcut when he sees one."

"What sort of shortcut?" Cloud asked. Perhaps if he could keep the scientist talking, maybe they could find a way out of this. He had no idea how much time had passed since he'd been knocked out, but maybe they could still get back to the girls and get out of Midgar.

Hojo smiled in self-satisfaction as he warmed to the story. "After you destroyed my attempt to test my Jenova Reunion theory, I was taken to Deepground, but you can't stop progress. It was only a matter of time before I gained enough control over Sector 0 to get me what I needed. Your defeat of Sephiroth at the crater caused him to withdraw into the Lifestream not in death, as you suspected, but to gather his strength for a new attempt. Resurrecting him earlier than he'd planned required a number of items these bottom feeders could not provide, but as you can see, we managed." He walked over to another table and Cloud was surprised to see two objects sitting there. One was an unusually long odachi, and the other appeared to be some kind of small tank, inside of which sat something he hoped he'd never see again. Jenova's head. His eyes widened.

Seeing his recognition the professor nodded. "Of course it wasn't easy. Not only did I have to circumvent a coup among Deepground's own specimens and get the Restrictors under my control and away from those buffoons, Scarlet and Heidegger, but then I had to arrange a mission to the Northern Crater to retrieve these items. I was lucky to be able to find Argento here, among the Tsviets. She was stolen from me a good while ago but fortunately, unlike some failures, she still had potential." He walked away from the table to place a hand almost fatherly on the woman's shoulder.

Argento looked up at him, not even bothering to hide her contempt. "You do realize," she said icily, "If not for the restrictors, I could easily snap your neck."

Hojo simply laughed at that, and continued on as though she'd said nothing. "But there was one thing missing. Her preparation for my own experiments was interrupted and her body had been polluted by Deepground's experiements with G-cells. I needed a pure source of untainted S-cells in order to make her a suitable vessel, which I have just acquired." Having made his point, he walked over to a computer on a desk nearby and started typing something into it.

Argento raised an eyebrow. "So this is why you had such an interest in Strife. I thought it was because Sephiroth would be drawn by him."

"I could have created the optimal conditions for Sephiroth's revival without him," Hojo said. "After all, your genetic attributes were perfectly in line with my needs, not to mention Sephiroth was in love with you, but having that extra incentive certainly helps. It's a pity you were taken from me before he could produce some offspring. Otherwise I could have simply carried on with the child. But with your incomplete preparation, there was little I could do…"

At this point Argento started laughing. At first it was a low chuckle, but it slowly grew louder until it echoed across the room.

"What's so funny, Specimen?!" the Professor demanded.

Argento continued to laugh, her previously stoic demeanor making it all the more unnerving. "H-Hojo, you are a fool!" She finally exclaimed. "The only reason he would suffer my body as a vessel for his rebirth into this world is because I crafted the Masamune!"

There was complete silence at this statement before Hojo finally seem to get his voice back. "It's not nice to lie my dear. I know very well the effort it takes to make swords of that caliber. You had to have folded the steel of that blade for weeks, making it sharp enough to cut a leaf if it was dropped upon it, and then you turned around and gave it to him as a gift, even though war was threatening your own country."

Argento was unmoved by his rebuttal. "Clearly you do not understand the concept of simply being impressed with skill. And I fail to see how it would be relevant now. The only thing he loves more than his sword, is the one he calls his 'mother'." She chuckled again darkly. "I never would have pegged him for a mama's boy, but it always is the ones you least suspect I suppose."

"How can you be sure that is what Sephiroth wants?" Vincent asked.

"An excellent question," Hojo smiled. "And the answer is quite simple. As soon as I was able to retrieve Jenova, I injected myself with her cells. As a result, I can hear Sephiroth quite clearly."

Argento's mouth quirked up in a barely perceptible smile. "I might have known. But then, why are you not resurrecting him now? You have what you need to win, so why not accomplish your goal?"

"Impatient aren't we?" Hojo said. "The truth is, there are still a few more things we need to take care of." He signaled to a couple of assistants who were standing in the shadows, their faces masked, and they walked up to the chair Argento was secured to in order to unbind her and suddenly Cloud discovered the gurney on which he lay was being moved.

* * *

><p><strong>June 19<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 2:00 AM**

After leaving Hojo, the orderlies had taken Cloud down to the 49th floor. He had found himself left just outside a room that looked like it was half constructed of tempered glass. It was only after he'd been there for a while that he remembered this was the SOLDIER floor. Somehow through the fog of his memories, he did recall having been here a time or two to run errands, but he had never been near this room before. He seemed to remember Dr. Rayleigh saying she used to work here too. But that was neither here nor there, he decided.

He was more worried about what was going on back up at the lab. Vincent was still up there, and as he'd been taken out to the elevator, he'd noticed that Shelke had been called in and that the Deepground scientists were helping her set up equipment for something, but he hadn't gotten the chance to see what before he'd been wheeled out into the hall and into the elevator. Not that the guard who'd been put in charge of him seemed inclined to engage in conversation. He simply stood in the corner waiting while Cloud remained bound to the gurney. What where they planning?

At last, his question was answered, as Argento walked into the room, her commander's coat was back in place as was her forehead protector that resembled a tiara. She waited patiently for the orderly that accompanied her to type in the combination on the door and then she strode in. At a signal, the guard that had been keeping an eye on Cloud wheeled him into the room, and left him there. He watched the man leave before he heard the door lock behind him, and he found himself alone with the Tsviet.

She regarded him with a disinterested expression that reminded him far too much of Sephiroth prior to his destruction of Nibelheim, before approaching the gurney and reaching to undo the straps. "I expect you're quite tired of being stuck like that," she said. "But unfortunately they have few other ways to control you since there hasn't been enough time to give you the chip."

Cloud sat up. "Chip?" he asked.

The woman nodded as she walked away. "All Deepground operatives have a chip implanted into their brain stems to prevent them from being able to harm the Restrictors. I doubt they consider it worthwhile for you, since it's a time consuming process and Hojo probably thinks you won't live much longer once Sephiroth returns."

Cloud found himself silently relieved that Hojo had so little faith in his survival. "And why are they putting us in a room together when Hojo thinks you're his best chance to get Sephiroth back?" He asked.

Argento didn't seem put off in the slightest by the veiled threat, simply lifting her broadsword and taking a stance before giving it a practice swing a short distance away. "It's irrelevant if I live or die," she said softly. "It just means my body was not prepared properly, and he'll have to find a new host. That's all I am to him after all. It's so tiresome." She looked annoyed. "I really have better things to do than playing doctor with that self-absorbed egotist."

"More like a psychotic hack if you ask me," Cloud murmured as he stood up. He didn't feel like anything in particular had been done to him aside from being jabbed with that needle. He probably would have known it if Hojo had decided to try any other experiments given his tendency not to care about anesthetics, or Cure materia for that matter.

He looked around the room and discovered that his switchblades had been left by the door. Curiously, he went over to take a look, and then checked his pockets. This was followed by a sigh of disappointment. Apparently even though they had seen fit to return Tifa and Cissnei's materia, their lax standards had not extended to him.

As he picked up his blades he looked curiously over at the swordswoman, who didn't seem to mind him retrieving his weapons while she continued with her sword drills. He could see she was highly skilled, perhaps almost as good as Zack in terms of form, though before his injury he'd also had raw power backing him up which was always a factor one needed to consider when going up against an opponent. Part of what made Sephiroth so difficult to face was his proficiency in both. Argento looked like she relied more on speed and accuracy than brute force. "So what does he think putting us in here is supposed to do?" he asked.

"He wants us to spar," Argento took a step and thrust the sword forward while continuing as though it were a normal, and boring conversation. "He wants to see if he was successful in reinforcing my body to withstand Sephiroth's power." She parried with an invisible opponent. "The only way he can truly test that is with an opponent of strength and skill comparable to Shinra's most powerful SOLDIER himself."

"That's a mistake he's going to regret," Cloud said.

"You plan on killing me?" Argento asked, her back turned as she sheathed her sword at her hip.

"Not if I don't have to," Cloud replied. He considered the swords he had at his disposal and the glass that stood in front of him. It was possible he might be able to break through it. He concentrated his energy calling a limit from within himself and raised one of his switch blades in front of him.

Argento paused to watch as Cloud brought the sword down in front him, sending a Blade Beam directly into the glass in an attempt to shatter it, however, he was surprised when a field of energy he had not previously noticed suddenly appeared to dissipate the power of the attack. "A valiant attempt," Argento said. "However, this room was built to withstand even Sephiroth's training regimen. It's highly unlikely you'll be able to break the containment field when it was designed to contain his limit breaks." She walked a few paces to the center of the room before continuing. "That is of no consequence though. I believe if we don't get started they might start shooting at us." She indicated a tinier rectangular window that looked out over the place from a control room where several Deepgrounders stood with rifles pointed at them, and it looked like they were getting impatient. The Tsviet walked away from him to the center of the room and assumed a fighting stance.

Seeing he had little choice in the matter, Cloud followed her, holding the two switchblades at his sides. "What happens after this?" he asked.

"We go back to the lab," the Tsviet answered, and with that, her face hardened in concentration, and she came at him with a lunge. Cloud had to quickly bring his sword up to block. His opponent's strike wasn't nearly the same as Sephiroth's, not by a long shot, however, as he had predicted, she was simply using the lunge as a distraction, quickly breaking off the attack to bring the sword around and slash at his side. She was definitely fast, but her strikes did not seem nearly as powerful as the silver terror they had chased a few months ago.

He deflected with his second switch-blade before thrusting with the first, forcing her to back away. As they began their dance across the room, matching each other blade for blade, he could tell she too was watching him with an evaluating gaze, measuring his foot falls, observing his form for weakness. He soon turned his attention to the area around him, testing the power of the field by running up a wall and flipping over his opponent after letting her drive him in too close, checking out of habit for any blind spots from the Deepgrounders' rifles and searching for any sign that their guards could be neutralized.

"Are you still thinking of escape?" she asked, interrupting his thoughts as she spoke over their locked blades. "Make no mistake, I am no ally of yours in that regard. Not so long as the Restrictors are still alive." She pulled back and lifted her sword for another strike.

"Then what are you?" Cloud asked, dodging out of the way and preparing to go in for one of his own.

For a brief moment, he caught sight of a faint smile, but it disappeared just as quickly into the hardened mask of before. "Unless things change," she said. "I will be Sephiroth." Her next swing was stronger than any she had yet delivered. He could feel her blade reverberate against his own, making his switchblades sing. The feeling of it almost gave him the illusion he was looking into a green cats eye for that split second instead of her single grey one.

"I believe you've heard me named as Argento the Lustrous," she continued, pushing forward and moving again to slash at his side which he barely managed to block before coming around with a counterstrike towards her shoulder which she evaded by simply stepping out of the way. "But the truth is, I never had a title until Hojo came to Deepground. My strength has always been said to be held in the guise of weakness, for I spent more time working in the depths of my forge and teaching others. But I am by no means weak. Come at me as though I am 'him', Cloud Strife. Unless you wish to die here either by my hand or those soldiers', it would be best not to hold back." For the next few minutes, the training room was filled with nothing but the sounds of clashing swords, as Cloud was forced to defend himself and the two combatants began to move faster.

* * *

><p><strong>June 19<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 2:15 AM**

For the last hour, Vincent had been watching as the technicians across the room worked with a set of strange equipment, curious as to its purpose, and Shelke's presence here. Where they had taken Cloud, and why, he wasn't sure, but this was equally disquieting. Hojo continued working nearby at a keyboard. He never was one to let late hours stop him from his experiements, the ex-Turk reflected.

While Shelke supervised the goings on, a reclining chair had been placed across the room. The computers that surrounded it were hooked into the main lab computer before he noticed another series of wires being hooked into more equipment near where he lay.

Finally Hojo finished what he was doing and joined the Tsviet near the central specimen tube, leering at the Turk as he did so. "You're probably wondering what all this is about," he said.

"It did cross my mind," Vincent admitted.

"It's quite simple," Hojo continued. "Specimen C wasn't the only one of my failed experiments I need something from."

"Is that so?" Vincent murmured.

"You see, Sephiroth needs the Black Materia, and for myself, there's another item in your possession that I need. But the Protomateria can wait until later." Seeing that the technicians had finished their work he nodded to Shelke who walked over to the reclining chair and sat down on it, putting on a special helmet that had been wired into the other equipment.

Vincent looked up at the scientist. "No amount of torture will get you what you want," he said. He was certain he had endured every sort of pain the scientist could unleash upon him; had unleashed upon him; and he knew he could again. "As to this 'Protomateria,' I don't know what you're talking about."

Hojo gave the man a knowing, almost paternal smile as he placed a hand on the man's arm. "The truth is Vincent, as far as torturing you is concerned, I don't need to, at least, not yet. You'll be telling Shelke about the Black Materia's whereabouts in your own words, or should I say, data?" He took hold of the gurney and pushed it across the room to a couple of waiting technicians who put him in position underneath a bell shaped apparatus that seemed to be tied into the computer system. At a guess he assumed there was some mako-enfused element to it, but he couldn't begin to guess how it worked. The last thing he heard was Shelke's voice saying in a monotone "Engaging Synaptic Net Dive in three, two, one…" And then consciousness was violently yanked from his grasp…

_...It seemed like it was dark for a long while, and he could feel the beasts within him stirring uneasily. He wasn't sure he believed it but there was no denying it. There was a foreign entity here. The person or being was approaching him and he couldn't see it coming. At first there was nothing but shadows, but then he felt something, almost as though someone had reached out to touch the very core of his being and then the images rushed forth…_

"Is it true…?" Vincent stood in Hojo's office on the ground floor of Shinra Manor, looking in disbelief at the Professor.

"Is what true?" Hojo seemed merely bored with the question as he answered.

Vincent's brow furrowed in concern. "That Lucrecia… that Doctor Crescent is to take part in this project?"

"It's true." The two of them turned to see Lucrecia enter the room as she answered Vincent's question."Why are you so surprised?" she asked, her voice accusing.

"But using your own child… for an experiment?" Vincent demanded. Surely they knew how dangerous this was!

"Ha!" Hojo let out a humorless laugh before saying dismissively "I don't know what you're implying. But both of us are scientists. We know what we are doing. You are the last person to have any word in this! Now, leave us at once, boy!"

Vincent stared at the ground, unsure of himself. "But…"

"But what?" Lucrecia snapped. "If you have something to say, say it!"

He finally worked up the courage to look up and try to meet her eyes. "Are you…" He took a step forward. "Are you sure? This is what you really want?"

For the first time in the conversation she faced him. "Am I sure?" She repeated, her voice rising in agitation. "Am I sure?! If this only concerns me, then yes, I am sure!"

"Oh… I just." Vincent was at a loss. She turned away from him as he tried to explain himself but the words would not come to him.

_The memory faded away to be replaced by memories of Lucrecia as her health started to fail. All he could do was watch. He hadn't even tried to stop her… "That was my sin…" He thought, remembering the day he had awakened in Hojo's lab to see for the first time the monster he had become. "And this was my punishment…" He could still remember his own screams echoing in his ears…_

He heard the sounds of birdsong, and slowly his eyes opened to see Lucrecia looking down at him. It had been earlier in his time at Shinra Mansion, before Hojo had taken her from him… "Fall asleep here, and you might catch a cold," she said with a smile. They were under a tree at the crest of a hill surrounded by grass and wildflowers and down at the base, he could see the manor house and Nibelheim beyond.

It was then that he remembered he was supposed to be keeping an eye on the scientist, not napping, and jolted up to a sitting position.

Lucrecia chuckled. "Why are you so surprised? Is my face that hideous?"

Vincent tried to apologize. "No, I didn't… I'm sorry…"

"And how are you supposed to be my bodyguard if you're up here sleeping?" She asked in mock accusation.

"Uh… the warm breeze… I was only going to rest my eyes for a minute," he said, his eyes meeting hers.

She hummed at that, glancing around at the view of the surrounding mountains. "Well, I have to admit, the breeze is quite comfortable. However, I think you're in my seat," she teased, bringing out a picnic basket with what seemed to be a bottle of wine peeking out from under the cover. "Care to join me?..."

"_What does that have to do with anything?" The presence that did not belong sounded somewhat frustrated even in monotone. "Diving deeper."…_

He found himself walking into Lucrecia's lab at the mansion. "Lucrecia? Hello…! Anybody here?" He glanced around the room filled with old computers and the mako tube behind them, and that was when he saw the file up on one of the screens. He knew the image, it was that of his own father, Grimoire Valentine. He had also been in Shinra's employ, but Vincent had never known specifically what he was researching and he had disappeared some years ago.

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard Lucrecia walk up behind him. "Who's…?" She paused as she saw what he was looking at.

Vincent turned his gaze to her, asking for an explanation. "Lucrecia, this file…"

"It's… it's none of your business…" she said, moving to turn off the screen.

"But it is," Vincent argued. "Why didn't you tell me you worked with my father?"

To his complete surprise, she looked as though his words were a physical wound. "Stop it! Just stop it!"

"Lucrecia!"

She turned away from him for a few moments, warring with herself over what to say before finally turning to face him, tears falling from her eyes. "It was all my fault…" she said. "I… didn't mean for your father to die… I couldn't… I'm so sorry!" With that, she ran from the room.

"_His data is continuing to resonate with Dr. Crescent's fragments that you uploaded into my network Professor… it could take some time to sort it out." He heard the other presence's voice echoing through his thoughts far more loudly than was comfortable._

"_Well, have it done by morning. I have other preparations to make…" Hojo… Something happened within him at the moment and he knew deep within his being that the presence was getting close to finding the truth… He felt his muscles strain against the restraints even if it felt distant like it was happening to someone else. No… this girl… he would not let her find it… he wouldn't! He pressed back with all his might, feeling the monsters within him fuel his resolve and as he resisted, he momentarily felt the presence back off, and he pursued until he found himself within a memory that he knew was not his own…_

"Is this… is this the place you spoke of?" It was Lucrecia's voice. Vincent recognized the place she was standing in. It was the cave where he had found her.

Then another voice spoke, one he had not heard for a long time even before his years of slumber. "Yes, deep within this grotto is where Chaos is destined to awake."

_Father?_

Lucrecia ran ahead of the man in excitement and he laughed. "Wait!" he called after her.

She seemed happier than he'd ever seen her as she gestured his father follow her. "Come on Dr. Valentine!"

His father paused at the entrance to the cave, taking in the beautiful crystal formations. "The fountain isn't going anywhere!"…

The scene changed, and he found himself back in Lucrecia's lab. A mass of dark energy floated in the mako tube in the center of the room as Lucrecia worked at a computer. He could feel the presence of his father looking over her shoulder. "Don't you think you're taking things a little too quickly?" he heard his father ask.

"And why not?" Lucrecia replied. "All those people at Shinra who laughed at my thesis! I have to prove them wrong!"

His father's next words were thoughtful. "Rushing into matters will get you nowhere, doctor." He turned his attention away from his fellow scientist and Vincent heard a tremor reverberate through the glass of the tube. Lucrecia stood up at that point and he could now see the dark energy in the tube expanding until the glass shattered and it seemed to strike out at her. His father knocked her to the ground, only to be hit with the blow in the process. He grimaced, clearly in pain as his arm was covered in a dark residue.

Lucrecia picked herself up and took a closer look. "Are you all right Dr. Valentine?"

"I'll be fine…" he tried to reassure her, but at that point the damage had already been done. He soon collapsed to the ground, the life energy in his body already being driven from it by its contact with the negative source of mako. "Tell my son, I'm… sorry…" he said. The last thing Vincent heard of the scene was Lucrecia screaming in grief…

"_You would do well to stay in your own head," the presence spoke as he was pulled back into the dark._

"_How do you have those memories?" Vincent asked._

"_That is irrelevant. Where is the Black Materia?" He felt the assault on his own mind increase in intensity and flashes of the area around Lucrecia's cave came and went before suddenly, he felt the beast within him start to stir. Chaos in all its fury suddenly broke loose of his control with a roar and he vaguely felt his body contorting against the restraints back in the real world as Chaos was angrily forcing its way past the foreign presence's defenses a final time…_

Shelke was standing in an unfamiliar laboratory, facing Hojo. "This data you wish me to upload into my personal network will lead us to these materia you seek?"

"That is correct," Hojo answered…

Another memory flashed into existence, this time he saw a battlefield from the viewpoint of a man who had collapsed to the ground… and then another flash, this one of a little girl screaming "Big bro! Save me…!" The feelings attached to that memory didn't feel natural at all, but as Vincent watched, he could have sworn the girl looked familiar…

Then he saw an image of another man in a Deepground SOLDIER Uniform, with a Deepground Rifle over his shoulder. For a moment he could have sworn the man was Kunsel, but his eyes were a different color, his hair red and a different style, and the lower half of his face was obscured by the collar of his SOLDER turtleneck. "You know where this is, right?" the man asked. "This is Deepground…" "Oh yeah, I haven't introduced myself yet. The name's Usher. Pleased to meet you while you're still alive…"

Another memory… Shelke standing in front of a familiar looking man, lying on the floor. It looked to be that SOLDIER Kunsel had rescued near the reactor. "You have memories from before you came here, don't you?" She was pointing at another man in a familiar black cloak. A restrictor. "Do you remember that man? Restrictors will use any means to gather new candidates. You had something important taken from you before you came here, didn't you?" Her words were interrupted when a contingent of Deepground Soldiers surrounded them.

"So Shelke, it was you and the Tsviets' plan to use a recruit who hadn't yet been chipped to kill the Restrictors was it?" Professor Hojo's voice echoed over the scene. "Tsk tsk… those cave dwellers should really have done a better job taking care of their pets…"

"You won't find out anything from this one," Shelke said, indicating the man in front of her, "As soon as I terminate my SND, it's only a matter of time before his mind breaks completely…"

"_That's enough." The presence seemed to be barely holding on…_

_Vincent said nothing. This girl had tried to intrude on his memories, his very inner being. She should have recognized the risks._

"_I know my capabilities better than you think Vincent Valentine. You've seen the results when I've done my job correctly. What do you think would happen if I tried to make you break?" Shelke's voice echoed through his thoughts._

For the last time, the scene changed, and Vincent found himself once again in Lucrecia's laboratory, and to his surprise, he saw himself, unconscious within the mako tube.

"Vincent. Just a little longer. Then I can let you out," a familiar voice said. He saw Lucrecia standing outside the tube before turning around to walk away, before collapsing on the floor. It must have been after she'd carried Sephiroth to term. "What's… wrong with me lately?" she wondered aloud. "Maybe I've been working too hard…"

"Ha! I thought I heard a rat down here!" Hojo's voice echoed triumphantly across the room and Lucrecia turned to see the Professor had just entered. "And just what do you think you're doing with my failed experiment?" His emphasis on the word 'failed' was impossible to miss.

"Get out of my lab!" Lucrecia yelled as she picked herself up off the floor.

"Silence!" Hojo thundered back. "I'm the one giving orders here!" The professor glanced at the computer and came closer, his lips curled up in a humorous smile. "Ah… hahahahaha… Omega? And Chaos?" He laughed a little louder. "I see. Another experiment!"

Lucrecia drew a breath as the Professor continued. "You're using this fine specimen to finish your thesis, aren't you, doctor?"

"No! You're wrong!" Lucrecia yelled, almost hysterically.

"Am I?" Hojo drawled. "Once a scientist, always a scientist. I must say, how happy this fellow must be, helping his beloved, even after he's begun rotting away!" He left the room, his laughter rising in volume until it echoed throughout the halls of the Manor…

"_Lucrecia…" Vincent felt as though he were paralyzed. The woman he'd cared so much for had simply used him as a vessel for Chaos? The way Hojo was planning to use Argento as a vessel for Sephiroth? A series of new images flashed through his mind. The moment when he'd looked outside the cave… when he'd left it… was walking along the edge of the cliff. The entrance to the cave was coming close… no… he tried weakly to fight it, but at that point Chaos and the other monsters within him took over completely and he could feel Shelke's hold on his mind being ripped free before he was surrounded by darkness once more…_

* * *

><p>Zack had just taken a moment to shut his eyes on the couch in the living room of the safe house when his PHS went off again for what seemed like the hundredth time tonight. He hadn't really been asleep so much as letting his thoughts run rampant through his subconscious while his eyes tried to rest, but even so, he jerked upright and put the PHS to his ear. "Yeah?"<p>

"_It's Cid. Just reporting in Zack, we picked up Nanaki just now and we're headed to Rocket Town. We should be there in about three hours."_

"Great, keep me posted, Rufus's technician should be there shortly after you. Make sure you keep an eye on them," he replied, rubbing a little sleep out of his eyes.

"_Barret's already on it,"_ Cid confirmed. _"Just leave it to us! Highwind out."_

His mind went back to Cloud and Vincent. He hoped they would be okay until they could get in there. In the meantime, Reeve was on his way to provide tech support to the joint command center he and Rufus had authorized. They had put Veld in charge of that since he seemed the most neutral choice. Most of the renegades had arrived by now and had returned from their investigations on potential entry points. Shalua was still missing, but overall, things were well under way.

"Zack?" He looked up from where he was sitting to see Aerith leaning over the railing on the second landing.

"What is it?" he asked.

"It's Luxiere," she said, and he noticed she was trying not to cry. "The Planet doesn't seem to think he has much longer…"

Zack was up the stairs in a heartbeat and as he walked into the room, he saw Freya standing behind Kunsel as he sat by the bed, holding Luxiere's hand in his. The man's blue eyes were open for once and they seemed to be directed at Kunsel's.

"It's all right," Kunsel said, "What's the matter?"

"Had a dream…" Luxiere answered. "My sister… she's gone… never coming back… he killed her…?"

Kunsel sighed. "I don't know…" he said at last. He had apparently given up on trying to reason with him in favor of keeping him comfortable.

"Usher… why are… you still here?" His question was barely above a whisper.

"Because we're your friends," Zack interrupted. "If we'd known what was going to happen, we never would have let it…"

The SOLDIER's eyes turned to look at Zack and for a second, he wasn't sure if the man recognized him or not. "Not a… dream…? I'm… sorry for…" He paused for a moment before looking up at the ceiling. "Sis… is it… all right… for me… to… return…?" His eyes slowly closed as he spoke and then he drifted into what seemed to be a peaceful slumber.

Another minute passed in complete silence, and then at last Zack looked over at Kunsel and noticed Luxiere's hand had gone slack in his and his chest no longer rose with the rhythm of shallow breathing.

Aerith came up to Zack and he held her close as he felt tears starting to fall down his face. Freya gently put her arms around Kunsel, and he leaned into her embrace as the body of their friend and former comrade dissolved into the Lifestream and dissipated from view.

A few moments after the last of the green mists vanished into the darkened room, he heard Kunsel stand up. "Zack?"

He looked up from where he was comforting Aerith to see the other swordsman was looking at him with a grim expression, his hazel eyes piercing out of the dim light. "When we rescue Cloud and Vincent... I'm coming with you. I don't care how long it takes. Ravens, SOLDIER, Deepground, whatever they call themselves, we have to make this stop." His fist was clenched at his side.

Zack nodded, reaching out to put his good hand on his friend's shoulder.

"We will. That's a promise."

* * *

><p><em>Poor Luxiere. Next week I'll be taking another break week in order to try and add an extra chapter to my backlog. But the next chapter will be online Thurs May 23Fri May 24th at Midnight EST._

_I can finally confirm for anyone who may have suspected. Luxiere was also the Player Tsviet from the Online Content._

_See ya in a couple of weeks!_


	61. Blasting Off Into Uncertainty

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spin-offs That honor goes to Square-Enix.

**Part III: Demons**

* * *

><p>Chapter 61, Blasting Off Into Uncertainty<p>

**June 19****th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 4:00 AM**

Cloud felt like he'd been fighting for hours when at last, a man in a black cloak appeared at the window and a voice echoed over the training room. "Hold Argento. The Professor has gained all the data he wants."

The silver Tsviet backed off and lowered her weapon, while Cloud remained on guard. Argento had been as good as her word. He'd been so busy defending himself against her there'd been no real opportunity to look for an exit, but perhaps an opportunity could still present itself. He'd still need to find Vincent, but that could come once he was no longer under the Deepground soldiers' watchful eyes.

"Lower your weapons Cloud Strife," the Restrictor intoned.

The swordsman paused. He had not heard this voice before. But still, he wasn't about to leave himself vulnerable again…

"Did you not hear what I said?" the Restrictor continued. "Lower your weapons or that chamber will be gassed."

"You had best do as he says," Argento said. "I cannot claim responsibility for what they might do while you're unconscious."

Cloud looked up at the viewing window and saw that the soldiers up there were already preparing a couple of canisters. Grudgingly, he lowered his switchblades.

"Good," said the Restrictor. "Place them on the ground." The swordsman did so very slowly and then the Restrictor turned his attention to Argento. "Bind him."

The Tsviet walked over to the gurney on which Cloud had been brought in and produced a pair of SOLDIER handcuffs. He heard her walk up behind him and noticed she was looking over his shoulder at the two switchblades in front of him. "Those swords of yours…" she commented, as she began securing the cuffs around his wrists behind him. "I can see they are not of a traditional design, but they are definitely Wutaian in make."

"Does it matter?" He asked, glaring across the room.

"Just that you are clearly a very discerning warrior with an eye for quality. Those are fine blades beyond all doubt, and a custom job if I've seen one. It would be a shame for them not to be reunited with their mates." For a moment, her cool demeanor was replaced with another hint of a smile, but it fled just as quickly. He supposed it would make sense that she could tell they were part of a set, since she had claimed to be a swordsmith, but he was too occupied with his current situation to care right at the moment.

He watched resentfully as she retrieved his weapons, and then waited for the Restrictor to enter the room. Finally the doors opened and what appeared to be a minor level Tsviet approached him, taking a position behind him to escort him out of the room. Argento led the way as the other Tsviet led him down the hall back to the elevator, and it was then when he saw a woman clad in red and he realized her eyes were glowing the color of blood. This new woman was leaning against the inside of the elevator, a strange bladed weapon on her back and the Restrictor behind them took a position next to her.

"So this is the legendary Cloud Strife," she said in a heavily accented voice. The elevator started to rise and the woman came a little closer, looking him over as a Cuahl might look at new prey. "He doesn't look like much to me. Although I hope he can put up more of a fight than those vomen."

That got Cloud's attention and his eyes met hers, trying to determine if his worst fears were true. "Who are you? What happened to Tifa?" he demanded.

The woman laughed. "Rosso the Crimson, darling. As to those cowvardly harlots, they all ran avay. But ve'll find them soon enough." She was directly in front of him now and he wished he could step back, but there was nothing behind him aside from the guard rail and the wall of the service elevator. "On second thought… it's a shame the professor vants to keep you alive. Because I think I vant you for myself." She leered at him as she took his chin in her hand even as he tried to back away from her. "Such a handsome face. I vould love the chance to cut it to ribbons."

The restrictor knocked her hand aside. "Rosso, now's not the time," he said.

"It's never the time!" she snapped, and Cloud found himself forced to duck as she went for her weapon, but the Restrictor quickly brought up a barrier that she couldn't breach.

"That's enough. You will behave. Otherwise I'll deal with you myself." The Restrictor intoned.

Rosso backed off as her hand went away from her weapon, but she smiled as though the idea was exciting. "So vhat if I long to bathe in his blood. It vould be so beautiful, ya?! A pool of red under the clear blue vasteland skies, Coach! You could let us out just for a little vhile. Who cares if Sephiroth vants him?!"

At that point, Cloud heard something click before a burst of energy flowed through the red Tsviet's body and she dropped to the floor like a stone.

Cloud felt a moment of immense relief as the elevator doors swung open and neither the crimson Tsviet nor the restrictor disembarked with him, Argento and his guard. It was only after the two had long been left behind that Argento said "I think she likes you."

Cloud did his best to keep his thoughts private on that remark, though most of them involved wondering if every single one of the Tsviets were that deranged. Up until this point Argento had been almost cordial to him, but did that just mean she had a different point where she would snap?

They walked back through the halls until at last they reached the Science Department again. Another restrictor was waiting for them, and this one appeared to be Dart, judging from the scimitar at his hip. Upon seeing them enter, the restrictor gestured that Argento hand him Cloud's weapons. As she gave him the two switchblades, Cloud's guard directed him into the tube at the center of the lab. The unnamed Tsviet did not release his handcuffs but instead waited at the entrance. Cloud's attention was directed to the equipment that had been brought here while he'd been gone. Vincent was being carried over to the tube from where he'd been lying underneath a large bell-shaped structure and he looked completely drained, almost as if… had the gunman channeled a limit break in Cloud's absence?

That was when he looked over and saw Shelke looked much the same. She had removed a piece of strange-looking headgear and appeared as though she was exhausted from a physical fight, as she was leaning back in a reclined chair, breathing heavily.

That did not stop Hojo from appearing to be furious. He stood at a terminal and he suddenly let out an annoyed growl. "You call yourself a Tsviet! This information is way too corrupted to get any use out of!"

"I can easily make sense of it… once I've had time to clean up the white noise…" Shelke began, not moving.

"Then get on it, girl! I want it ready by the time I return in a few hours!" Hojo demanded and stalked out of the room. After he left, the girl let out a breath but otherwise remained resting in the chair, her eyes closed, though whether it was from a headache or exhaustion, he wasn't certain.

Vincent was brought into the tube and one of the Deepground soldiers carrying him gestured with his gun that Cloud sit down before cuffing Vincent so that they were chained back to back with one another.

"Isn't that a little extreme?" Cloud wondered aloud.

The Deepground soldier didn't answer, instead backing out of the tube and allowing the door to slide closed. Across the room, Cloud could see that Dart had walked over to where Shelke lay regaining her composure, and appeared to be threatening violence if she didn't move to do what the Professor had ordered.

"Vincent," Cloud turned as best he could to check on the gunman. It was a very awkward position, but it was the best he could do under the circumstances. "What happened?" The other man was leaning forward, his eyes closed, but after a moment, he opened them and tried to straighten his posture so he could look over his shoulder at the swordsman.

"I believe I know what happened to Zack and Kunsel's friend…" Vincent started.

Cloud gave him a worried look. "What?"

"That girl, she can manipulate minds through her computer network. I… think she got the Black Materia's location from me…" he finished.

Cloud considered what he'd heard from the Professor just a moment ago. "Sound's like there's still a chance they didn't get it," he whispered. "Are you all right?"

"Lucrecia…" Vincent muttered, and Cloud could have sworn his normally calm tone of voice had acquired a shaken quality to it.

He gave the the ex-Turk a questioning look and after an extra long silence, Vincent shook his head. "Whatever I saw, it's not important now." He didn't seem to care to elaborate further, because he instead asked "What about you?"

"They had me sparring with Argento," he said.

"I see," Vincent murmured.

Cloud looked outside the tube to take stock of who was there and who wasn't. It seemed the restrictor had exited the room along with Argento and all but one of the guards, leaving Shelke to her own devices. After being forced to stand by the restrictor she had walked over to the computer terminal and was now keying something onto the screen. He also noticed that his swords had been placed next to his materia on a table across the room. Vincent's equipment seemed to have also been left on the same surface. "Any ideas?" he asked the Turk.

"Make sure my hands are hidden," Vincent instructed. "I'm not sure, but I may have a wire I can use."

Cloud didn't bother questioning the Ex-Turk, but moved to cover their hands so the man could get to work.

Vincent seemed to have decided to go into mission mode for now and Cloud felt him examining the handcuffs. "These are SOLDIER class restraints. They seem to have a more modern locking mechanism I'm unfamiliar with…" Cloud felt his wrist being lifted as the ex-Turk examined the lock on the cuff with his right hand, feeling out the details by touch. "They might still be of the kind that requires a key. It could take time but…" The man considered. "Is there anyone looking this way?"

Cloud checked. "Shelke looks busy and that guard seems more worried about her."

"Examine the lining near the strap on my right glove," Vincent instructed. "It seems they neglected to check for it."

"All right," Cloud carefully started trying to bend his arms up as far as they would go and attempted to locate what Vincent was talking about. He felt cloth between his fingers. Casting a furtive glance over towards the Deepground soldier that was supposed to be guarding them, he gently eased his finger underneath the strap.

* * *

><p><strong>June 18<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 8:00 PM Nibel Mountain Time**

The sun was just above the western horizon when the Highwind reached Rocket Town and Nanaki disembarked with Cid next to him. Barret was waiting for them at the base of the airship dock. "'Bout time ya got here. Havin' all them Shinra scientists around here's makin' me edgy."

"How close are we to launching?" Cid asked.

"The techs say if all the tests come back right, we'll be ready in an hour," Barret said.

Cid chuckled. "If the tests check out… Don't they know we've got a city to save?"

They walked across town towards the rocket, and Cid could see that Rufus had been true to his word. There were very few troopers in the area. It was still easily under GUARDIAN's control, but there were quite a few more technicians than there usually were and they were running around the rocket, making preparations while several pieces of heavy machinery that had been used to set old No. 26 back in a position sat nearby.

They passed over the bridges that had been built over the pipes and Cid started climbing the ladder. Barret lifted Nanaki over his shoulder before following him up and soon they stood on the catwalk leading towards the main hatch. As they passed, technicians saluted Cid and those who were with GUARDIAN nodded in respect to Nanaki and Barret. Cid led the way to the cockpit where several technicians hard at work on finalizing the equipment checks.

"How's the rocket?" Cid asked.

One of the technicians stood from where he was working at the console. "Just a few bugs in the system Captain, but we'll have it ready before the operation commences."

Cid checked his watch. "#$%&, we need that satellite in orbit before the mission starts! Get on it you #$*%*^! I want this firecracker ready to launch when they give the order! No later!"

* * *

><p><strong>June 19<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 5:15 AM Midgar Standard Time**

Zack was sleeping on the couch in the safe house living room when the alarm on his PHS went off. It had been agreed that everyone would try to get a little bit of rest before the infiltration so that they could at least be somewhat fresh but now, it was time. He quietly crept around Aerith, who could still sleep a little since she was supposed to stay here and help Reeve and after pulling on his boots, he carefully secured the Buster Sword to his back and his dark steel broadsword to his hip.

"That's going to be a lot of weight, are you sure it wouldn't be better to leave it here?" he looked up to see Kunsel next to him, already prepared with the Gunblade sheathed behind him.

Zack shook his head. "I'll be fine. I'm not going without it."

Kunsel decided it would be best not to argue, and the two SOLDIERs walked outside. It was a little further to the new command center Rufus had set up and outside of it, they found Shears and Elfe already waiting, along with most of the Turks, and not just the current ones. Reno and Rude stood near the entrance, but Mao and Cissnei were there, along with Freya and Tanjuu. As they came closer, Zack also recognized Valerie and Allen, Liz, Rod, Lou, and two others. One he knew to be a martial artist and ex-private investigator from Costa Del Sol by the name of Kemp, and the other was a demolitions expert, whom he'd heard the other Turks call Legend. He'd never been told why, but he expected he might find out if things went to plan.

Yuffie was also there. He was starting to regret it, but after walking into the room shortly after Luxiere's death she'd talked her way into helping Freya's team.

"Are we all set?" He asked.

"You bet we are!" Freya said. "We'll teach those Deepgrounders a lesson, won't we?!"

"We're definitely ready to take our city back, yo," Reno agreed.

"It'll be just like when we took on Sephiroth," Cissnei said.

"I guess it will," Zack agreed with a small smile. Kunsel followed him inside and the two swordsmen walked through what had been the largest house in town until they found the basement. A set of computers had been installed there fairly quickly, and Rufus stood in the middle of the communications center near where Reeve was using a couple of his Cait Sith units to help with networking while he was going over a set of papers. Tifa was standing next to him and Zack saw she was wearing her black gloves. As they approached she looked up at him seriously. "You ready?" he asked.

She nodded. "There's no way I wouldn't be ready for this." She punched her fist into her open palm, cracking her knuckles for emphasis. Zack had tried to talk her out of coming, but she had insisted. _"Don't think I'm not going with you Zack, we're both going to find them, and that's all there is to it." _And looking at her now, he could see that conversation was long closed.

At that moment, one of the technicians looked up from his terminal. "Mr. Shinra? Rocket Town says the rocket is set to blast off."

Rufus looked up and nodded. "Tell them we'll be ready to give the order in a few minutes," his attention was now on Zack. "I must say, I am surprised we're not behind schedule."

"And I'm surprised you aren't too proud to agree to work together and not try to kill us, but that's a whole different conversation," Zack said.

Rufus simply smiled. "There will be plenty of time for our own disputes once Midgar is retaken. I may be proud, Zack, but I am no fool. We still have our last briefing to conduct before the mission gets underway, correct?"

Tseng approached at that point with a series of papers which he placed on a nearby table behind them and Zack nodded before turning to Kunsel. "It's time to bring everybody in."

His friend went back outside and soon everyone who had been waiting out there was gathered around the table, where Tseng had spread out a map of Midgar and for a moment, most of the computer technicians were only working quietly nearby. Once all the chatter died, Zack took the floor. "All right. We all know why we're here. So let's talk about how we're going to get rid of Hojo and those restrictors…"

* * *

><p><strong>June 19<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 5:30 AM**

Miraculously, the wire was indeed right where Vincent said it was, and Cloud had quickly retrieved it, placing it in the gunman's hand while being careful not let his own be visible. The ex-Turk had been working patiently, using touch alone to guide the wire through the keyhole on his cuffs, though his efforts had been so far hampered by the fact the cuffs were indeed an unfamiliar model, and he couldn't see what he was doing.

Cloud watched their guard in case he happened to look their way, but the Deepground soldier had remained standing where he was, watching the Tsviet work away at the computer. It had been quiet for a long while, and though occasionally the Deepgrounder did look in their direction, he hadn't seemed to notice Vincent working. All the better. They could catch them by surprise when they tried to get out.

At last the Tsviet finished her work and stood, wandering over to the tube. Cloud nudged Vincent to let him know she was approaching and he immediately desisted. She stopped at the glass, observing them with a flat emotionless gaze.

Cloud stared right back at her, waiting to see what she would do, when finally she spoke. "I don't understand why you would do what you did," she said at last. "That woman was clearly meant to trap you, yet you came anyway. Why did you let yourself be so easily manipulated?"

Cloud raised an eyebrow. "I think the answer speaks for itself," he said coldly.

"If it is so self-evident, then I don't see why your behavior or Dart's would confuse me…" she said.

Vincent glanced over Cloud's shoulder. "I don't know about others," he murmured. "but when people care about each other that much, such a sacrifice is the least they can do… Perhaps it's part of what makes us human." He looked away from her again and Cloud was for all intents and purposes left alone with the girl as she considered the Ex-Turk's words.

Finally she turned her attention back to Cloud and asked "And that made it worth it for you?"

Cloud was considering whether or not he should answer that question when the conversation was abruptly ended because everyone's attention was directed towards the guard who had suddenly dropped like a stone, a bullet hole in his helmet.

Cloud looked up to see a figure drop onto one of the catwalks from a ventilation shaft above them. Shelke looked up at the intruder, preparing to go for a weapon and he heard the click of a pistol almost immediately after the thump of combat boots as the figure dropped down to the ground. Then he heard a low female voice. "Don't move."

Shelke paused, her eyes narrowed as the woman walked into the light and out of the shadows. Cloud's mouth fell open. What was Shalua doing here!?

The two women stood no more than ten paces apart, regarding each other over the barrel of Shalua's gun. "I knew it," Shalua said at last. "It really is you… Shelke?"

Cloud distantly registered that Vincent was back to work on the handcuffs while the Tsviet was distracted.

"I have no acquaintances in GUARDIAN," Shelke intoned.

Shalua seemed uncertain of this and her voice wavered a moment. "We've both changed so much… no… you haven't changed at all… not in eight years…"

Shelke seemed uncertain, almost haunted by that statement and Shalua continued, lowering her gun slightly. "Shelke, it's me! Shalua! I've been searching for you, for so long…" She tried to come closer, but Shelke leapt away from her, grabbing what seemed to be a pair of javelin-like poles from a nearby table. As Shalua neared her she activated them somehow. Her eyes began to glow orange and the poles were extended into two similarly colored energy beams connected by a stream of energy behind her. She held one in front of her to keep the other woman at bay.

"Don't take another step," she ordered. "You were foolish to come here. Even if you did fire your weapon, it would only bring a hundred other soldiers to investigate."

At that point, Cloud felt a lock click behind him and Vincent pulled his arms in front of him to begin working his other wrist loose of his bindings. "And that doesn't matter," Shalua said, her voice cool and even lest it draw the attention of more guards, though Cloud could tell she was fighting tooth and nail to keep her composure. This situation was dangerous for all of them. If she lost it here, it might get her killed. "Even if it has been eight years, you're still Shelke, my only sister," she said.

Shelke lowered her weapons for a moment, and the energy died, but she gave Shalua a look of utter contempt. "Eight years…" she said, turning away to look meditatively at the ground, completely ignoring the woman with the gun. "Has it been that long? The day they came to take me away, I was told I had potential, but those words were nothing but a precursor to years of suffering. They manipulated my mind until I was a shadow of my original self. The pain, the fear, for eight years I lived in hell far deeper than any you could imagine. But look at me. I should be seventeen this year. If I don't receive my daily dose of mako, this body wouldn't last a day."

Cloud heard another click as Vincent finished working on himself and then felt him begin to pick the lock on his own handcuffs as Shelke looked up at Shalua again, her expression a cool tempest of hatred under a mask of tranquility. "However, I don't consider myself the least bit unfortunate, except that for so long I held onto a foolish thread of hope that someday, someone would come to save me."

Shalua looked pained, but even so, in the seriousness of the situation, she remained firm. "I'm sorry Shelke. Believe me, I am. But I never stopped looking… all this time. Come back with us. No one will hurt you…"

Vincent seemed to be taking Cloud's handcuffs more quickly now that he seemed to have figured out what to do and Cloud felt the first cuff click open, before the Turk began working on the last one.

"There is nothing for me there," Shelke said coldly.

Shalua was falling apart fast and looked like she was on the verge of crying. "Even after all the trouble… I-I went through?" She lifted her prosthetic arm. "After you left, I joined AVALANCHE trying to find you. My arm isn't the only thing I lost. I nearly died more than once… but the one thing that kept me going… was the possibility that you were out there… Do you think I'm just going to lose you again?" She blinked away her tears and lifted her gun again. "Even if it means taking you back by force, that's not happening!"

Cloud felt the final lock click and he and Vincent both stood to examine the door of their prison. Shelke seemed too preoccupied with Shalua to try and do anything about them right now. Vincent tapped at the glass. "It's tempered," he said softly. He put his normally clawed hand against the barrier and Cloud saw energy crackle under his palm. "There's a barrier field here. Probably reinforced to prevent stronger specimens from breaking out."

"Like us, you mean," Cloud observed.

Vincent didn't answer but started walking around the the cage before looking up and Cloud noticed a metal grate at the top of the enclosure's steel cover. It must be for ventilation, but had also afforded them the ability to hear more clearly what was going on outside. He leapt into the air, grabbing a handhold on the rim and took a closer look. "Hojo secures his specimens well," he muttered. "It's welded shut."

At that moment, Cloud noticed Shelke had rushed forward to lunge at Shalua and the woman weaved to the side to avoid the girl before landing a kick to her back. "You really thought I'd fall for that?" the woman asked. "I don't remember you being able to win any of our fights, do you?"

"That is irrelevant. I'm going to kill you," Shelke replied, turning and taking stance again.

"Go ahead and try, I dare you," Shalua said, bringing up her normal hand and gesturing that Shelke come at her.

The two women stood apart from each other for a moment before Shelke leapt into the air to try and come at Shalua from above, but the hacker ducked and rolled, rising up into a crouch before raising her gun and firing at the sprinkler system above their heads. Water began to spray all over the room and equipment sparked around them as Shelke's weapon promptly shorted out. Cloud felt a change in the energy levels around him as the barrier field enclosing the tube suddenly died and he and Vincent quickly went for the door, using their combined strength to slide it open.

Shelke had attempted to come at the older woman again when her weapons died and Shalua had blocked them both with her prosthetic arm. "I don't think so," she said.

Shelke whirled away, headed towards a desk where several other weapons had been laid, but by that point, Cloud and Vincent had managed to open the door. Cloud had already scanned the room and located the spot where his swords had been place. To his relief his materia were there too, along with Vincent's weapon and equipment. The two of them raced over to the table and they both slipped on their bangles before Vincent cast Stop from a Time materia and Shelke froze in place.

Shalua ran over to where they were gathering the rest of their equipment. "Thanks," she said before looking at the girl in front of them.

"We may have no choice but to knock her out if you want to take her with us," Cloud said.

"I know," Shalua said. "I hate to do it but…"

"I'm afraid I can't let you," A female voice sounded from across the room. The three of them looked up and saw another restrictor standing next to a giant of a man with blue hair and clothes, and eyes that glowed golden. From what Cloud could tell, this Restrictor was shorter than the others. "The professor should have known better than to leave the Transparent Tsviet to her own devices. Maybe if Dart had stayed rather than going back to overseeing his Sectors, this lab wouldn't have gotten so crowded."

"So what's the word?" the giant asked. "Can I eat them?"

The Restrictor with the female voice laughed. "You can have the woman, Azul. The other two are going back into their cage."

The man in blue raced forward but Cloud pulled Shalua to the side just before he could make contact, picking her up when she tried to resist. That was when several more Deepground soldiers appeared from the hall, apparently having been drawn by the noise. "We need to get out of here," Cloud muttered.

Vincent nodded and followed him to some stairs down into the lower portion of the lab.

"Shelke!" Shalua cried as the two of them ran.

"I'm sorry," Cloud muttered, firmly keeping her still as he ran. "But if we don't move we won't get away at all."

"I don't care!" Shalua desperately tried to fight her way out of his grasp, but eventually she broke down completely. "It's not right…"

They were past another set of specimen cages and a particularly large yet empty tank when they found another hallway. They ducked into what looked like an office when they heard the sound of more combat boots coming from both the way they had come and the way they were trying to go. It wouldn't be long at this rate before they were overwhelmed. Shalua had stopped struggling by now, and Cloud awkwardly let go of her. "Sorry…" he mumbled again.

Shalua didn't say anything as Vincent moved a desk in front of the door. "We'll need to find another way out of here," he said. "That won't hold them for long."

"Then where…?" Shalua asked, though she was too distraught to finish the question.

There answer came when another vent cover fell open and they heard a heavily accented voice. "Psst! Over here you three!"

Cloud looked up. "Cait Sith?"

The little cat looked down at them from the ventilation shaft he'd just opened and gave them a little salute. "Number 6 at yer service! New come on! Let's get oota here! I'll explain things later!"

* * *

><p><strong>June 18<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 9:59 PM, Nibel Mountain Time**

Search lights were trained on the rocket as men and women worked furiously to have it ready. It wouldn't be long now. Cid looked out the front window of the cockpit, as they worked with Shera beside him. Barret was staying behind to oversee things on the ground, along with Nanaki.

"_Captain, the countdown is set to begin in 30 seconds,"_ one of the technicians said over the speaker.

"Standing by for launch signal," Cid Confirmed. "Tell Zack and Rufus we're ready when they are."

* * *

><p><strong>June 19<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 5:59.45 AM Midgar Standard Time**

Zack stood next to Rufus at their headquarters in Kalm, watching the preparations commence. He'd never in his life expected to be privy to an event like this, much less under these circumstances. Though it was understandable. At the time of the first Rocket Launch, he and Cloud had been pickling away in mako tubes under the Shinra Mansion. Even so, this was an incredible event.

Every single person who had volunteered for the infiltration mission had been given a seat in the adjacent room where they had two television screens showing what was happening in here and what was going on in Rocket Town. Unfortunately, no one outside of this building had been permitted to tell the world. It was a shame that such a momentous occasion couldn't be revealed, but there was too much of a chance that the Deepgrounders might attempt sabotage, and they couldn't have that.

Still, they were about to send a man into space, to save the world no less.

"Permission to begin countdown?" One of the technicians asked.

"Granted," Rufus confirmed.

The technician reached for the mike on his desk. "Initiating final countdown, launching in Ten… Nine… Eight… Seven… Six…"

Zack felt his heart begin to race as the rockets engines started billowing smoke and fire on the launch pad…

* * *

><p><strong>June 18<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 9:59.55 PM Nibel Mountain Time**

"_Five… Four… Three…" _Cid felt the rocket begin to lift underneath him as he pushed the throttle forward. It was slowly going higher, higher, and still higher, defying the pull of the Planet's surface and as he looked up through the window of Shinra No. 26, he could see the clear sky ahead of him. It was everything he had loved about flying. That call to soar up into the heavens. This was it, this had been his dream. Even though he never would have admitted it to anyone, he felt a tear trickle down his cheek, as the last of the countdown finished and G-forces started taking hold. "_Two… One… Liftoff! We have liftoff…" _He couldn't hear the radio too much after that as he was too busy keeping the rocket steady.

For what seemed like a long time, he saw the sky coming down to meet him, slowly getting deeper and clearer as his body grappled with the G-forces that were threatening to flatten him into his seat. Stars that had been only somewhat visible on the ground became so much clearer and he soon felt like he could look out there and see the entire universe from his ship. The sun peeked over the horizon more and more the further out into orbit he got, and off in the distance, he could see the moon, so much more clearly in the brighter light of the celestial orb. It was so beautiful, even a bitter man like himself could have his breath taken away. He looked to his right, and saw that Shera was looking around her in wonder.

Finally, the pull of the rocket ceased, and he heard the radio click back in. _"Captain Highwind? What's your status? Captain Highwind, do you read?"_

He grinned as he noticed that a cigarette that had been knocked free from the strap of his aviator goggles had started floating in the main cabin. "Keep your britches on! I read ya loud an clear. I should be pulling into a regular orbit pretty soon, and then we'll see if we can line this puppy up with Midgar. Let's tell the professor 'Strife Delivery Service' needs its couriers back!"

* * *

><p><strong>June 19<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 7:00 AM Midgar Standard Time**

Zack couldn't help but feel a little nervous about leaving Rufus unattended in Kalm, but at the same time, he knew Reeve would keep Aerith safe. And apart from the Cait Sith combat units, he had come with their at-large company of regulars, many of which were veterans of the Fort Condor conflict, and several more of the defected SOLDIERs who had joined their ranks in the last couple of months. Not to mention, they had Eli and his contacts to rely on. Between everyone he knew he could trust, hopefully, any backstabbing Rufus resorted to would be minimized.

He knelt with Kunsel, Tifa, and Tseng at the crest of a hill overlooking the Sector 8 gate. The day was mostly overcast, thank goodness, but they were still doing their best to lay low.

At that moment, he heard someone come up behind them and recognized SOLDIER 1st Class Bradley. While he had only distantly known the man before Nibelheim as a 3rd, he definitely seemed the professional type, and he seemed pretty loyal to Shinra. "Everything is set," the SOLDIER confirmed. "We've got all of our diversion units in place."

"Good," Tseng acknowledged. He turned to Zack. "You had better get going. I don't know how long we'll be able to distract them."

Zack nodded and walked back down the hill to where everyone was gathered, with Elfe, Shears, and the renegades disguised in plainclothes. "All right," Zack said. "This is it. You all have your orders, so let's move out. If we do this right, it could mean we'll be able to put this thing to bed for good. So let's do this!"

There was a nod from each of the renegades, and Tseng pulled out an old radio. "Commence Operation."

Zack heard Bradley's confirmation as the SOLDIER 1st returned to his unit, and soon afterward, there was the sound of several loud explosions at the Sector 8 gate as they moved to attack.

Elfe and Shears came up in front of Zack as they led the way towards the small and carefully camouflaged hole leading into the sewers of Midgar's slums. It had been a while before the AVALANCHE leaders had been willing to reveal this secret for how they were able to get in and out back during and shortly after the Wutai war, but now that the entire city hung in the balance, there was little time to be picky about which allies knew of these secret paths.

The tunnel was accessed by way of a hole that Shears easily uncovered, and soon Zack saw the evidence of a crudely constructed tunnel leading down towards the main portions of the outer sewers. He was the third person down, followed by Tifa, And then Kunsel and the rest of the renegades. While they were all descending, the two former terrorists pulled out flashlights. As the last of the sounds of clashing swords and explosions died away as they continued deeper into the dark, only to be replaced by the rank smell of decay, and the sound of water flowing down through the tunnels.

For several minutes the group walked in silence, until at last, Elfe revealed a ladder going topside. Shears climbed it first, before signaling that the first group could come up. Freya stepped forward, followed by Tanjuu, Yuffie, and Mao. The four of them climbed the ladder and disappeared. They had the shortest distance to go, being that their wait point was an old AVALANCHE hideout that had been set up in Sector 8.

A few minutes passed and then Elfe signaled that Shears had given the all-clear for the next group. Liz stepped forward to climb the ladder, followed by Lou, Rod, and Kemp. They were bound for Sector 2.

More time passed, as next Cissnei, Reno, Rude, and Legend left for Sector 6, and then finally, Elfe signaled the all clear for Zack, Tifa, and Kunsel to make their move on the Shinra building, leaving the two AVALANCHE leaders with Allen and Valerie to head for Sector 4. "Be careful out there," Shears said as Zack moved to lead the way for his group out of the alley.

"You do the same," Zack returned. "I want us all coming back alive, you hear?"

"Likewise," the man answered. Zack pulled the Buster Sword free of its harness with his left hand, putting the flat of the blade to his brow. They were going to make it. He'd swear his honor on this… Finally, he replaced the blade on his back, and gripping the lighter broadsword, he led the way out into the city. All they had to do now, was wait for Cid.

* * *

><p><strong>June 19<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 8:00 AM**

Cid worked the controls with a steady hand, maneuvering the rocket into the correct orbit so that it was properly lined up with the tiny wheel. It was so far away, it may as well have been a small blemish on the planet's surface, but even so, the coordinates were right.

"_How's it coming No. 26?" _Reeve's voice echoed through the radio.

"Just about in position now," Cid replied. "Slowing to orbit speed in Three… Two… One… Perfect… I'll be opening the cargo hatch right… now…" He pressed the button and looked out the window. It had taken a little rigging on the part of the rocket techs, but now he could clearly see them show their work. A small device rigged to the wall of the cargo bay gently pushed the satellite into the void, and Shera carefully used a smaller set of controls to pull it into position. The small jets on the thing maneuvered in response to her hand for what seemed like an agonizingly long period of time.

"Can't you go any faster?" he prodded. He knew she wouldn't, and for something like this, precision was paramount, lest the satellite fall into the atmosphere in a conflagration of flash-fried metal and rocket fuel. That was precisely why she had volunteered to come.

"No, I can't Captain," she answered patiently, not taking her eyes off her work. "Everyone's depending on this being done right."

He glared at her, but didn't say anything. She'd gotten a little braver since she'd had his back during their last stand against Rufus's forces at the base of the rocket, and maybe she'd developed more of a backbone for it. She'd even told him off from time to time and perhaps he'd relent on occasion, but even so, they had yet to really truly reconcile. On occasion he had felt a little guilty for treating her the way he had, but then he'd remember what she'd done to him… and… well he hadn't quite worked up the courage for the final step yet.

Finally, she gave the control stick one last little push and stayed perfectly still. "I think that's done it," she nearly whispered before speaking louder. "Mission control? The satellite is in position. Activation commencing now." She reached for a switch on the control panel and Cid drew a breath as he watched a nearby screen for signs of a signal.

After less than a minute, he caught it as a blip on the screen. "Mission control? We have a transmission. Are you receiving it?"

"_That's an affirmative 26, we're receiving a signal and we're confirming tracking devices on all four targets as we speak. It's time to come home," _Reeve replied.

"Roger that," Cid ended the communication and after closing the hatch, he pushed forward on the flight stick. Barely half an hour later, they were over top of the vast Western sea that spanned the gap between Wutai and the Eastern Continent.

"Let's get out of here," he said.

The two of them moved towards the ladder, floating through the air in free-fall down into the depths of the rocket. As the dimmer lights of the lower part of the piloting module took the place of the star-studded view of the cockpit windows, Cid found himself feeling unusually reflective. This was it. He'd gone into space and lived his dream. He felt lighter than he ever had, and it had nothing to do with the weightlessness of outer space…

He was passing the oxygen tanks when suddenly something sparked next to him. He barely had time to blink before a huge metal plate flew free, pinning him against the wall.

"Captain?!" When he opened his eyes, he saw she had pulled out her tool box and was already working on a tangle of wires, trying to pull him free.

He looked over at the wall where the oxygen tank used to be. "Tank Number 8 blew up…" He considered that and then he remembered, looking at Shera with an uncharacteristically pained expression. "So Tank Number 8… really was malfunctioning… You were right…"

Shera didn't reply but continued working with a set of pliers to untangle the mess so she could pull it free. Cid considered for a moment. "Don't worry about me. Go ahead and go…"

She shook her head, her expression carefully blank. "Don't say that Cid."

"Don't you look at me like that, hurry up and go you *&#!^$#&#^%!" She simply looked back at him, unperturbed by his outburst and then went back to work on trying to cut him out of the debris.

Cid finally allowed his anger to settle and he looked down at the ground. For the first time in his life, he felt a little ashamed. "…Sorry," he said at last.

Shera shook her head. "It's all right Captain." There was quiet for a little while longer as she finished working her way around and finally pulled the plate free.

Not long after, they were floating towards the escape pod. Upon entering it and strapping himself in, Cid spoke. "Shera… you know… you don't have to call me Captain all the time…"

She smiled and reached for the control panel in order to jettison the pod with a gentle smile. "I know…"

He chuckled a little. "So, does this pod really fly?"

She nodded. "It'll be OK. I checked it thoroughly before we took off."

"…Then I'm relieved."

Shera adjusted her glasses, but he could have sworn he caught the glint of a couple of tears in her eyes. "…Thanks."

As she threw the lever that jettisoned the pod, Cid looked out the window, watching as the stars floated past them. "So this is…outer space…Man… It's the real thing… I'm really here in outer space…" He chuckled a little more at the wonder of it all, and craned his neck to take one last look at the ship that had carried his unfulfilled dream for so long, and had at last born it into fruition. "So long, Shinra No. 26…"

* * *

><p><strong>June 19<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 8:30 AM**

Zack led the way, wary of any sign they'd been spotted. Tifa and Kunsel were behind him, both also on the lookout as the three of them crept through the upper-plate sewers. They had found a couple of Deepground regulars, but the fact that many of them were running around in chaos showed that their distraction at the gate had definitely had an effect.

He heard the sound of someone screaming above them and looked up out of the grate. A woman was backing away from what appeared to be a strange humanoid being. They were definitely in Deepground equipment, but seemed to be running around on all fours.

Kunsel was already on it. As the woman backed off the grate and the beast that was a mockery of a human crawled over top of where they were hiding, he cast the most powerful Bolt spell he could manage. The grate cover, and by extension, the mutant on top of it was blown several feet in the air by the electricity. It growled angrily, but Zack and Tifa were using its momentary distraction to leap up into the air in unison to use the side of the now opened hole to swing up onto the street level. Zack drew his broadsword, but Tifa had already rushed in, landing a hard punch to the mutant's stomach, before leaping in the air to deliver a painfully accurate downward kick to its neck. The thing dropped to the ground from the sheer power of the martial artist's attack.

Seeing the danger was temporarily past, Zack looked back at the woman who was cringing against a building in terror. "Are you all right?" he asked. She nodded and Zack said "You might want to get inside, ma'am. It's too dangerous out here." She nodded and hurried across the street to a door where two children were watching.

He turned back to the others, "Come on, we need to get to the Shinra building…" It wasn't far now. Loveless Avenue was just down this street. He knew it well, and from there, all they had to do was make it past the guards and in. Then they could find Cloud and Vincent.

"Right," Kunsel agreed.

The theater on the main street came into sight, and soon, Zack could see evidence that the Deepgrounders were milling about, on duty. After a moment, Zack signaled that the others wait in the alley before he crept across the street. They didn't seem to notice.

Finally, he signaled that the others come after him and first Kunsel, and then Tifa hurried across to take shelter in another alley.

"Do you get this weird feeling this is a little too quiet, now that we're away from the gate?" Kunsel asked after a moment.

"Maybe," Zack agreed. "But whether it's quiet or not, it won't be long before the Turks carry out their part of the plan.

"_Psst! Zack!" _He suddenly heard a heavily accented voice from a grate below him.

He looked down and his eyes widened in surprise. "Cait?"

The little cat gestured that they walk down the alley and soon they found a manhole cover which Kunsel easily lifted before they joined the little feline out of sight below. "What are you doing here?" Zack asked as the little cat led the way along a path away from Loveless Avenue.

"Lookin' for you, that's what," the little cat said. "Reeve had me sittin' in the ventilation shafts over Rufus's office for a while, thinkin' he could get some intelligence that way, but when communications died, he lost contact. I've been explorin' ever since, thinkin' if I foond anythin' and was able to get it back to ye, it might be helpful in figurin' oot what's what."

"Have you seen any sign of Cloud?" Tifa asked frantically.

Cait Sith gave her a smile. "It's all right lass, I found him, Vincent, and Shalua, up in the level below the main Science Department and got them oot. In fact, they're restin' in an abandoned house in the residential district over near the Sector 8 reactor right now." Seeing the worry in everyone's eyes, he quickly added "Don't worry, they're fine." He turned around at started scurrying away from them, calling over his shoulder "The professor's doin' some pretty terrible stuff tho'. It wouldn't go amiss to put a stop to it if we can!"

The three of them all started running after him.

* * *

><p><em>Welcome back everyone, and thank you for your patience. Next week we will continue as scheduled, and I can promise that some big developments are in the works. I can hardly wait!<em>

_See ya soon!_


	62. Simplifying the Equation?

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spin-offs That honor goes to Square-Enix.

**Part III: Demons**

* * *

><p>Chapter 62, Simplifying the Equation?<p>

**June 19****th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 9:00 AM**

The sky was beginning to sweep away the cloud cover and the sky was starting to become more visible as Aerith stood on one of Kalm's city walls. Midgar was barely visible as a dark speck on the horizon from here, but even so, she didn't want to take her eyes off of it. The Planet's whispers were fainter than what she was used to here, but she could still detect hints. A short while after waking up to find the spot where her husband had been sleeping to be vacant, she had heard the vague indications that his group had infiltrated and that something was happening there. She had searched for any news of the restrictors and had quickly heard of their deaths.

With luck it would be over, as soon as Hojo was dealt with. Maybe then, the denizens of Deepground could find a way to rebuild what Shinra had denied them. Zack had wanted to believe that too, but at this point, there was still no way of knowing. It was still uncertain what the Tsviets would do once they were freed, and that made everyone uneasy.

"Aerith?" She looked across the walk along the top of the wall and was surprised to see Tseng there. "It's been a little while," the man commented, and she saw that his expression remained calm and collected, as it always did.

"It has," she agreed.

"I trust you have been well?" he asked.

"Considering we've been at war, I'd guess so," she replied stiffly.

"Things do change, don't they?" The Turk approached her and stood next to her, looking over the city wall. "When we parted ways, your last name was still Gainsborough."

"What brings you here, Tseng?" she asked.

The Wutaian looked out over the wastes that lay out before them. "Perhaps I just wanted to congratulate you, and tell you… that they'll be all right…"

She smiled at him, probably for the first time ever. This man who had been trying for years to take her back to the Shinra company, but not by force, who had actually been there when Zack and Cloud had been taken by Hojo, but not by choice, and in spite of it all had managed to help bring Zack back to her, and had probably been the only person to truly know her in her youth. It was hard to pin down her feelings about him even now, but at least for the moment, they weren't enemies. Not friends, because she doubted they'd ever been considered that, but still not enemies.

"Thank you."

* * *

><p>A short while later, Cait Sith had led them out of the sewers and through the back door of a small house, and they soon found themselves in the kitchen. The living room was through another door and almost as soon as Tifa opened it, she saw Cloud lift his head from where he'd been resting in a chair. Vincent leaned against the wall nearby while Shalua was on a couch. But Tifa's eyes were only for the blonde swordsman in the corner. "Cloud!" she hurried over to see that he was all right, and he stood to look her over.<p>

"Did they hurt you?" they asked in unison and then paused and Cloud looked at the floor a little embarrassed at her concern before saying "You first. What happened?"

"We made it, I'm fine and so are Cissnei and Freya. What about you?"

"I'm all right," he said at last. "Shalua and Cait Sith got us out…" he looked up and saw Zack and Kunsel behind her. "Do you know about the Professor?" he asked.

"Yeah," Zack said folding his arms, and Tifa could tell he too was looking Cloud over for any sign that he was at anything less than the pinnacle of health. "We got some inside information, and then Rufus confirmed it."

"Rufus?" Cloud looked at him in surprise.

"A lot of things have changed since you guys snuck in," Kunsel said. "Rufus decided a temporary alliance was better than having everything he owned blown off the map by Deepground. It's kind of hard to rule the world if there's nothing left to rule."

"You don't trust him?" Cloud asked.

Zack grinned and shook his head. "I only trust he'll act like Rufus Shinra. That's about as far as I'm willing to go. Reeve and Aerith are there to keep an eye on things for us, and Cid, Barret, and Nanaki'll be in Kalm soon to help them with that."

"A wise decision," Vincent agreed. "I presume you have a plan for coming into this dragon's mouth?"

"Glad you asked," Zack said. "The rescue mission seems to have been taken care of for us," he looked over at Shalua. "You have no idea how happy I am right now."

"Don't mention it," the woman replied. "But there is one thing."

"And that is?" Zack asked.

"When you go to kill Hojo, I want you to help me get my sister back," Shalua said seriously.

"And how did you know that was our plan?" Tifa asked.

Shalua chuckled. "Since before GUARDIAN's inception, it's been obvious that man has been something of an obsession for the vast majority of the people in this room. That vendetta Zack and Cloud have with the professor is almost common knowledge now, and while Mr. Valentine here doesn't talk about things nearly as much as Zack does, the fact that he's insinuated on various occasions there's a bullet in his gun with Hojo's name on it rather speaks for itself, I think."

Vincent spoke at that moment, "I hope you are also aware of the consequences that will likely result once Shelke's full part in this becomes known."

Shalua gave him an uncomfortable look and Tifa. "I know," she said. "But it's just so cruel… She's my only sister. I know she's done some terrible things for them, but they hurt her too… I'm not going to just give up on her, no matter what…" She glared at the others in the room, daring them to try and make her do otherwise.

Zack looked equally uncomfortable but he asked the question as gently as he could "So she is Shelke the Transparent then?"

Kunsel stared at him for a moment. "The one Luxiere was going on about…"

"The same," Vincent confirmed. "And she may have succeeded in locating the Black Materia, though we haven't confirmed it."

"That's definitely bad news," Zack agreed.

"How is he?" Shalua asked.

Kunsel sighed. "Luxiere's gone…"

"I'm sorry…" Shalua looked down at the floor.

"So am I," the swordsman replied. "This is exactly the kind of thing that was so wrong about Shinra in the first place."

"But," Shalua added. "The least we can do is stop her from being used like this."

No one seemed to disagree on that point. Zack checked the clock on his PHS. "We should get going soon. Do you want a piece of the action or do you want to wait here?"

Cloud stepped away from Tifa and gathered up his swords as the others quickly made their own preparations. "Did you even have to ask?"

Zack chuckled. "Good enough for me. Let's go pay the Professor a visit."

* * *

><p><strong>June 19<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 9:45 AM**

Navigating through the upper plate sewers, it didn't take them long before the six of them were climbing out at the side of the Shinra building, not very far, Cloud realized, from the door they had used to enable Tifa, Barret, and Nanaki's escape a few months ago. It seemed they might get in without an issue, but right when they went through the door, they walked headlong into a Deepground soldier. Cloud brought out his switchblades and quickly dispatched him even as Vincent came in last, his attention still on the alley outside in case they'd been spotted. Cait bid them farewell before crawling into another ventilation shaft, saying he was going to scout ahead. Once the satellite was operational, he thought he should be able to transmit his information directly back to Reeve.

Shalua took point, since she remembered the way she and Freya had taken, her pistol at the ready. "All right," she murmured. "The easiest access point to the elevator we hacked last time should be on the fourth floor." Everyone followed after her as they started climbing the stairs and were soon at the level she indicated. Cloud watched as Zack took the lead, allowing Kunsel to get the door for him so he could keep his good hand for his sword, but as the door swung open, he almost immediately brought it up without drawing his weapon, telling the other swordsman to stop.

After pulling it to again, everyone looked at him, silently asking him what was wrong and he gestured that they keep going further up a ways. Once they had gotten about five floors higher, he finally told them, "There were too many of them," he said at last. "There's no way we would have gotten through that without attracting attention."

"Then the only way to proceed far enough to still have the element of surprise is to continue going up," Vincent observed.

"Afraid so," Zack agreed. Cloud looked up to see the spiraling stairs and steeled himself for the long climb. There was no one here who wasn't up to the challenge, but this would probably take a little while.

* * *

><p><strong>June 19<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 10:00 AM**

Freya was nesting on top of a building in Sector 8, looking through the scope of a sniper rifle. Tanjuu knelt next to her, watching the satellite feed on his PHS for any sign of a change, but it looked like the target was headed in their direction with an entourage of Deepground SOLDIERS. Mao and Yuffie stood guard nearby, looking out for any sign that they'd been spotted, but thanks to their unlikely location, no one had apparently discovered evidence of their presence yet.

After a moment, she adjusted her tripod, finally seeing the vehicle with her target pulling into view. In several other places across the city, Legend, Lou, and Allen were with their teams in similar locations within their designated sectors, waiting for the right moment…

The vehicle came closer, and finally she could make out the black helmet. Freya knew her rifle could easily penetrate the face shield. She'd start with that, then go for his heart just to be sure, as soon as she had a clear shot. She couldn't allow them to react in time to get him to safety and possibly cast a Cure. The bullet would probably still render him a vegetable in that instance, but it was best not to take chances.

Time ticked away, but she knew she needed to be patient. She was hunting in the hills of Mideel, and this was simply another target. She was just aiming from a longer range, and her bullets were designed for armor penetration on a scale few in the world possessed. The sniper rifles had been provided from Rufus's own weapons stores in Junon. The only way she'd miss this target would be if he had been sheltering in a tank. After all… she was the best hunter on the Planet.

She gritted her teeth as the open vehicle came closer to their location, factoring in wind and other variables to have the best possible opportunity to ensure a kill. Finally, the moment came. She focused all of her concentration and pulled the trigger. The effect was nearly instantaneous. The restrictor known as Keter dropped out of the vehicle, lying dead on the ground, a bullet wound directly through his skull. Another bullet went through his chest barely a moment later.

The renegades and the ninja had left the building long before the Deepground soldiers even figured out the location of the sniper nest.

At three other locations throughout the city, and some would later say almost simultaneously, the satellite data given to the renegades and active Turks, allowed them to know exactly where each of the four members of the Lost Force were located, and with lethal accuracy, the last vestiges of true control over Deepground were sent back to the Planet.

* * *

><p><strong>June 19<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 10:15 AM**

Zack had to admit he was more than a bit relieved when they finally reached level 51. Fortunately everyone had been professional enough not to grumble about the stairs, but 51 floors of them was enough to test the stubbornness of a Dual Horn. As before, Kunsel opened the door so he could keep his hand free for his sword. They had chosen this floor because it had once contained the SOLDIER offices, and Kunsel had confirmed that up until he'd left, Shinra had kept them vacant. All of SOLDIER's affairs had been relegated to Heidegger. As a result, when the door opened, he wasn't surprised to find the area seemed to be empty.

"All clear," he murmured, and stealthily walked out into the hallway. From here, they hurried to the elevator and after calling it and getting in, Shalua knelt by the control panel, pulling out her tools and getting to work.

"I should be able to hotwire it so we can get to the Science Department pretty quickly," she said. "It doesn't look like they've added any safeguards over what Shinra had."

"Perfect," Zack confirmed. He just hoped no one would call this elevator before they could do it. He shouldn't have worried. They were hardly there for five minutes before Shalua stood, a look of triumph on her face as the elevator started moving upward.

It was only at the moment when the doors opened that it truly hit Zack what they were about to do, and he said softly, "So this is it, huh? We're gonna take out Hojo… It's hard to believe it's actually happening."

Cloud stepped up next to him. "Yeah. It is."

Zack gave his friend a solemn look. "Well then, let's do this right," he said.

Everyone gave a nod of agreement, and then they started towards the entrance to the Science Department's lower level, Zack, Cloud, and Vincent in the lead. It wasn't until they reached the end of the hall that they saw a contingent of Deepground regulars, flanked by several humanoid creatures that, in spite of their appearance were moving around on all fours like Guard Hounds. They looked up and almost immediately raised their weapons to attack, but Zack ran at them, his broadsword in hand, with Cloud next to him.

After leading the charge, taking out three soldiers at once, Zack ducked low while Cloud fended off one of the mutants. Two more fell to Shalua and Vincent's bullets and Kunsel raced forward taking out one of the others. A couple more of them had run up behind Tifa but she'd heard them coming and quickly spun around, before sinking into a lunge and delivering two punches to each of them quicker than the blink of an eye. When one of them looked like he still had not gone down, she followed with a low kick to his knee and then a downward elbow to the back of his head as he dropped.

She picked herself up dusting off her hands as she rejoined them. "Nice," Zack commented, and then he turned and led the way through the door.

They raced across the lower portion of the lab with no resistance and soon they had reached some stairs up to the next level. It was almost a race to see who would get to the top first, and when they reached the next level, their efforts were rewarded. There in front of them, continuing to work with a woman Zack guessed was probably Argento, who was sitting in a chair, stood the man who had haunted his dreams for the last few years.

"Professor Hojo! It's time to answer for what you've done! Your restrictors are dead, and all that's left to deal with, is you!" Zack held his broad sword in front of him as Vincent did with Cerberus, Shalua with her pistol, and Cloud and Kunsel with their swords. Tifa took stance next to Cloud, ready to go when the word was given.

The Professor looked up from what he was doing. "Oh, you're both back, and I see you've brought Specimen Z with you." He looked around and it was quite plain there were no Deepground soldiers in sight. Shelke and Argento were the only ones present and Shelke had simply paused to watch the goings on from her place at the computer. "Excuse me, but if I don't finish my research, hehe, then my experiment won't be complete."

"As if we care," Cloud murmured.

"My sentiments exactly," Argento said. In a movement as quick as a snake's she reached up, grabbing Hojo by his neck and tossing him across the room as she stood from the chair. The man flew across the room to land against the wall. The swordswoman leapt after him, going for her sword as she went, but Vincent had already appeared by the Professor's side, having folded into his cape to reappear there.

"Do you have any last words?" The ex-Turk hissed.

"My, my," the Professor crooned. "It seems you've forgotten what I told you Vincent. You can't stop progress. My death will only prolong the inevitable. It's a shame I'll just have to watch from inside of him. I would have appreciated the view Omega could have provided, but… no matter…"

He reached into the pocket of his lab coat producing a couple of capsules and threw them at the gunman who only backed off a step before folding into his cloak again to go after his quarry as the Professor headed for the stairs leading to the upper catwalks. The capsules burst open revealing two horribly mutated beings, one of which looked like a squid… thing and the other resembling a half-starved cutting of Beachplug. Argento quickly dispatched one of the abominations with a single swing of her sword before racing after Vincent. Cloud too was headed in that direction and Zack wasn't far behind him.

He heard a couple of gunshots as Shalua and Kunsel quickly dealt with the last of the mutants before, up ahead he heard a third as Vincent rematerialized at the top of the stairs and brought up Cerberus, shooting a bullet directly into the Professor's chest. Everyone paused at that moment see what would happen, but, inexplicably, the man was still up. Hojo laughed. "I wonder how the Mako Juice is working here…" To Zack's surprise along with everyone else's, the scientist's body started warping, transforming itself into a hideously misshapen new form. If Zack didn't know any better, he would have said it almost looked like one of the angelic Jenova fragments had been put through a garbage compactor and then given teeth and a straggly black wig.

He visibly grimaced. As if he didn't have enough nightmares about the Professor already.

He raised his broadsword, and he and Cloud charged in to take a slash at him, each of them taking one of the arms as Argento brought her sword up for a strike down the center of their opponent. At that point, a stream of poisonous gas emitted from one of the tentacle like appendages on Hojo's body and everyone scattered as the abomination the Professor had become started to thrash wildly at his attackers.

Kunsel fired a couple of bullets at it from his gunblade while the others backed away. Once the gas had cleared, Zack caught sight of Tifa running in to slide under one of the tentacles to deliver a powerful uppercut.

The Professor seemed to realize he was quickly being overpowered as the head looked around for a moment and then one of the tentacle arms made to grab at Tifa's leg. That was a mistake, because not only did Tifa pick that moment to follow up with a powerful roundhouse kick but Cloud jumped in to cover her, slicing Hojo's left arm clean off. Zack made a final slash with his broadsword at the trident like appendage that was Hojo's right arm, and it looked like it would be over when Vincent brought Cerberus to bear on him once more, firing two more precise shots at the orb-like thing on Hojo's midsection, however, everyone drew back once more as the thing that had once been Shinra's top scientist began transforming _again!_

This time, he had taken on the form of a floating legless humanoid creature with a long tentacle extending out of the back of his head. He lifted into the air near the ceiling and immediately dived towards Shelke. Zack watched as first Shalua shot at the floating thing which then promptly changed course to dive at her. At the last possible second, he felt a limit channel and he saw Kunsel standing in front of her, his sword in a guard position. The tentacle was deflected and the ex-SOLDIER brought his gunblade in for a swing, but Hojo fled to the upper reaches of the ceiling, out of line of the attack.

"Don't let him fly off!" Zack cried, charging up a Firaga. Vincent was the first at the upper door, locking it firmly, while Tifa jumped down to the lower level below to shut the door they had entered the lab through. She barely made it in time as the Professor flew after her trying to depart, and she had to duck as it embedded its head tentacle into the door she had just secured. Zack leapt down after them, his broadsword at the ready and landed a slash along Hojo's side before the mutated scientist fled back up and away from his blade.

He sheathed his sword and ran up the lower half of the specimen cage to use his good hand to grab purchase on the catwalk and pull himself up after the man, but that was when, almost at the same time, he saw Cloud leap into the air, slicing through the Professor's body with both blades before landing in a crouch. Hojo dropped on the upper level and Zack could just see that Vincent had materialized in front of him. He raised Cerberus and fired the last three shots directly into the monster's head.

The room was silent for a moment as everyone took in what had just happened and then they heard Vincent speak grimly. "Hojo… Rest in peace…

For several moments the lab was deathly quiet as everyone convened on the upper floor. It felt odd, Zack thought. Somehow, Hojo actually being gone seemed like an impossibility. A shadow that would never be avoided. Now, they stood, shoulder to shoulder with two of the Tsviets who he had made their enemy, watching as Hojo's remains dissipated into the Lifestream.

Finally, he cleared his throat. "It's finally over, right? He won't trouble anyone else again."

Vincent nodded. "It is done."

"But… what does that mean for Midgar…?" Tifa asked.

Zack looked over at Argento, "Well, what does that mean?"

She looked like she might be about to answer when suddenly they noticed a buzzing sound from a nearby console connected to a holoprojector. Shelke wordlessly walked over and hit the button. When the screen phased into existence, he saw the image of a man about his age with wild white hair, standing shirtless and backlit by a green mako glow. Behind him stood a man in a black jumpsuit with his hands bound to his shoulders and a pair of wing-like appendages on his back. The strange headgear that obscured his mouth was a little odd, he had to admit.

It looked like they were standing inside a Mako reactor, and in the background, he could see a seat centered at its core, with chains around it that had clearly just been demolished.

That was when white-haired man spoke. _"So you must be the famous GUARDIAN that madman was always raving about, it's truly an honor to finally speak with you, General Zack Fair, and of course, Cloud Strife. We would like to thank you for letting us off the Professor's leash."_ He grinned ferally. _"We both know how inconvenient his hobbies were."_

"I'd say so," Zack said. He could feel the eyes of the others on him and he regarded this person warily. Even though Hojo was gone, and he was happy to have had a part in it, it was still uncertain what side everyone was on at this point in time. Perhaps being double-crossed after Nibelheim was making him cautious, but something about the way this man spoke… it was already making his hair stand on end. "I don't believe I got your name?" He added.

"_Forgive my manners,"_ the man said smoothly. _"I am Weiss the Immaculate, and this is my brother, Nero the Sable."_ The man in black nodded wordlessly in confirmation behind him.

"Well, in that case," Zack said after a moment, "Maybe you can shed some light on just what the Professor was doing here?"

"_Well, I should think that part was obvious,"_ Weiss responded_. "He wanted to bring back Sephiroth so the man could destroy the Planet."_

"What do you know of the Protomateria?" Vincent asked.

Weiss shrugged. _"That would have been left to Shelke. Hojo did not say much."_

"It's true," Shelke added. "Hojo uploaded a significant amount of Dr. Crescent's data onto my network in hopes that I would be able to locate those objects for him. Much of the data was fragmented, causing several errors that have been affecting my mind somewhat. Hojo was unconcerned by this since he had a fairly good idea of where the Protomateria was located. Of course, as soon as he gave himself the Jenova cells, the Black Materia became his prime directive."

"But that shouldn't matter now, since Hojo is dead, right?" Zack asked. "Now that we've accomplished what you wanted us to do, what's your next step?"

"_Well, General Fair, that depends on you, and President Shinra,"_ Weiss replied. _"There is still a lot that's wrong out there in the world, wouldn't you agree? I think my friends and I would like to take some time to make it better."_

Zack was a little taken aback by this. "I suppose so… but… how do you plan on doing that? If you don't mind my asking?" He tried not to visibly wince. Not that long ago, Godo had asked him the same thing.

Weiss smiled knowingly. _"I can understand why you would ask that question. But being a SOLDIER, I think you can understand, in fact if what I am about to offer is agreeable to you, you would not be unwelcome in our fold. Strife and Valentine too, and any others from GUARDIAN who would wish to follow."_

"You still haven't told us your plan," Kunsel interjected.

"_True,"_ Weiss replied. _"We the Tsviets were trained and some us were bred specifically for our power. That power is something Shinra sought to use against the world, and it seems to me, a complete shame that our talents would be wasted after all that work, when we could use that power to rule."_

"In essence, you are talking about using Deepground as a means to dominate the Planet," Vincent said softly.

"_And why not? They bred us in order to consolidate their rule, so why not carry out their will, as our own? You could keep your own territory under us. All you have to do is join us,"_ Nero said softly.

"Just another strongman…" Zack murmured, almost wanting to laugh at Godo's words, echoing in his thoughts. "No thanks, I think I'll pass."

"_In that case, I'm afraid you won't be permitted to leave alive."_ Weiss turned his attention to Argento and Shelke. _"I think you know what to do."_

Shelke almost immediately went for her weapons, but paused when she saw that Argento continued to rest her hands on the pommel of her blade as it rested on the floor. "What are you doing?" the Transparent Tsviet asked.

"Actually, world domination doesn't interest me," Argento said. "The soldiers I looked after below were tiresome enough without having an entire planet to see to."

Weiss seemed only slightly disappointed by that_. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. But have it your way…"_ He pressed a button on the control console. _"Elliminate them, and retrieve the Protomateria."_

At that point, several things happened. The transmission ended and both the upper and lower doors of the lab opened revealing a contingent of Deepground soldiers, just as Zack and the others began casting Walls and Vincent promptly cast Stop on the Transparent Tsviet before she would have the chance to be a threat. "I think it's time we left," he said.

"But what about…?" Shalua began. Out of the corner of his eye, as he himself had moved to fend off the Deepgrounders, Zack saw Cloud knock the Transparent Tsviet unconscious with a single blow from one of his fists before picking her up, effectively silencing the hacker's protests. Everyone was soon taking cover behind some computers while Kunsel, Shalua, and Vincent fired their guns and the rest covered them with spells. Zack let off a Firaga before discovering that he was right next to Argento, who still seemed as calm as ever.

"It seems to me, you have a problem," she observed over the hail of bullets pelting off everyone's Wall spells. "Even if you do get out of here, it's highly likely you'll be overrun by the soldiers patrolling the streets."

Zack fired off a Thundara spell almost at the same time Cloud cast a Fire3 and then gave the Tsviet a glare. "You have a better idea?"

"I might if we can get to Rufus's office," the Tsviet supplied.

"And what guarantee do we have that's not some kind of trick?" Kunsel asked, firing another round from his gunblade before ducking to avoid another hail of gunfire from the advancing enemies.

"Believe it or not, I actually do care about living." Argento stood and held her sword horizontally in front of her, focusing her energy, and for the first time Zack noticed a summon materia glowing in a slot on the blade. To his surprise, a few moments later a huge red dragon appeared in the room, lifting the soldiers up on an illusory platform of earth before unleashing a devastating blast of energy. The soldiers dropped to the ground many of them horribly injured from the blast. The few that remained were easily dispatched by Cloud, with a single casting from his mastered Fire.

"What was that?" Tifa asked as everyone stood and headed towards the upper door.

"Neo-Bahamut," Argento said over her shoulder. "Shall we go?"

Zack nodded, and after signaling that Shalua and Vincent cover the rear, he leapt over their barricade, sword in hand. Cloud followed him with Shelke over his shoulder, one of his switchblades in hand, while Tifa and Kunsel backed him up. The seven of them raced through the throng, Zack lunging and bringing his broadsword down on the closest soldier as spells flew around them, bouncing off Walls and Barriers and their attackers.

Soon, they were through the door and upon seeing five or six Deepgrounders, Argento charged, bringing her sword around quickly and efficiently, felling two of their opponents as Zack slashed through another one and then another. Cloud leapt to the right, quickly stabbing another opponent before he could try and get Zack from behind.

"Thanks buddy!" Zack called as he started up the stairs.

Cloud said nothing but simply answered with a fireball that conflagrated another gunman at the first landing.

Zack stole a glance behind him at that point to see that Shalua and Vincent were backing up the steps both their guns trained on the door, and it was a good thing too, as one of the heavy gunmen entered the stairwell, firing a missile. Seeing where it was going, he jumped forward, knocking Argento to the ground, right after she had sliced another soldier through. Cloud dove against the wall, shielding Tifa and Shelke from the blast while Kunsel pulled Shalua back and Vincent sheltered behind a Wall.

The missile exploded above them, and Zack could see a hole had been knocked through the stairs they had been climbing. He took a flying leap over the hole, casting a Wall on Cloud since his had been extinguished from the blast. The blonde swordsman leapt over the gap, quickly followed by Tifa. He grabbed the martial artist by the hand to steady her as her feet touched the other side. Kunsel and Vincent turned to shoot at the giant man with the mounted cannon and he dropped almost as soon as Shalua made the jump. Though they needed to hurry. Several other soldiers were already climbing over the corpse to come after them.

Argento had made it to the door by that point, and Zack heard it opening behind him. He waited as everyone else passed him before going in after them, casting Odin and backing down the hall a ways. The summon on his mount seemed surprised at what Zack wished him to do, but the giant man on the six-legged horse drew his lance and charged at the doors, unleashing his fury on them without relent. By the time Zack had rejoined everyone sprinting up the stairs to the president's office, the doors behind them had been reduced to a pile of nearly impassible rubble.

"What did you do back there?" Tifa asked.

"Bought us a little time," Zack replied.

"So what now?" Vincent's question was directed at Argento.

"Shelke was exploring the net some time ago when she happened across something rather interesting about this building," the Tsviet replied, hurrying to the side of the desk where the President's chair awaited and started looking around the console for something.

"You're talking about the escape slide?" Kunsel asked.

Argento looked up at him curiously. "You knew?"

"It wasn't that hard to find. I spotted it in some blue-prints I stumbled on a few years ago. Compared to the info on Hojo's work, that kind of information was kid stuff." Kunsel walked over to where she stood thinking about it for a moment and then, making a point to stand to the side of the chair, he pressed what seemed to be a button and they heard the sound of a panel in the floor opening up.

"I'm impressed," Argento said. "It's a wonder Deepground didn't snatch you up."

"I'm glad they didn't," Kunsel said coldly. "Let's go."

There was no need to argue, and Argento went first, followed by Zack, as Kunsel had decided to be their rear guard this time. Being careful to hold his swords so they wouldn't catch on anything on the way down, he descended for quite some time before he finally came out in what appeared to be a small room with wall length closet on one side and a bed on the other. Argento sat there waiting for him.

Curiously, he walked over to the closet and found that it contained a first aid kit with 'For L.' engraved on it.

"Who's L?" he wondered. Argento said nothing as Tifa came down the chute with Shelke in her arms.

Once everyone else was there, Kunsel followed after. "Seems the chute closes up a few seconds after the button's released," he said. "We might have a little time before they find it."

"In that case," Zack turned to Argento, "What is this place?"

"It is an escape hatch the President installed, though I'm not quite sure why. He always struck me as being too arrogant to run if he was in danger." the silver Tsviet explained. "It has access to a hidden wall panel on the main floor. From there, you have two options. I expect whatever you do, you'll be wanting to leave the city, correct?"

"Sounds right," Kunsel agreed.

"Well then, you can try to fight your way out of the Shinra building, which I don't recommend. Shelke will probably try to fight you, as soon as she comes to and that will only draw attention. Or, there is an elevator leading to the secondary entrance to Deepground. Through this, you can enter a series of caverns that can also take you to another exit near the sewers in Sector 5. From there, I think you'll have a much better chance,"

"And what do you plan on doing?" Cloud asked.

Argento's expression remained bored as she spoke. "Now that I am free, I am only interested in leaving Midgar. Once I've accomplished that, we'll see."

"I guess that's the best we can expect," Zack said. At that point he saw that everyone was looking to him to make a decision. "All right, caves it is."

Argento nodded and walked to the door, slicing it open with two deft slashes of her sword. "Let's hurry. I doubt our path will be open for long."

* * *

><p><em>Well, here's an unexpected reversal. If you'll pardon my use of TV Trope terminology, instead of Hojo pulling a Grand Theft Me on Weiss, Weiss pulled a Dragon With An Agenda on him! Well, at the very least, Hojo's dead. A few others too now that I think about it.<em>

_In other news, on account of a promotion happening on Amazon, the Kindle version of my novel will be available for free all through this Saturday. The links are on my profile, if you're interested._

__Next time... Alliances are formed and a new character appears! I wonder who it is... ^^__

_See ya soon!_


	63. Rise and Shine, Sleeping Beauty

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spin-offs That honor goes to Square-Enix.

**Part III: Demons**

* * *

><p>Chapter 63, Rise and Shine, Sleeping Beauty<p>

**June 19****th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 12:00 PM**

Cissnei was standing on top of a roof in Sector 5, watching the building Deepground had set up as their sector garrison. She had broken off from her team as had been arranged in order to take up observation of the sector along with Legend. Now that they had disposed of the restrictors, someone needed to keep Kalm updated on the situation, just in case the Tsviets did something they didn't expect. If all went well, Zack would probably let them leave quietly and find a life somewhere, but in her experience, things were never that easy. If they had been, the Shinra company would have utilized an employee policy that didn't include permitting scientists to commandeer employees as test subjects.

She watched the Deepground troops that were walking through the city streets with a small amount of concern. Rather than being in complete confusion since the time of the restrictors' executions, they had actually maintained a surprising level of order. Sure, there had been the initial uproar at the time Legend had pulled the trigger, but once the death of the Restrictor who had called himself Dart had been confirmed, they had gone back to what they were doing as though nothing had happened.

Suddenly, something caught her eye. Something down at the entrance to the garrison had started emitting some sort of black mist. Cissnei blinked and looked again. No, it was some sort of portal. After a moment, she saw what appeared to be a man step through it, wearing a black mako suit and a strange white headgear over his face. Nero. He was the one who had grabbed them before. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. As Nero approached the other Deepgrounders, they paused and saluted. Echoing over the rooftops, she could hear them all too easily. "Hail Weiss!"

* * *

><p>Nearly a mile or so underground, a service elevator opened out, and Cloud's eyes had to adjust before he could begin to see the outlines of stalactites. He could hear the occasional dripping from somewhere, and as Zack spoke next to him, his friend's voice echoed off the walls. "So these cave leads to Deepground?"<p>

"It can, if we go the right way," Argento said. "But we won't. There is another passage leading off in the opposite direction which goes to an ancient aquifer that supplies most of Midgar's drinking water, as well as ours." Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a glow rod and activated it. "Tread carefully. There aren't many monsters here, but escapees have tried these tunnels before and been bested by them."

"And you know the way out," Kunsel said skeptically.

"Most Deepground soldiers don't still remember what life was like outside. The majority of them undergo memory alteration, unless they were recruited for something they knew," Argento said, beginning to walk purposefully into the dark, and away from the flood of the elevator's light. "That wouldn't have done Deepground any good in my case, since my memories and knowledge were precisely what they wanted. For that reason, I was usually the one they sent to hunt deserters, before Hojo was too interested in me to let me out."

Everyone looked a little uneasy at that.

"I guess if that chip had that much power over you, they wouldn't have to worry about you running, would they." Zack drew level with Argento as she held the lamp in front of her, his hand at his sword. Probably wise, if what the Tsviet said was true, Cloud reflected. His hands weren't that far from his own now that Kunsel had taken a turn carrying Shelke, and he and Vincent were taking up the rear with Tifa while the brown-haired swordsman walked next to Shalua.

"No, Zack Fair, they wouldn't. Frankly, it was quite an inconvenience," the Silver Tsviet replied.

"You can just call me Zack if you want," Zack offered. "Everyone else does."

"If you insist," Argento said.

"Just how far are we going?" Tifa asked as they entered a larger chamber that had several veins of crystalized Lifestream threaded through the walls.

"It will probably take us three hours to get to the surface," Argento said, not slowing her gait. "And from there, we will still need to get out of the city."

"We can take care of that," Shalua said.

"Yeah," Zack said, "Chances are, everyone who is leaving the way we came will probably be gone by the time we'd get there, but that won't mean our entry point isn't still there."

"What are we going to do about her?" Cloud asked, indicating the girl over Kunsel's shoulder. It was an important question. After discovering Kunsel had added a Sleep materia to his collection, they'd been periodically casting it on Shelke to keep her from causing any trouble, but they really couldn't keep doing that forever.

Zack paused. "That is a good point," he said. "Let's find a spot where we're secure and then we'll get that sorted out."

"How?" Shalua asked nervously, hurrying to catch up to him as he followed Argento. "You aren't thinking of leaving her behind are you?"

"No," Zack answered calmly. "But we ought to at least give her a choice about things, right?"

* * *

><p><strong>June 19<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 12:30 PM**

Argento led the party to a small cavern where a stream of water was partially dammed and formed a small pool before flowing onward over a short waterfall. The sound would cover any noise they made from prying ears, and the glow from the Mako crystals that had continued to carry Lifestream currents through the walls provided a certain amount of illumination. As soon as they had reached the water's edge, the silver Tsviet sat on a rock and waited for the others to do what they needed to.

Kunsel wasn't sure how he felt about the situation. Here he was carrying the girl who had destroyed Luxiere's mind and had come damn near close to trying the same thing with Vincent. The only reasons Vincent seemed more or less okay was because he already had four other monsters swimming around in his head, and because Shelke had been in there for a considerably shorter period of time, at least from the sound of it. The situation really made him wonder just how much forgiveness he had left.

But on the other hand, Shalua had helped them out so many times in the past. For her sake, they should at least try, right? He laid the transparent Tsviet against the cavern wall next to where Cloud had stood in order to serve as a guard before allowing Shalua to approach. The hacker produced a set of handcuffs as the others sat in a semicircle by the water's edge, and proceeded to secure the girl's hands behind her as gently as possible and checked to make sure the younger Tsviet didn't have any other materia or weapons on her person. Once she had confirmed the situation, Shalua looked up at Zack. "All right, I think we're set."

Zack walked forward, putting out his hand and Kunsel distinctly felt the presence of magic in the air as the dark-haired swordsman's Esuna materia became active. The evidence of its success became apparent when he caught sight of a pair of glowing eyes looking out of the gloom from the spot where the Tsviet had been sleeping. Shelke blinked and looked around, her expression calm in spite of her current situation.

"You should have known better than to awaken me prematurely," she murmured, trying to stand, but Cloud put a hand on her shoulder, keeping her securely on the ground.

"It'd be better not to do that," he warned.

Shelke looked up at him, her face remaining blank before turning her attention to Zack who had just stepped up next to Shalua and was watching her, his left hand resting on the hilt of his broadsword even as his right hung loosely at his side. "What do you want?" she asked, her blue eyes meeting his.

"Well Shelke," Zack began, looking down at her seriously, "We just want to know how this's gonna go."

"I would have thought it would be self-evident," Shelke replied.

Zack shrugged and sat down on a nearby rock. "If that's the way you want to play it, that's fine, but I still think it's a shame. Shalua went through a lot of trouble trying to find you, and it seems to me she wants to help you…"

"I don't need her help, or yours," Shelke said. "And I don't see how carrying me through these caves is going to help you."

"Maybe not," Zack admitted. "But it's definitely not gonna help us that much to let you go either. We gotta watch out for our own backs, you know? So that's not really an option."

"Then I guess we'll just have to carry on with me as an enemy," Shelke said, and Kunsel could have sworn he caught a small trace of impatience lingering on the edge of her tone.

"Fair enough," Zack said, "But you can change your mind and join us if you want…"

"Do we get a say in that?" Kunsel asked. On the one hand, working with Zack, he knew his friend had a way with people, and there was more than one of GUARDIAN's number who was less than perfect, but it was common sense to be cautious with such offers. And Luxiere's fate was still fresh on his mind too.

The Vincent looked up from where he was sitting and then over at the Tsviet. "Once, I too only followed orders, and for years I was a stone in a river of time. What she did may have harmed me, but it was on Hojo's orders. If she chooses to seek atonement, I will not stop her as long as we don't have a repeat of what happened in the Shinra building."

"Your mind wasn't especially hospitable in any case," Shelke retorted. "Thanks to Chaos's intervention, not only do I have Dr. Crecent's data corrupting my network, but the data I retrieved from you is making the situation worse." She sighed with annoyance, the first real show of emotion Kunsel had seen.

"Is there anything we can do about that?" Shalua asked.

"With a complete set of Dr. Crescent's data, I might be able to uncorrupt the fragments…" Shelke said automatically and then paused, looking up at her sister as if just realizing what she had said, "But I see no reason why you would want to do that. We're enemies after all."

Argento gave her fellow Tsviet a look of exasperation at that point. "The term 'enemy' is relative."

"You betrayed Weiss, does that not make us enemies?" Shelke asked.

"I betrayed no one," Argento said. "I wanted to end the reign of the restrictors, so I did what was required. Weiss was my ally in that regard, but now he seeks a path I have no interest in walking. Water, for all that it is similar across the Planet does not always flow in the same stream."

Zack seemed surprised by the philosophical direction the Tsviet had taken, but seemed to have decided to run with it. "At one point Tifa and Shalua were terrorists and the rest of us were all Shinra employees at one point or another, and… if you're looking for a complete set of Lucrecia's files…" he looked over at Vincent. "Did Lucrecia say she had left a copy of her records on that file we found in Nibelheim?"

Vincent nodded and Zack turned back to the Tsviet. "So how about this? We may not be allies, but at the very least, we can do each other a couple of favors. We have some files Shalua's been trying to decrypt for a while. You help us out, and in return, we'll see if we can't help you uncorrupt that data you were talking about."

Shelke considered this for a moment and then finally she looked up at him and nodded. "Perhaps we can be of accord in this agreement. But I am only doing this for my own benefit."

"All right then," Zack said, looking around at the others. "If there are any objections, you'd better say something now."

"It works for me," Tifa said.

"I'll help if you need it," Shalua said.

Kunsel didn't hear anyone else objecting so he spoke up. "I understand why we're doing this, but at the same time," he looked over at Shelke, "She shouldn't think of this as a free pass."

"I know," Zack said turning back to Shelke. "I'm pretty sure it goes without saying, but all of this is dependent on the belief that you'll stick to your word. If you do that, then we'll keep our end of the bargain. Got it?"

Shelke nodded. "I understand."

"Good." Zack said. "You should know, there's plenty you've done that we aren't too happy about, but for Shalua's sake I'm giving you a chance. Don't blow it." He turned his attention to Cloud. "Now that that's out of the way, I think we should be able to let her go."

"Are you sure?" Cloud asked.

"She has a reason to stay," Argento supplied. "I don't believe she should pose a threat."

"And we still don't know if you're acting on good faith," Kunsel said.

"You are wise to be suspicious." Argento nodded in approval. "It is good General Fair has you in his council, but I do have my reasons for staying in your company as well and have no intention of hindering you for the time being. We should not linger too much longer; we still have a ways to go."

Zack turned back to Cloud and nodded that the Transparent Tsviet should be released. Cloud did so and once Shelke was free of her restraints, she took up a position next to Argento at the front before the Silver Tsviet continued to lead the party through the tunnels.

* * *

><p><strong>June 19<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 3:00 PM**

Aerith was running errands with Julian, one of the SOLDIERs who had come back to Kalm with Freya when she saw the Highwind fly by overhead. She hurried to deliver the blankets they had been carrying and since that was the extent of the job, she left the young ex-SOLDIER to to hurry outside the city limits. The Highwind had come to a stop a short distance outside the westernmost encampment where a makeshift airport had been set up and she arrived to find Reeve already there, along with Elena and Rufus, as well as Yuffie and Freya. The two of them had not been assigned a sector to watch and had returned along with Liz, Elfe, and Shears a few hours before.

A ladder dropped from the weather deck of the Highwind and Cid appeared along with Barret, who had Nanaki draped over his shoulders on the way down. Cid dropped the last few feet to the ground and gave everyone a hearty wave and a grin. "It took some work, and some waitin' but we did it! Me an' Shera were the first humans in space!"

"And for a good cause too," Reeve replied. "I'm glad to see you made it safely. Did the crew have any trouble finding your escape pod?"

"Not particularly," Cid replied. "How are things here?"

"We're still waiting to see what the Tsviets are going to do," Rufus said, gesturing that everyone walk back towards the town and headquarters. Everyone fell in step with him and Aerith found herself walking next to Freya just behind the pilot. Cid glanced back at her and his eyebrows raised a little. "Any sign that Zack and the guys got back yet?"

Aerith shook her head. "We haven't heard from them since he reported in to tell us he'd found Cait Sith in Sector 8."

"They should have reported in a while ago," Freya added. "The plan was to rendezvous at our entry point and leave together but it wouldn't have been safe to wait."

"That idiot," Cid muttered. Aerith bit her lip nervously and on noticing the concern in her expression the pilot said "Hey, don't worry Aerith, I'm sure your husband's fine."

The flower girl nodded. "I know he is, I just hope he gets back soon."

"Mr. President! Mr. Tuesti!" They all looked up at that point to see one of the technicians running out of the building where their central command was located.

"What is it?" Rufus asked.

"We've got another transmission from the Shinra building sir! It's someone we haven't seen before!" The technician said.

Everyone hurried inside and reached the sitting area where a television was located on the far wall. On the monitor, stood a shirtless man perhaps in his early to mid-twenties with wild white hair in front of what was unmistakably the President's desk. Another man in a dark body suit with black hair and a strange white headgear stood behind him.

"_Greetings to all who live on the Planet. I am Weiss the Immaculate, leader of the elite force known as the Tsviets. I would like to extend my thanks for your noble efforts to liberate us from the Restrictors. In return for your assistance, I would like to reward those who would help us. We have already taken control of Midgar, and two days from now, we intend to march on Kalm to rid the world of the last vestiges of the Shinra company and its allies. Those corrupt fools who kept us enslaved in the depths of Deepground and on the surface will pay the ultimate price for holding us as slaves. Come to the Sector 6 gate if you wish to stand with us. A new era is about to begin!"_

With that the transmission ended and Aerith reached for her PHS and punched in the speed dial for Zack's. It rang and then rang again, but he didn't pick up before it rang out. As the others started discussing what this meant, she walked to the door and hit the button again. Where was he?

* * *

><p>Argento had been leading them through the caves for a long time and Zack was really beginning to wonder how long they were going to be down here. They had passed several more Mako veins as well as a few more streams and underground lakes. Many of them had been plumbed by pumping systems pulling the water back up to the surface. It was quite exhausting. Not to mention, he hated being underground.<p>

It wasn't a phobia per say. He had done well enough when they'd gone into the caves under Banora, and when Sephiroth had pinned him to that wall in the depths of the crater, he'd been focused on other problems, but he hated feeling stifled, and he felt a little bit like that might be happening now.

Shelke had stayed with Argento at the front, pointedly avoiding Shalua for the majority of the trek, and Zack was now just behind them, next to Cloud and Tifa. He certainly wasn't going to whine about their situation, but he really hoped they'd be out of here soon.

Just at that moment, Argento led the way into a huge cavern that housed another underground lake, though this one was more wide than deep. Zack could see a few rocks peeking out of the water in places and stalactites hung from the ceiling everywhere. Argento waded out into the water which only came up to her shins indicating they were headed towards a tunnel entrance on the other side and the others followed. It was when they were about halfway across that Tifa looked up into the gloom and gasped in surprise. "What's that?" She asked.

Zack looked up at the object she was pointing at and his mouth fell open. "No way… it can't be…" he said. Off in the distance he could see what looked like a faintly glowing blue orb of water floating in the center of the cavern.

"Zack, what is it?" Cloud asked.

Zack didn't answer. Reaching for his sword he rushed towards it before climbing onto a rock that was covered in mako crystals, and that was when he knew for sure. Floating within the orb, he could clearly see the familiar head of red hair, the long red duster, though at some point he had added woven leather guards to his shoulders as well as one along a portion of the coat where somehow the original hide of the coat had been torn away. "Genesis…" Zack said. He looked behind him to see that Argento had paused while Kunsel and Tifa were approaching. Cloud was already climbing the rock to join him in looking up at the man. "He's been here this whole time?" Zack called across the cave.

"Weiss and Nero brought him in from the outside," Argento answered. "I don't know how they managed to sneak away, but they tried to convince him to join us in our attempt at a coup and he declined. The response was something along the lines of not really caring what happened down here, if I remember correctly, not that I can't relate. I wondered where he ended up."

Zack felt something within him grow lighter. A burden he had carried since returning to Banora and finding Genesis gone was no longer there. He'd worried that he'd inadvertently killed the man by bringing him out into the open, but with relief from that concern, seeing him like this brought up a plethora of other concerns. How and why had Genesis ended up like this? The getting away from Deepground he understood, but hibernating in a giant floating orb of watery… stuff… was definitely not normal.

"We gotta get him out of there," he said. He looked down at his broadsword, considering, and then sheathed it, pulling the Buster Sword from his back, with his left hand. He knew he still couldn't use the Buster on a regular basis, but one strike should be more than enough for this.

"Are you sure you got this?" Cloud asked.

"Sure I'm sure," Zack said. Taking stance on the rock to make the jump, he heard Cloud take a step back behind him so that he had plenty of room to move, and as soon as he was ready, he leapt, aiming the blade so it would connect with the orb just below the ex-SOLDIER's legs. He sliced the bottom out in a spinning slash and landed in the water right in front of a rock that sat directly underneath the orb. To his complete surprise, it cut through but nothing happened. He stood in the water, soaked through before getting another idea. He sheathed the Buster Sword and put out his hand calling on the Destruct materia in his bangle, casting Debarrier. The energy flowed through the orb and then suddenly it contracted before exploding outward as the man within it landed in a crouch on the rock in front of him.

Everyone watched with rapt attention as the man looked up from where he knelt and his glowing blue eyes landed on Shelke and Argento first. "Why have you disturbed me?"

"It wasn't me," Argento said, gesturing to Zack, still standing in the water.

The red haired man looked in his direction and Zack grinned nervously, not exactly sure why Genesis would be annoyed. He felt he could be forgiven for thinking Genesis to be in some kind of trouble. How was he supposed to know what that orb was supposed to be?

Genesis' eyes swept over the crowd, first looking at Kunsel, then at Tifa, then Cloud, Vincent, the two Tsviets and then back to Zack. "By the goddess," he murmured at last. "You're still alive?" His eyes landed back on Cloud. "You were that infantryman he was carrying around…"

"He got better," Zack said with a grin. "I'm surprised you're still alive too Genesis. Are you all right? You looked like you might have been trapped in there."

Genesis shook his head impatiently. "Wings of light and dark spread afar, She guides us to bliss, her gift everlasting."

Zack ran a hand through his hair awkwardly shaking a few drops from it. "So… you are okay then?" He never could get his mind around Genesis' 'Loveless' obsession. Sometimes when the guy spoke he almost seemed to understand, but not always.

"I wasn't expecting to be picked up by Deepground, but at the very least, it allowed me the chance for some peace."

Zack shrugged. "I managed to save your sword at least. It's back at our hideout in Mideel if you still want it."

Genesis let out a small chuckle, and brushed his hair dramatically behind his ears. Zack could see it had grown quite long and unkempt in the man's absence, though miraculously that large earring he always wore on his right ear was still there and it glittered in the light from the Mako veins in the walls. "It would be appreciated. What's been happening?"

"A lot of things," Zack said, pulling himself back onto dry land next to Cloud who remained on his guard. "Sephiroth came back and tried to destroy the world, and then he died again. Shinra failed to stay in control of the world, Hojo tried to destroy the world again, Deepground's trying to take over the world… It's been a real mess."

"Ripples form on the water's surface, The wandering soul knows no rest," Genesis observed.

"You don't know the half of it," Kunsel muttered.

"Perhaps we should continue this conversation as we walk," Argento suggested. "We still have a long way to go."

Zack nodded. "Good idea," he looked back at Genesis "Will that be all right?"

"The arrow has left the bow of the goddess," the red-haired SOLDIER said, following them to the tunnel with a sigh of resignation.

Zack shrugged. "If you say so. Aerith seemed to think she was nice enough…"

"Who?"

"My girlfriend… Wife now… ended up talking to her. A lot's happened since you disappeared."

* * *

><p><strong>June 19<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 3:30 PM**

"…And, now that the restrictors are gone, we've got another problem because Weiss seems bent on doing what they were going to do in the first place," Zack said. They had been slowly going up an incline for quite some time, with Argento still in the lead and now at long last, they were drawing close to a waterfall that smelled quite foul with what appeared to be an ancient ladder next to it. The silver Tsviet began to climb with Shelke behind her.

"I see," Genesis replied, before glancing at the other two swordsmen in the party. "Does he always talk this much?"

"Sometimes," Cloud said, before following after Shelke and Shalua.

"You probably missed most of it because you were too busy fighting with him," Kunsel remarked.

Genesis nodded and then turned his attention back to Zack. "So in short, you killed the restrictors and then the Tsviets stabbed you in the back. Couldn't you have seen they would do that?."

Zack shrugged. "I didn't know what kind of people they were. But that's not to say we didn't think of it. Veld had some of the Turks stick around top-side just in case anything happened."

"Some of them are definitely crazy," Tifa remarked before calling up to the Tsviets in their presence as she started to climb the ladder after Cloud. "No offence."

"None taken," Argento called back. "Spending a decade or two down here can do that."

"I could see that as soon as I was brought in," Genesis commented. "But, I have larger priorities than cleaning up your messes I'm afraid." The red-headed swordsman climbed up the ladder leaving Kunsel and Zack in the rear.

"You sure about that?" Zack said. "I was really kind of hoping you could stick around for a little while."

"I intend to linger only until you return my Rapier," Genesis replied. "After that, I will leave."

There was an uncomfortable silence for a while as they reached the source of the small stream, which turned out to be the slum sewers, and soon after that, Argento directed them to a manhole that brought them up in the middle of Sector 5.

Zack took the lead at that point, his hand on the hilt of his broadsword as he leaned against the back wall of the nearest building, looking out onto the main street. It was deadly quiet out there, but off in the distance, he could see a squad of Deepground SOLDIERs on patrol. Wordlessly, he motioned that they follow him along another backstreet he could remember from when Aerith still lived here, and soon, he had directed them to the church.

"What are we doing here, Zack?" Shalua asked.

"I thought we could stop and regroup for a minute," he whispered back. "Before we try for the passage out."

Shalua nodded. She did look a little the worse for wear. They all did.

Once he was sure the coast was clear, Zack hurried to the door and pushed it open, motioning to the others to follow after him and soon, everyone was standing in the foyer as he pushed the door shut.

Genesis took a step forward, taking in the area reflectively. "This place has been touched by the Lifestream," he observed.

"Aerith used to tend her flowers here," Zack explained.

"Who?" Genesis asked.

"My wife," Zack said.

"The Ancient who spoke to the Goddess?"

Zack nodded, but at that point, Vincent held up his hand for silence and drew his gun.

"What is it?" Kunsel said, his hand going to the hilt of the Gunblade.

"We are not alone…" Vincent said. There was a moment of tense silence as the group fanned out to check the shadows of the abandoned church when suddenly, Zack spotted movement in the corner and then he caught sight of a mop of brown hair covering a pair of wide blue eyes. Cloud seemed to have spotted the boy at almost the same time because he had sheathed his swords and approached. "Denzel?"

The boy rushed forward taking shelter behind the blond swordsman as the others approached. Zack watched as his friend looked down at the boy. "I thought Kunsel took you home to your parents," Cloud said at last.

The boy nodded but then he frowned as though trying not to cry. "He did… but then they took them…"

"The soldiers?" Cloud knelt down so he was level with the boy, and he gently put a hand on the boy's shoulder to attempt to calm him down.

Denzel nodded.

"Where did they take them?" Zack asked, taking a step closer.

The boy looked up at him helplessly. "I don't know."

It was at that moment when Zack heard his PHS ringing.

* * *

><p><em>At long last, another wayward character has finally joined the cast. I think I've lost count of how many of you asked if Genesis would show up, but as with the cross-dressing scene, his appearance always was in the cards. I hope I did him justice.<em>

_Another break week next week. Come hell or high water, I am going to get my backlog in order._

_Chapters will resume Midnight EST, Thursday the 20th, Friday the 21st._

_See ya next time! _


	64. The Fates Are Cruel

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spin-offs That honor goes to Square-Enix.

**Part III: Demons**

* * *

><p>Chapter 64, The Fates Are Cruel<p>

**June 19****th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 3:45 PM**

"_Zack? Where have you been? When you didn't make it back with the others I was so worried!" _Aerith's voice was shrill on the other end of the line.

"Calm down, it's okay, we're not quite out of Midgar yet, so I can't talk for long, but we made it. We just got a little sidetracked." he said.

Aerith took a deep breath on the other end before asking _"Can you get out?"_

He grinned, "Of course we can, there's no way we're not gonna make it."

"_Good, because we need you here soon. Rufus keeps talking about trying to retake the city, and Reeve's doing everything he can to stall. Ever since that last transmission things have been going crazy over here."_

"Weiss…" Zack guessed.

Aerith paused and then asked tentatively "_Did you see it?"_

"I haven't seen anything yet, but… I might already know the gist of it…"

"_He's going to march on Kalm in two days…" _Aerith said.

Zack nodded and then did a double take as his eyes widened. "That soon?"

"_That soon,"_ Aerith confirmed.

"I see…" Zack considered this for a moment before saying "Tell Reeve to have transport waiting near the entry point where we should have met up with the Turks in an hour. Don't worry, we'll be back, and everything's going to be fine."

"_You know I will anyway," _Aerith said.

"Hey," Zack said. "It'll take a lot more than a few Deepgrounders to take us out."

"_Maybe… but still, be careful."_

"I will," Zack confirmed. The call ended and he turned his attention to everyone else. Shelke was walking around the church, observing its details with curiosity under Shalua's watchful eye. Genesis was standing at the edge of the old flowerbed, also looking over the blooms among the weeds, while Argento had seated herself on one of the right front pews. Kunsel was seated in one of the second rows at the front of the church watching Denzel eat a can of rations Tifa had offered him. The boy was sitting next to Cloud as though sheltering in his presence while the blonde swordsman was talking quietly with Tifa a few steps away.

"It looks like the only option we have now is to take him with us," Tifa said.

"He definitely won't be safe here," Cloud agreed.

The boy looked worried. "What about my mom and dad?"

"We'll look for them as soon as we can," Tifa said. "But we need to get out of here first."

Denzel looked up at them sadly and then relented. "I'll go."

Tifa knelt in front of him as it looked like he might start crying and Zack turned his attention elsewhere. His heart ached for the boy, but it looked like Tifa had things under control and he didn't want the poor kid to be overwhelmed. Besides… where was…? Oh… He finally spotted a familiar red cloak up in the rafters and walked to the back of the church, picking his way towards the stairs until at last he reached the upper support beams and found the gunman looking out of a particularly large hole a fallen wood piling had knocked into the roof. The forest of buildings in the slums were cast in shadow as the half-light from the afternoon sun filtered through the line at the wall blocking the view to the wastes.

"You all right?" Zack asked.

Vincent did not look at him, directing his gaze out over the sector, but after an uncomfortably long moment, he spoke. "I'm not sure I know the truth, but whether Lucrecia used me to house Chaos or not, it is something that can't be changed now. What was done to me in Hojo's lab last night," his eyes glanced down to where Shelke was walking the aisle between the pews to look at the altar at the head of the church, "was done because she was only following orders. However, the fate of Luxiere, may be a different story. Are you certain you and Kunsel can trust her?"

Zack watched Shelke's movements for a moment as the girl who looked much younger than she should, appeared to be tentatively asking Shalua about how the flowers came to be here when nothing usually grew in Midgar, at which Shalua knelt down by the edge of the hole in the floor and began to explain quietly, though Zack heard Aerith's name filter up through the quiet. "It's not easy," he said at last. "Luxiere was a good friend… when I knew him… even if he always was the most ambitious one…" he paused, the dead 2nd Class's last mail not far from his thoughts. "But from what you told me, it's very possible what she did to him was something she did because she was desperate. It's not an excuse, but for now, I think it's at least worth our while to give her the benefit of the doubt, and Shalua would be heartbroken if we didn't at least try. She's done a lot for us. The least we can do is try to return the favor."

Vincent turned his attention back out over the surrounding buildings. "If that is the way of it."

* * *

><p>Kunsel sat in a pew behind Cloud, Tifa, and Denzel, who had leaned against Cloud. The blonde swordsman had seemed at first to not know what to do with him, but had eventually put his arm around the boy so he could shelter in his embrace. Poor kid. He looked thoroughly exhausted, and knowing he was already sick, this couldn't have helped. He had probably fled back the way they had come when his parents had been grabbed. But why had that happened? At least it explained why things had been so eerily quiet on the upper plate, but at the same time, he found himself wondering why they hadn't taken Denzel with them. What was the difference?<p>

His attention was diverted at that moment as he saw Shelke looking over the flowers while Shalua watched her. "How is this possible?" she asked. "Flowers have not grown in Midgar since the installation of the mako reactors."

"For the most part, you're right," Shalua said. "But there's a woman who used to come here who could make it happen. Her name was Aerith."

"Aerith Gainsborough Fair," Shelke said. "The last known Ancient… So she had been hiding out in the slums before joining GUARDIAN. It was said the Ancients would lead Shinra to the Promised Land, not that it matters now. All that is important to her profile for the moment is that she is a leading member of GUARDIAN, married to Zack Fair."

Kunsel stood at that point and approached. He didn't know what he was going to do. He wasn't intending Shelke any harm, that much he was sure, but… He paused as he reached Shalua and watched the younger girl kneel down to examine one of the yellow blooms. Finally he spoke "She matters to us. Just like Luxiere mattered."

Shelke looked up at him curiously. "Luxiere?" she asked and then recognition dawned. "I do know someone who once carried that name. Though I do not understand why you would be so upset about him."

"Isn't it obvious?" Kunsel said bitterly. "He was a friend. We came up in SOLDIER together…"

"Even when he was thinking about turning on Zack?" Shelke asked, and Kunsel could almost see traces of derision seeping out from under that blank expression.

The entire church had gone deathly quiet at that and Kunsel glared in her direction. "That's not true…" he said.

"He may not have acted on it," Shelke continued, "But it was on his mind. He hadn't completely decided on it when he sent Zack that mail, asking him to let himself be captured, but…"

"That's enough," Zack said as he walked out through the door leading to the stairs up to the rafters. "It's true he sent me a message about that, but it doesn't matter. Deepground got to him before he ever got to the point where he had to make that choice, and it was still a horrible thing to happen to him."

Kunsel looked at Zack in surprise. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"It never came up," Zack admitted. "And then… well… I didn't think it would change anything. I wasn't sure what he was thinking when he sent it to me, but even if I'd known what he was planning I would've ignored it. Remember, I didn't contact you either." Zack turned his attention to Shelke. "I don't know why you did to him what you did, but then, who's to say what would have happened, had things gone differently, and he'd had that chance to decide?"

"Zack…" Kunsel shook his head in disbelief. This was crazy. But at the same time… When his friend looked in his direction he really didn't know how he wanted to react.

"I'm sorry I didn't say anything before," Zack said, rubbing the back of his neck uncomfortably. "I wasn't quite sure how I felt about it either."

"It's not that," Kunsel said at last. "I'm glad to know you aren't ignoring it at least, but… that could have been serious …"

Zack smiled sadly. "Freya had a lot to answer for too, if you remember. If you think about it, we all did. I'm not saying what Shelke did was right or even excusable, but at this point, we need all the help we can get."

"I know," Kunsel said, frustration building even as he did his best to remain calm. "I don't like it, but I know." He turned to Shelke, "Still, even with his flaws, Luxiere wasn't some kind of toy you could play with. Whatever you thought you would gain from it, you still used him like he was a puppet. I don't know how many others you did the same with, but there's something seriously wrong with that." He noticed Cloud flinch out of the corner of his eye, but it was something he'd needed to get off his chest for the last couple of hours.

Shalua glared at him and stood between him and the Tsviet. "Are you trying to threaten her?" she asked warningly, her eyes narrowed.

"I'm not," Kunsel said. Staying in control had always been a skill he'd cultivated, even when most people couldn't see his face under his SOLDIER helmet. A good thing too, because right now, he was pretty angry. "Things are bad enough right now without us fighting each other. But she still needs to understand what she's done. What Deepground did… what Shinra did…"

Shelke stepped forward looking the man in the eye, "Shinra… Deepground… SOLDIER… you may think otherwise, but in these organizations, there will always be replacements. Why is that so hard to understand?"

"Because when a friend dies, they are never coming back, and by the time he returned to us after what happened to him, in some ways… he may as well have already been dead…" With that, Kunsel turned away from the two women and walked up the stairs. Vincent ignored him as he moved along the rafters and up through the hole in the roof to take a look around before sitting down to try and cool off. He would have given anything to have something to kick right about now.

* * *

><p><strong>June 19<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 5:00 PM**

It had taken some time for the group to reach the checkpoint leading to the Sector 8 slums, and now they were watching it with some concern. Tifa stood behind Cloud as he and Zack warily took point, leaning against the opposite side of a couple of piles of debris and looking over them. Kunsel had climbed to the top of another nearby and had spent the last few moments observing the gate with a pair of field goggles. "It looks like there's about twenty of them," she heard him say. "Ten on the Sector 7 side and ten on the 8 side."

Zack peered around the refuse he was sheltering behind to confirm it. "There isn't a better way to go is there?" he wondered aloud. When they'd come in, they hadn't needed to come this way.

They'd managed to get into Sector 6 by using another sewer, but they couldn't rely on the foul smelling tunnels alone. It was far too easy to get lost. At the entrance to Sector 7 luck had been on their side too, for they had discovered a fallen pipe that had knocked a hole in the fence some distance away from the gate, but here? It looked like they might have to fight their way through… That wasn't the problem. They could easily survive twenty people with their current force. The problem was the horde of soldiers that would probably be attracted by the noise.

She felt Denzel's hand squeeze tightly in her own. He was obviously scared, and she squeezed it back reassuringly. "Don't worry, we'll get out of this."

He nodded.

Kunsel climbed down from his perch looking thoughtful. "It doesn't look like we can get through here undetected," he said after a moment, "But it looks like there might be a couple of buildings close enough to either side of the fence that those of us who are SOLDIER enhanced should be able to jump across."

"Then let's move quickly," Argento said. "There's already the chance we may have been spotted at our last crossing. It's quite possible the other Tsviets have sent out Aerial Mines and many of those are fitted with cameras. We can't have one of them spot us while jumping from roof to roof."

"She's right," Zack agreed as they started off in the direction the brown-haired swordsman had indicated. "We'll go one by one, except where people have to be carried."

Soon they had reached the building. To everyone's relief there was a ladder leading up onto the roof and once it was ascertained they could all traverse the gap, Vincent folded into his cloak, floating up on a draft and taking a moment to scout the area before returning, and landing in front of Zack. "It seems safe," he reported, before floating back up and over to the alley on the opposite side of the fence.

"What a strange man," Genesis commented.

"You're one to talk," Zack replied.

Genesis dramatically preened his hair. "We seek it thus and take to the sky," he replied.

"Let's do this," Zack replied. With that, he scaled the ladder and took shelter behind a chimney to act as a lookout. After a moment, he signaled that the first person should cross and Tifa watched Cloud help Denzel up before he picked the boy up on the roof, quickly making the leap across the gap and jumping back down to join Vincent, out of sight on the other side. The others followed with Kunzel and Shalua next. Shelke made herself temporarily invisible when it was her turn, followed by Argento, then Tifa, and then Genesis went before Zack made the final dash, landing at the edge of the building and using his good arm to lower himself down over the side to join them.

"All right," he said. "All that's left is to make it to the street where the entrance to the tunnel is and then we're out of here." Tifa pulled ahead with Zack and Kunsel at that point, since they knew the way for this part of the plan and everyone hurried down the backstreet, towards what he was sure would be safety.

They were almost to small plaza they would need to skirt around when Cloud hurried up from the rear. "I heard something the next street over," he whispered. "It sounded big."

"How big?" Zack asked.

"I suppose we shouldn't be surprised," Argento said, resting her hands on the pommel of her sword as it balanced on the ground. "If he turned Behemoth of course he'd be able to track our scent."

"Behemoth…?" Kunsel asked.

"Azul the Cerulean," Shelke intoned. "First subject of the Metamorphose project. He is able to change forms into a Behemoth-like being to make use of its more animal qualities."

That was when they heard the growl from around the corner of the building and Zack signaled that was everyone's cue to leave. All together, they could handle a Behemoth, but there could be people around here. They hurried down the next street and towards the path around the plaza that they needed to take when Tifa heard something else. Combat boots. A blue glow lit up the far wall around the next corner, and she saw Zack turn around, guiding everyone else towards the open ground, away from what was probably more Deepground Soldiers.

It was when they reached that open ground that things really started getting problematic. Several other Deepground soldiers seemed to be patrolling the perimeter on the far side of the open space. They might actually be lined up with several blind spots, he guessed. Perhaps they'd still be able to sneak across…?

A tremor reverberated through the ground under their feet and then he saw what looked like a huge Behemoth-like creature land in the center of the plaza, its claws digging vast gashes in the old concrete as it let out a ferocious roar. Almost immediately afterward, Cloud hurried up to the front with Denzel in tow and Tifa saw several of those soldiers she'd heard come up the alley behind them. There was no longer anywhere to go but out into the center of the plaza, towards the monster.

Several people cast Walls as the group backed out into the open. They were almost to the middle of the square looking around at what seemed to be four or five squads of Deepgrounders when the Behemoth charged. Zack and Cloud dived to the left, pulling Denzel along with them while Kunsel fired off a shot from his gunblade. The Behemoth-thing let out a roar and suddenly began to shrink as the electricity flowed through his body. At last, Tifa saw an incredibly large blue man at whom Argento's eyes narrowed. She and Shelke stood in the middle of the party, not seeming the least bit afraid. "Always the vicious brute, aren't you Azul?" Argento lazily flicked some dirt off of her gloves as she spoke.

"Perhaps, but I never needed one of your weapons. I have become a much stronger blade for Deepground than any you've ever forged," Azul replied. "But since the both of you couldn't see fit to dispose of GUARDIAN properly, it would seem Weiss has decided neither of you are of any use to us anymore."

Shelke gasped in surprise at that, but Argento simply shrugged and smiled knowingly. "I knew the risks as well as anyone," she said. "But tell me, have you ever truly fought with me?"

"Of course not," Azul said dismissively. "I would have crushed you beneath my feet. As I will crush all of you. You did nothing but play with the fires, and as for Shelke, her only skill is collecting data from a virtual reality. It makes me sick to even think of her as a member of the Tsviets! So come, your fates have all been decided. It is time to return to the Planet." He smiled hungrily in anticipation.

Zack looked over at Tifa and motioned that she and Shalua should get Shelke and Denzel out of the line of fire. She backed away from the man with the boy and the girl, their eyes warily on the surrounding soldiers. The priority in this fight wasn't to draw this out but to get the hell out of here as soon as possible.

Argento laughed. "Perhaps so, but don't you even know what I am? If not I shouldn't even believe you would have the capacity to know that when the steel is hot…" Zack noticed she had gone for her sword again and took that as the cue to prepare for battle. He saw that Kunsel and Cloud were also readying their weapons. "…The blade should never tempt the smith who knows precisely where to strike with her hammer!" She rushed at the man who had no means of dodging and Zack noticed the aura of Earth magic around her blade. Her single grey eye glinted as she brought her sword down across his shoulder before dodging out of the way as the Tsviet let out a bellow and attempted to swat her into the air.

Argento landed in a crouch, her sword back in its sheath as though she'd never drawn it and that was when the Deepground soldiers opened fire. Zack already had Odin charged up as the Silver Tsviet hit the ground, and judging from the appearance of two other summons in tandem: Shiva, and Bahamut, as well as a spell Tifa was unfamiliar with, the ex-SOLDIER wasn't the only one. She soon discovered the source of the unfamiliar spell to be Genesis, who had followed up with a second volley of the same casting. Several of the Deepground soldiers nearest to the combat zone fell but Tifa could see there were more coming.

Since the brunt of their combined attack had been directed at Azul who seemed to have been knocked out cold for now, Zack had turned his attention towards the path of least resistance and concentrated the most powerful Fire spell he could muster down the alley he wanted to get into. Several more Deepgrounders dropped to the pavement, and he looked back towards his friends. "This way!" he called.

Slowly, everyone else began drawing their efforts towards him and once they had made it into the alley, he motioned that Tifa handle getting the sewer open while he and the others ran interference. It seemed to take far too long for them to get the manhole cover off but eventually, one by one, everyone jumped down the hole and away from it. Zack followed Cloud down last once he was sure no one had been left behind and then promptly used Odin one last time, to cave in the tunnel behind them. At the very least, they would have no pursuers through here.

They hurried through the gloom for barely a few minutes when they saw light up ahead and Shalua led the way in climbing out of the hole and into the wastes. When they were finally out under the evening sky, Tifa flopped down on the ground. "Phew!" Zack said, wiping the sweat off his brow as he and Cloud joined them. "I'm glad that's over."

One by one, the others emerged, all looking nearly exhausted. "It probably won't be for long though," Kunsel commented, leaning against a rock. "We're not done yet."

"I know," Zack replied. "But on the bright side, Hojo's gone, not too many people died, and we might even have a few more allies."

Argento chuckled. "I had always heard you were an optimist, probably too much of one for your own good," she said.

"So what's next?" Cloud asked.

The silver Tsviet considered the prospect. "I think I will stay around a little while."

"Okay," Zack said. "Welcome aboard."

He turned his attention to Genesis. "What about you?"

Genesis yawned dramatically. "I intend to stay around only long enough to reclaim my sword. After that, I will leave."

"That's too bad," Shalua said from where she sat on the ground. "Because you seemed like you'd be pretty useful against Deepground."

Zack shook his head. "If he doesn't want to stay, I'm not gonna stop him," he said. "Though it would be a big help…"

"Hey guys. You need a lift?" Everyone turned their attention behind them to see a familiar ninja standing next to a very familiar lady Turk on a hill behind them.

"Freya! Yuffie! Glad to see you all made it out!" Zack stood up as he gave them a wave.

"Of course we did!" Yuffie said.

Freya offered one of her usual confident grins as she rested her shotgun over her shoulder. "Those Restrictors never stood a chance against the White Rose of Wutai and the best hunter on the Planet! But we can talk about that later, I know you guys are probably tired."

"Yeah," Kunsel agreed. "And we don't want to stick around here too long anyway."

With that, everyone headed past the hill to find a large truck ready to take them back to Kalm.

* * *

><p><strong>June 19<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 8:00 PM**

The ride back to Kalm passed largely in silence. Denzel had fallen asleep sitting between Cloud and Tifa at some point, and everyone else looked like they wanted to… except perhaps for Genesis, who had been asleep for a very long time, and he busied himself quietly murmuring lines from Loveless as though making sure he still remembered them, and generally ignoring everyone else.

Zack was more than relieved to see the town pulling into sight through the front window of the truck, and not long afterward, they had passed through the refugee camp on the outskirts. Even now, it was a disheartening sight to see so many people displaced, but when Freya pulled the truck to a halt in front of headquarters, and the doors opened, he was more than relieved to see Aerith waiting for him. His wife rushed to him as he exited the truck and threw her arms around him. "I'm so glad you're back," she said.

"Me too," he returned her embrace before turning to watch the others disembark. "We've got some more people with us," he added, "And once everyone's settled, I've got some calls to make…" It was right at that moment when he saw that Aerith was staring at someone. Genesis had just gotten out of the truck and was dusting himself off, apparently fully aware that he was being watched and was walking over to meet them, but Aerith's expression had turned wary, and yet curious at the same time.

"What is it?" Zack asked.

"N-nothing," Aerith said. "I'll tell you in a minute."

"This is your wife, I take it." Genesis asked. "The woman who spoke to the Goddess?"

Zack nodded. "Yeah… um, Aerith? This is Genesis…" He tried to think of any further clarification he should add to that one but further attempts to describe the red-headed ex-SOLDIER would have probably ended in 'it's complicated.'

"I see…" Aerith said.

Genesis nodded in acknowledgement. "There is no hate, only joy, for you are beloved by the goddess."

"Maybe," Aerith replied with a smile. She turned to Zack. "Rufus wants to talk to you as soon as possible."

"All right," Zack agreed. Argento and Shelke had already passed them, following Kunsel towards the safe house, but he figured he could fill her in on them later. In the meantime, once everyone else was out of earshot he took hold of her hand and whispered "Is everything okay?"

Aerith looked up at him, worry knitting her brow. "I'm not sure how to say this…" she said softly. "Zack, about Genesis… he's not human…"

"Well of course he isn't," Zack said. "Every time I fought the guy he nearly…"

"That's not what I mean," Aerith clarified. "I mean he's really not human anymore. Minerva healed his degradation but in order to do that… Zack, I think she made him into a WEAPON."

"For real?" Zack looked up at the former SOLDIER who was walking slightly ahead of them. He didn't seem to have heard them talking, but…

Aerith nodded. "He feels exactly like Jade WEAPON and the WEAPONs under the Northern Crater. And there's more… The Planet seems to be saying it has a plan for him. Whatever that is… he will have to die for it." She shook her head. "The task he's been given… it's a heavy burden…"

"Perhaps…" The two of them paused to see Genesis had stopped and had half turned to face them. The others had long gone out of earshot. "However," he continued, "Considering that the degredation would have destroyed me by now, I have already lived far longer than I should have. Laying down my life in return for the goddess's favor is hardly a price at all." He lifted his hand dramatically. "Even if the morrow is barren of promises, nothing shall forestall my return. To become the dew that quenches the land, to spare the sands, the seas, the skies, I offer thee this silent sacrifice."

"I don't think I remember that part," Zack observed.

Genesis gave him a knowing smirk. "There aren't many living who know of Loveless's Fifth Act." With that, the former SOLDIER strode after the others.

As they entered the Turks' safe-house they found Reeve waiting for them, looking a lot more harried than usual. "There you are. Did Aerith tell you about Rufus?"

Zack nodded. "Yeah. But first…" he turned his attention to Shalua. "You probably want that data sorted out as soon as possible, don't you?"

The hacker nodded. "Yes. For that, Shelke says she'll need some very specific equipment."

Zack turned his attention to Reeve. "Do you think we can manage that?"

Reeve looked curiously over at Shelke before nodding. "I'll see what we can do."

* * *

><p><strong>June 20<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 7:00 AM**

Vincent stood on the second floor balcony by a window in one of the larger buildings in Kalm. Thanks to their contacts in the city, and Rufus's resources, they had been able to borrow another residence in town to make use of the larger floorspace for the equipment Shelke required. The only hurdle, it seemed, had been in getting several members of their group to actually stop and rest. Zack not the least of them. It was understandable since there were several people pulling him and Reeve in several different directions. However, after the call from Rufus to let them know he wanted a joint operations meeting in the morning to determine what their plan was from here, Aerith had put her foot down on anyone coming to the SOLDIER or anyone else who had been in the rescue party and asked that they redirect their concerns to Reeve, or Cid for the night unless there was a dire emergency.

He felt a small smile play at his lips. Aerith was not to be messed with.

Looking down from the balcony, he watched as Shelke and Shalua worked to rebuild the equipment Shelke was planning to use. Kunsel stood nearby, clearly wary, but not moving, apparently having decided he wasn't sure he trusted Shelke enough to not have someone watching her. Not that Vincent could blame him for that.

Shalua was working at a computer terminal while Shelke directed a few technicians in setting up her equipment while at the same time, building a custom headset for her own use at a workstation that had a view of the room.

It was around that time when Freya came in through the front door and walked over to Kunsel. He noticed she was wearing her Turk uniform. "There you are. Zack and Reeve were wondering if there was anything you wanted to add to the report we're giving about what we saw in Midgar at the meeting."

Kunsel glanced in the lady Turk's direction, but seemed too preoccupied to notice the change in attire. "I actually do have some notes on my PHS. I'll send them in a mail…" he reached for the com device and started working the buttons on it. Freya wandered over to where Shelke was curiously. "What's that?" she asked.

"I'm creating an interface device that will enable me to engage in an SND, a Synaptic Net Dive," Shelke explained.

"You mean like what Shalua said you did back in the city?" Freya asked.

Shelke nodded, turning her attention from the headset to a computer terminal as she spoke. "It was my specialty within the Tsviets. While retaining consciousness, I project an image of myself into a virtual reality called a network. I can also use this ability to negotiate with data on the subconscious plains of sentient lifeforms."

"So that's how you… saw into people's minds?" Freya asked. Kunsel looked away at that point, and seemed to have decided the goings on outside the window was a lot more interesting.

"Correct," Shelke turned her attention from the headset to a computer terminal that had also been set up at her work station, typing something onto the screen with one hand as she held the headgear with the other. "However, this often involves a great risk to my own sanity. For Shinra, the success of the SND project was crucial for their next step in…" she paused. "I'm sorry, I seem to have gotten off track."

"It was probably the next step in gaining complete control over Shinra's troops," Kunsel said, his voice calm in spite of being clearly disgusted by the idea.

"Why do you say that?" Freya asked.

"If what we've seen of the techniques that were used to keep Deepground under control is anything to go by, then control is everything the President wanted. He tried to control the populous by bribery, and to gain control of future soldiers by keeping them addicted to the one thing that would keep them alive. If he could control their minds too… you can't get much more complete then that…" he looked at his boots, shaking his head.

"I guess that's true," Freya said. "It is creepy, if you think about it."

Shalua looked up from her work at that point. "There was something else I've been meaning to ask, Shelke."

"What is it?" Shelke had just finished typing and was back to work on her headset.

"A couple of times when Hojo was in the lab, he said some stuff about this thing called the 'Protomateria,' and later, you said you were supposed to locate it. What is it exactly? Do you know where it is?"

Shelke stood up at that point, walking over to the reclined chair to connect the headset to a series of conduits and wires. "It is in this room."

"What?" Freya looked around, her brow furrowed. "Where?"

Shelke raised a single hand and Vincent realized she was pointing directly at him. "Dr. Crescent must not have told him anything when she performed the procedure that placed Chaos within him, because I found nothing about it when I performed the SND in Hojo's laboratory." She resumed working with the equipment in front of her. "I don't have all the details thanks to the corruption of my data, but the Protomateria is currently implanted in the left side of his chest. A proper X-ray would reveal it quite clearly."

Everyone was looking in his direction now, seeking confirmation. Vincent, thought about this new information before speaking. "So what you showed me when you were fighting with Chaos… It was…"

"True?" Shelke asked. "I don't know for sure. Part of that information is composed of corrupted fragments. But the truth remains that Chaos, and the Protomateria are inside of you because of her work, regardless of her motives."

"This Protomateria…" Freya asked after a moment. "Just what is it supposed to do?"

Shelke considered the question before standing up straight and returning to her computer terminal."In the case of Vincent Valentine, it is supposed to serve as a control mechanism of some sort. I believe Weiss had his own agenda for acquiring it."

"And that would be?" Kunsel had turned his attention back from the window at that point, still suspicious but alert for important information.

"Omega," Shelke said. "The final xenoform, designed by the Lifestream to gather all life and carry it into the stars when the Planet dies, and it is intimately connected to Chaos as well. Hojo desired the Protomateria to bond with Omega, in order to witness Sephiroth's rebirth from a separate vantage point. Weiss felt he could use it for other reasons."

"What sort of reasons?" Freya asked.

"I believe I can explain that," Everyone looked up to see that Argento had entered the building and now joined everyone by the computer terminal. "Based on what remained of Professor Crescent's thesis, Hojo believed that by creating a pure Lifestream, he could prematurely awaken Omega and use the Protomateria to become one with it, as Vincent Valentine has become one with Chaos. It was for this reason that he had Nero especially busy until just recently…"

"Wait… a pure Lifestream…" Kunsel asked, his attention now on the Silver Tsviet. "What do you mean by that?"

"You probably would have found out sooner or later…" Argento began. "Lifestream energy untainted by the Stigma. I think you can figure it out from there."

Shalua's eyes went wide at that. "That boy's parents…" She murmured.

Kunsel and Freya looked equally horrified. "That's why he didn't disappear, because he had the Stigma and thus wasn't pure enough to be led to slaughter? That's why the streets were so quite?" Kunsel asked at last.

Argento nodded. "I am afraid so. I also think it's highly likely Weiss might attempt to continue the project unless steps are taken to make it impossible. With the materia still within Valentine, you may still have some amount of time before Shelke's data on this matter comes to the other Tsviets' attention, but before that happens some means of defending it would be advisable." At that moment, Vincent saw Kunsel reach for his PHS again and walk out the door in a hurry.

"But what for?" Shalua asked. "If Hojo's dead, why would Weiss want to keep going? He wants to rule the world, not destroy it!"

"Because the threat of destruction will be more than enough to keep the Planet in line, should he succeed…" Vincent murmured. Everyone was quiet for a moment after that as the severity of what he had said sank in.

"Which is precisely why it would be best that Shelke's data from her SND should be eliminated before they manage to decode it," Argento said. "The Black Materia could lead to the same end."

"True," Freya said. "This is definitely something we'll have to let the others know. Is there anything else we should add?"

"Vincent Valentine would do well not to wander alone," Shelke suggested. "Unless he knows of a way to protect the Protomateria without assistance, there's always the risk Nero might come for it or the Black Materia's location."

It was at that moment when Freya noticed her own PHS buzzing and answered it. "Yeah?" She listened for a moment before answering. "Got it. I'll let them know and we'll be on our way." As she hung up, she looked back at the assembled group. "We need to head to the town hall. The strategy meeting is going to start soon."

"Understood," Argento replied. With that, everyone started towards the exit. Vincent was headed in that direction as the others disappeared through the door when it happened…

_Vincent found himself standing under what looked to be an open sky surrounded by ruins. Yet something about this place had an artificial quality to it. He also found himself looking through the eyes of someone shorter than himself as they landed on a woman in red._

"_Hey Shelke…" The woman carried an odd bow-like blade in her hand as she padded around the platform on which they stood._

"_What is it?" He heard Shelke's voice emitting from his own mouth._

_The woman came a little closer and Vincent finally realized this must be Rosso the Crimson. "Haf you ever gone on any missions outside?"_

"_No," Shelke replied. "My body is not suited for long-term operations."_

_Rosso nodded. "I guess you're right. But you used to live on the outside before you came here didn't you?"_

"_Yes…" Shelke answered, looking away from the red Tsviet, though her posture was guarded._

_Rosso looked up at the sky thoughtfully. "You know, ever since I vas born, this is the only kind of scenery I've ever seen. An artificial sky… Real, yet fake. Just vonce, I vant to see the vorld outside… Vhy von't they let me out?"_

_Shelke's field of vision moved, revealing that they were standing in what appeared to be an entire field of slain Deepground soldiers…_

As reality returned, Vincent saw he was still in the computer lab. He put out a hand against the wall to support himself. What was that? It was definitely not a memory that belonged to him. Finally, once he was mostly sure it wasn't about to happen again, he walked outside to see Kunsel waiting for him with his PHS, looking a lot more relieved than he had when he had left the building, though his expression was still rather grave.

"There you are," the ex-SOLDIER said. "The others already headed out but I didn't see you leave. I was about to come in and check…" he gave him a curious look. "Are you all right? I'd say you'd looked a little pale if that wasn't your normal color. Like you saw a ghost?"

"I'm fine," Vincent said.

Kunsel gestured that they walk towards the town hall. "All right. But we should get going. The meeting's about to start."

* * *

><p><em>Running a little bit late, but we're back!<em>

_Poor Vincent. In Part II he gets savaged by Sephiroth repeatedly, then here he got mind-raped and now this. I'm so evil..._

_See ya next week!_


	65. Preparations

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spin-offs That honor goes to Square-Enix.

SOLDIER 1st Class Bradley is an original character.

**Part III: Demons**

* * *

><p>Chapter 65, Preparations<p>

**June 20****th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 7:30 AM**

Cloud was waiting by the door to the town hall with Tifa when Freya appeared with Argento, Shelke and Shalua, and the swordsman was surprised to see she was wearing her old Turk suit. "They haven't started yet, have they?" she asked as the other three walked past them.

"Not yet," Tifa answered, appearing to be equally surprised. "I haven't seen you wear that in a while."

She shrugged, flashing a sheepish grin, "I know, but I guess… Back when we were still Shinra, we were always in uniform for briefings. That's just how it is."

"Even if you're an ex-Turk?" Tifa asked.

"The vast majority of us that are left may be renegades," Freya said. "But being a Turk is more than working for Shinra, and I guess, some things don't change so easily."

As if on cue, Cloud spotted Liz, Elfe, and Shears coming up behind the lady Turk, and the mercenary Turk was also sporting her suit. Shears and Elfe gave the three of them a nod of acknowledgement before walking into the town hall. Liz paused. "I see it still fits," she said.

"Like a glove," Freya returned.

"We should find our seats before the soldiers Rufus picked for his part of the delegation take them," the mercenary suggested.

"I know," Freya chuckled, "It's really kind of funny, there are so many with GUARDIAN or taking part as independents, he was probably afraid he'd be outnumbered."

Cloud saw Zack and Aerith coming up behind them followed by Vincent and Kunsel. When Zack reached them, he grinned. "Hey Cloud, you guys didn't have to wait up for us. We were on our way."

Cloud shrugged. "I preferred the fresh air," he said at last.

Zack nodded in understanding. "I know these guys aren't the people we'd rather deal with, but it's either this or go it alone against Deepground. Seeing how easily they took Midgar, we need all the help we can get. Even Godo agreed once he saw the recordings we sent."

"So he's going to be part of this too?" Freya asked.

Zack nodded. "Over an encrypted channel. Veld and Reeve are taking care of it. He's probably going to stay out of it since the Wutai military still isn't what it used to be, but even a few troops wouldn't hurt."

He and Aerith walked through the door and Cloud fell in step behind him with Tifa. Kunsel, Freya, and Vincent brought up the rear as they entered into the main room of the town hall. It was a traditional building, with a high ceilings constructed of wooden beams. Several Shinra Infantrymen stood guard at the door to the actual meeting room. Upon seeing them enter, they pushed the door open and Zack purposefully led the way inside. This second room had a fireplace on one end, though it was empty, since the weather was quite warm, and a variety of projectors had been placed around the room, as had about thirty or so seats centered in a semi-circle around an empty space, where three long tables stood in a square arrangement so that the occupants of those seats could see each other, as well as the goings on as the speaker who had the floor could give reports. Rufus already sat at one of these, with Tseng in the seat next to him, and Elena behind him. SOLDIER 1st Class Bradley, as well as three other military leaders Cloud was unfamiliar with also sat at the same table. He saw that Reeve was waiting at the table set aside for GUARDIAN, and Zack sat down next to him while Cloud took the seat to his right. Kunsel took the seat next to him and he noticed that Cid was occupying the space next to Reeve's.

Barret, Nanaki, and Yuffie were already waiting for them, and with Tifa, Aerith, Vincent, and Freya also there, GUARDIAN as an organization had quite a large presence.

He also noticed that Veld was seated at the third table, along with Elfe, Shears, and Shalua. Argento had calmly placed herself in the final seat, the honor of which she had acquired by claiming to be an independent operator in these proceedings. Genesis and Shelke too, were present, though the transparent Tsviet sat behind Argento and the red-haired ex-SOLDIER was standing in the back, seeming content to only watch the goings on rather than taking part.

After a few minutes, where a few other leaders from Shinra, GUARDIAN as well as the leaders of a number of volunteer militias that had come to assist in the defense of Kalm arrived, Reeve got to his feet, clearing his throat. "I presume we are ready?" he asked.

"We're ready," Zack confirmed.

Rufus nodded. "Let's get started."

Reeve walked to the center of the floor. Tseng joined him and after a moment working at a portable console they'd brought in, a screen lit up on one side of the room, revealing the Emperor of Wutai.

"President Shinra? General Fair?" the man asked.

"Is your end of the equipment working properly?" Tseng asked.

"I can here you perfectly well," the Emperor replied.

"Excellent," Reeve said. "Now that all parties are assembled, we can begin. Tseng, if you would update us on our current knowledge of the enemy."

Tseng reached for a file he had been carrying under his arm, and opened it. "Here is the situation as it stands right now. According to the reports we have been gathering from our operatives stationed throughout the city, the Deepground troops have been maintaining their presence in the various sectors. Rosso the Crimson and Azul the Cerulean seem to have taken charge of mustering forces for the assault tomorrow and are amassing their troops near the Sector 6 gate."

"Our operative there has reported at least four division-sized units of soldiers with various squads incorporating specialized troops and mechanized units. They are primarily utilizing Deepground equipment, including a series of walkers we have identified as Black Widows. It would seem they intend to overwhelm us with firepower." He walked over to the table where Veld sat retrieving a file he had placed in front of him. "In our report from Veld and his Turks, Nero seems to be directing all activities at Midgar's military airport. They will be utilizing primarily advanced assault helicopters, dubbed Dragonflies in the report from our operative in Sector 3. That concludes the Turks' report."

At that point, Reeve took the floor. "Thank you Tseng." He went back to the console. "I would now like to direct your attention to the projector on the far side of the room."

The image on the screen cleared after a second, revealing what looked to be the viewpoint of someone crawling on the catwalk. "What's that?" Yuffie asked.

"It is a feed from Cait Sith #6," Reeve replied. "After he parted ways with Zack, I sent him down to investigate Deepground. Unfortunately, what we found wasn't the prettiest of pictures. The faint of heart might not want to watch."

At that point, the view shifted and the little cat seemed to be watching a great pool of Mako over which a large container was being directed before it was dropped into the mass. As it did so, through the speakers, everyone in the room could hear a mass of screams and they heard the voice of the little robot whispering "Good gracious me!" After a moment, the viewpoint shifted again revealing a view of a man in a black mako suit before they heard Cait speak again. "It's Nero the Sable! Oh dear!"

At that point, the video feed went blank.

There was silence for a moment before Shears spoke, the shock coming through in his words. "There were people in that container that was dropped in that lake, weren't there."

Reeve nodded in confirmation. "Based on our intelligence, for whatever reason, Nero has been utilizing troops to gather Midgar's citizens and summarily execute them in this fashion… We are not sure why at this point."

"We can answer that," Argento spoke up. "Weiss seeks to utilize Omega as Hojo did. However, doing so requires a large amount of pure Mako unadulterated by Geostigma. Further, once enough lives have been poured into that stream they will most likely seek to utilize power from the reactors too, in order to trick the Planet into thinking Omega's time of awakening is at hand."

"Regardless, it needs to stop," Kunsel said.

"There is no disagreement on that," Rufus affirmed. "However, I am curious. What is this Omega, you speak of?"

"The final Xenoform," Shelke said. "It is a being similar to the beings that you know as WEAPONs. However, Omega, like Chaos is tied to the end of the world, that is as much as I know at this juncture. Once I have managed to uncorrupt Dr. Crescent's data, we will be able to paint a better picture, but its awakening, if the data fragments I have are providing an accurate picture, will result in the Planet's permanent death."

"So, by slaughtering thousands of innocent souls, and creating a pure lifestream, Deepground, based on Hojo's late guidance, is trying to trick the Planet into thinking the end is near, so that they can harness Omega's power and take control of it before it deploys?" Reeve summarized.

"That is correct," Shelke agreed.

"Why those conniving…!" Cid started and then when everyone looked his way he glared around the room. "I don't know what this Weiss character is tryin' to prove, but he's crazy if he thinks we're gonna let him get away with it!"

"Damn straight," Zack said, his brow knitted. Cloud noticed he was holding Aerith's hand underneath the table as he spoke. He was just as mad, and probably more worried, though outwardly, he was still keeping up a calm demeanor. It wasn't just the burden of a hero, it was the burden of a leader. "Seems it would be best to just put a stop to before it even happens," he observed. "The longer we wait, the more people are going to die and the closer they'll get to summoning this thing."

Cloud was definitely in agreement there. If this thing was anything like how Zack had described Zirconiaide, then he was perfectly happy not seeing this thing deploy at all.

"Maybe we should just get rid o' those reactors," Barret said.

"Out of the question," Rufus said. "They are the primary financial investment of the Shinra company, if they go down, Midgar will go down. Without power, everything will stop."

"Midgar, or at least the cities under the plate did just fine without you before," Shalua commented.

"That's true," Elfe said. "Most towns did fine without Mako power for years. Even in towns that have power there are many homes that are still not connected to the grid. We are not without alternatives."

"It's possible that even without that factor, we may have no choice," everyone looked in the direction of the independents table and Rufus's eyebrows rose as they saw that it was Veld who had spoken.

"Why would that be?" Rufus asked.

"Not only is there the strategic possibility of using the reactors to fuel Omega, but according to our sources there is a key factor in relation to Deepground's units that make them different from a normal SOLDIER," Veld said.

"Mako," Freya observed. "That's right!"

Veld looked in her direction and nodded before speaking again. "As we all know, SOLDIERs are exposed to it, but they aren't physically dependent on it. Without a steady supply, the Deepground troops will be unable to function. As long as they have access to those reactors and the means to process the substance down to tolerable levels for exposure, they will be able to hold the city for quite some time. However, because of this, they are tied to the city to a certain extent, and it is something we can exploit."

"Cruel," Argento commented, "But possibly an effective strategy assuming you can get into the reactors to destroy them."

"And in order to do that, we'll have to actually beat them back enough from their march on Kalm that we can get a few teams in there," Zack said.

Rufus's eyes narrowed but he nodded. He knew the voice of reason when he heard it. They would have to get past over forty to fifty thousand Deepground soldiers in order to get to Midgar's walls. Before they even got that far, they needed a strategy. Finally Rufus turned his attention to Zack. "Well then, General Fair, as the leading authority on invasions and insurgencies, what do you have for us?"

Zack smiled seriously, the usual cocky attitude nowhere in sight. "That depends on what we have, so let's go over that and then we can come up with a plan. One thing we can't do is sit here. Those divisions are marching on Kalm first thing tomorrow morning, and the people in Midgar are counting on us."

* * *

><p><strong>June 20<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 12:00 PM**

The meeting had taken several hours as everyone worked out what would be done. It was all too tempting to try rushing in and taking the Deepgrounders by surprise, but even the most hot-headed among those at the briefing had to admit it would take an entire day on its own just to get that army together that could stand against such a force. As it was, getting everything they needed by tomorrow morning was going to be a stretch. When everyone had left to deliver individual orders to their various personnel, Zack made a motion as though wiping the sweat off his brow. "Phew, glad that's over," he said, once they were a safe distance away from the town hall.

"You aren't the only one," Cloud agreed.

"Don't relax too soon," Cid said, putting a cigarette between his teeth, we still have that army to fight tomorrow."

"And there's still so much to do before then," Tifa mused.

"I know," Zack said. "But we'll get things worked out. Rufus sent word to Junon that whatever troops couldn't be spared from guarding the city were to get here on the double, and we've got our own troops here. We can do it."

"I hope your right," Aerith said.

Zack took her right hand in his left reassuringly. "Of course I am, we'll get out of this okay, just so long as we keep it together." He looked around at the other GUARDIAN members. "I know all of you have things to do, so don't wait around for me. I'll come and check in on things in a bit, all right?"

"You got it," Barret said. With that, he and Nanaki headed off in one direction while Yuffie went off in another.

Tifa and Aerith headed back towards the safe house with Cloud in tow, and Kunsel was about to follow them in order to go check on the situation with their own forces when he heard Zack say "Hang on a second." The swordsman paused along with Freya and Zack turned to the lady Turk for a second. "Freya, could you give us a moment? We'll be right behind you."

She nodded and walked out of sight behind one of the buildings. Zack gestured that Kunsel follow him and the two SOLDIERs headed towards the wall. "What is it Zack?" Kunsel asked after a second.

"I guess I just wanted to talk for a second," his friend sat down on a bench midway along the wall. "After what happened in the church…"

"Well, can you blame me?" Kunsel asked. "If you're worried that I'm angry Zack, of course I am. I'm angry that you'd think I couldn't handle the fact he was thinking of turning you in… Just because he was dying…"

"It's no excuse," Zack agreed. "But considering what he went through, wouldn't it have been better that way?"

"We both know he wasn't perfect," Kunsel said. "No one is, I guess. But at the same time, I really wish you'd have told me the truth. He was my friend too. Or at least, I think he was," he paused, frowning as he considered what he wanted to say.

"It was the only thing I could do for him," Zack said.

"Even though he could very well have acted on what he was thinking of doing," Kunsel replied, shaking his head. "Idiot… I know why you did what you did," he said at last. "Just don't try and protect us from the truth. I can take the truth. It's the subterfuge I can't stand. Shinra does that too much already without you joining them."

Zack nodded in understanding. "I guess that's true," he stood and looked out over the wastes that made up the gap between Kalm and Midgar. "I'm sorry," he said.

"I'll forgive you this time," Kunsel said. "Just don't do that again."

"I won't," Zack agreed. "That's a promise, okay?"

Kunsel nodded, and the two old comrades spent some time thinking about moments past as the noonday sun beat down on the Kalm parapet, and the dust outside blew across the wastes.

After a moment Zack asked "So, are we good?"

Kunsel looked back over at him, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "Yeah, we're good. Let's see about winning that battle tomorrow."

"You got it," Zack grinned and after a moment, the two parted ways, Zack to go back to the safehouse, and Kunsel to go take a look at GUARDIAN's equipment to check everything was in order. As he neared the barracks he saw Freya leaning against the wall of a nearby building. She had apparently stopped to wait for him.

"You ready to do some inventory?" she asked.

He nodded, offering her small smile. "Yeah." He felt a lot calmer now than he had since the mission. Luxiere had his faults, and maybe he'd even believed in Shinra's promises, but without that company's deception he wouldn't have been led down that path in the first place. Pulling back the curtains on Deepground, on Shinra as a whole for the entire world to see, would be the greatest service to his friends who had been hurt by them that he could think of. No matter what happened, after this, Shinra would be a shell of itself, its power gutted by the single act of preventing its own creation from destroying it outright. Perhaps it could grow back as a more honest company that didn't try to dominate the world with power, or perhaps it would disappear forever. Either way, he didn't care. Once they got to that point, there would be too much other work to do.

"Anyone home?" he snapped out of it to see the lady Turk standing in front of him.

"I'm here," he replied.

She shook her head and laughed. "Something happen? You aren't usually such a space case. Come on! The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can go do something a lot less boring." She walked a few steps away before waiting for him.

He followed after her and after a moment she asked a question he may or may not have been dreading. "So what do you think of those Tsviets that came back with you?"

Kunsel nodded to one of their own guards as they walked into the warehouse they were currently using to hold munitions, and various other supplies for the assault. "I'm not sure," he answered. "Based on what we know, they've had a pretty hard life. It's not so surprising they came out of it a little… damaged… I guess."

Freya nodded. "Perhaps in different ways than Zack and Cloud, but you're on the mark. Still, I think they'll be all right, if we give them a chance."

"Even with what they did?" Kunsel asked.

"Maybe. But then, don't forget, I've still got some blood on my hands, friends I didn't save…" Freya trailed off as she examined a rifle on a rack nearby. "But I'm here now, and I've already made my choice. Argento's made hers, it seems like, and I think if we let her, Shelke will make the choice that's best for her too."

"And what was your choice?" Kunsel asked.

Freya looked up at him affectionately, her copper-colored eyes glowing faintly in the dark of the warehouse, slightly backlit by the light from his own hazel ones. "I decided that I'm not going to fail to protect anymore friends. For a while there, I wasn't sure who I was anymore. Could I even say I was really still a Turk when I was helping you destroy the company that brought the Turks into existence? But then I remembered recently what Mao said once. He said he had set his own mission for himself when he decided he wanted to help you for Cissnei. Well, that's the mission I've set for myself as a Turk, and you know what they say…"

Kunsel nodded. "No mission is impossible for the Turks."

The two stayed that way for almost half a minute, each with their own thoughts before the lady Turk turned away from him, busying herself with looking over the status of some rations on a shelf nearby, and Kunsel took the clipboard over to another shelf and started checking that all the numbers matched up. Nothing more needed to be said.

* * *

><p><strong>June 20<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 2:00 PM**

It was sometime later and Zack and Cloud had just returned from a joint inspection with Rufus and they had decided to have a short spar out in the yard behind the safe-house for a bit. Cloud, having retrieved the rest of the Fusion Swords had placed the various pieces out along a bench and was wielding the two notched blades against his friend in a few sparring drills while Tifa, Aerith, and Denzel watched. Aside from their time at the meeting, during which he'd been asleep at the house, the boy for some reason had taken every opportunity to stick close to Cloud.

"_It's because you're his hero,"_ Zack had said when he'd asked him about it on the way back from the inspection. _"You did protect him at the Sector 5 reactor after all, and…"_ he looked a little saddened as he continued. _"I hate to say it, but you might be all he's got right now. It's really not that surprising, if you think about it."_

Cloud considered that as he and Zack clashed swords. Perhaps it wasn't so surprising, but that made it a little terrifying. In some ways it reminded him of a younger time, when he'd first learned about… he shivered. He wasn't like Sephiroth, no matter how much that man had tried to convince him otherwise. He was Cloud. He was himself, and he would do everything he could to help Zack and GUARDIAN destroy Deepground so that they could get on with their lives and hopefully find Denzel's parents alive and well. He and Zack had fought too hard over this for it to be any other way.

He stepped to the side, parrying the Buster Sword in a particularly deft maneuver and Zack backed off a step, working defensively to compensate for his right side as the muscles in his left arm worked. Months of training his left arm to carry the sword's weight on its own for longer and longer periods were bearing fruit now, and as Cloud blocked the next strike in the pattern they were cutting across the yard, he was almost certain that the strength behind it was at least equal to what he had been capable of with his right hand. It was almost hard to believe he'd been anything but left-handed.

He had stepped back again to avoid a particularly powerful swing and they had brought their swords together when they noticed Argento standing at the door. As the duel continued, she walked over to the bench where Cloud had left his other swords and, out of the corner of his eye he could see she was visually examining them.

About a minute or so later, they paused, having decided they had practiced enough for the day. "Nice job, Cloud," Zack complimented as they headed back over.

"You too," Cloud returned. As they neared the others, he reached for his maintenance kit and sat down next to where he'd placed the First sword, carefully looking over the notched blades for any sign of wear or damage.

Zack was doing the same, albeit very gingerly nearby, using his left hand to hold the sword in place while he used his right hand to clean the blade. His movements were slow and deliberate, as sometimes his muscles would still protest and cramp on occasion and Cloud knew they no longer had the strength required for his friend to use his formerly dominant hand to carry the Buster Sword's weight. They no longer possessed the dexterity for particularly delicate things either thanks to the damage Sephiroth had done, but smaller tasks like cleaning were not beyond him, and he wasn't about to let anyone forget it. What he couldn't do normally, he found workarounds for.

Denzel came over and sat on the grass, watching as the two men worked and not saying a thing when Argento spoke. "It seems my interest has not been unfounded. Your levels of skill are quite impressive."

"Thanks," Zack said. "Was there something in particular you needed?"

"Not especially," Argento replied. "I find it quite informative for taking the measure of a swordsman to see how he fights. However, the real test is on a true battlefield. And it is one I wish to observe."

"And that's why you're fighting with us tomorrow?" Cloud asked.

"These Fusion Swords as you call them, could only be made by a member of the same clan that forged the Buster Sword. It is only right that such a lineage be deserving of equally skillful sword masters. I hope I will not be disappointed."

"I'm pretty sure you won't be," Zack said. "Though a battle isn't exactly for spectators."

"Naturally," the Tsviet agreed. "Which is why I don't intend to be one. If Omega is permitted to coexist with Weiss, the Planet will not survive long. If not for that, I would be long gone by now."

Cloud had just finished cleaning the notched blades and was walking over to the side of the yard where he had parked Fenrir and opened up the compartments. They had been a project he had been working on since he'd ordered the Fusion Swords from Okazaki Sensei. For the first time he actually had blades to store in them and he carefully placed them in each individual slot.

He had just put the First Sword in its last compartment when he noticed Denzel standing behind him. Placing his maintenance kit into one last storage container on the bike he turned around. "Is something up?" he asked.

"My mom and dad…" Denzel said. "They're not dead… are they?"

Cloud tried to think how to answer this. He knew he didn't want to make promises he couldn't keep, especially with the unconditional trust in the boy's eyes. He glanced over at Zack, who was talking quietly with Aerith, and wondered what he would do. Surely whatever he himself came up with wouldn't be nearly as helpful. After a moment, he knelt down next to his motorcycle, checking the condition of the engine and the tires before facing the boy at eye level. "The truth is it's not looking very good right now…" He immediately regretted that as he saw the kid's eyes widen with worry. "But…" he continued, "We can't know for sure until we get in there. There's going to be a lot happening in Midgar, but we will look for them."

Denzel nodded but didn't really say anything.

Cloud was silently hoping what he'd said was the right thing when his shadow asked another question. "What's it going to be like out there tomorrow?"

"Pretty scary," Cloud replied as he stood, dusting off his gloved hands. "But we aren't going to lose. That's for sure."

"Of course you won't!" Denzel nodded in agreement and Cloud was relieved to see the kid seemed to relax a little. At least that couldn't mean he'd completely screwed up, right? He noticed Tifa walking over to join them.

"Don't worry about a thing," she said, smiling at the boy as she put a hand on Cloud's shoulder. "I'll be riding with Cloud tomorrow, and we'll do everything we can, okay?"

Denzel nodded. "Thanks…" he said.

"There you are, 'General Fair.'" The three of them looked up to see Genesis glide around the corner of the building with the grace of a cat. He was grinning a little at the sound of the title from his own mouth. "I don't know if I'll get used to that after all that time you spent as a fugitive."

"What is it Genesis?" Zack asked from across the yard.

"I was simply wondering if you had the chance to see after my sword." The tone of his voice clearly indicated he thought that to be far more important than anything else that was going on.

Zack sighed. "Yes, I did, it should be coming in on our next flight from Widblain."

Genesis gave him a look of surprise. "You've been keeping it that close to Banora? It seems almost a shame then. I could have simply picked it up."

"What are you going to do there?" Aerith asked curiously.

"That is none of your business," Genesis replied.

Zack cleared his throat, and spoke quickly, clearly trying to head off any arguments. "Actually, the plane should be coming in pretty soon. Cid told me he detected it on the Highwind's radar not that long ago. Why don't we go out to the airfield?"

"Perhaps we should," the red-headed SOLDIER agreed. The two of them started in that direction, and once he was sure Fenrir was secure, Cloud decided to follow after them. He wasn't sure how much he trusted Genesis, to be honest. Based on what he'd heard of Zack's stories of him, the man was unpredictable. Not something you wanted under these circumstances.

Half a second later however, he noticed he wasn't the only one doing some following. Denzel had apparently opted to trail after him. He paused, allowing the boy to fall in step next to him, though he wasn't entirely sure if there was something he should do or say to acknowledge this allowance. He settled for continuing on in silence while the kid walked slightly faster to keep pace with him. He shouldn't be out for too long, given the Geostigma, but Cloud decided for now to let it be.

They followed Zack and Genesis towards the town square, leaving the others behind at the safe house and then out the gates to the open field where an even distribution of GUARDIAN and Shinra personnel had set out the boundaries for their airfield. A small shed with a couple of generators attached to it had been set up for the air traffic controllers and Zack led them in that direction, after nodding to one of the guards who was from their side. The emblem sewn onto the simple green uniform the man wore was quite concise. It had been debated on for quite some time among the organization's founding members. But there had been no debate as to the meaning behind it. In the foreground, a single broadsword stood upright, thrust into the ground with the view pointing up at a clear sky in the background. The man saluted at Zack's approach, and maintained it as Cloud followed after, though he seemed slightly curious about the other man and the boy that were with them.

Cloud and Denzel caught up with the other two at the control shed to find Zack returning from inside. "They say the plane should be coming in to land in a couple of minutes," he said. "They just passed over the mountains not that long ago."

Genesis nodded. "Good."

Zack shrugged and leaned against the wall of the shed while Genesis stepped away slightly to watch the sky. After a moment or two, as Cloud and Denzel also stopped to wait near the dark-haired swordsman, Zack called out to the red-head, "So Genesis, I get the whole needing to save the Planet, but there's something else I don't quite get."

"What would that be?" Genesis asked.

"Well," Zack looked up at the sky thoughtfully. "I've been thinking. It seems to me that what Weiss is planning won't exactly help you that much. If he succeeds then this Omega thing'll be constantly hanging over the Planet, threatening to destroy it if the Tsviets don't get their way, and if you're planning to die to save it from… whatever the Planet wants you to save it from… isn't that kind of… not what you want to happen?"

Genesis gave him a withering look. "As long as Mr. Valentine is able to keep that Protomateria of his secure within him, there's no need to worry."

Their conversation was interrupted as their attention was directed to an airplane that was coming in for a landing out on the airfield. It flew around the field before approaching the ground, coasting to a stop on its landing gear. When it came to a complete stop, Cloud saw the door pop open and a couple of familiar figures stepping out onto a set of stairs one of the technicians had rolled up.

Zack also recognized them and gestured that they walk out to join the new arrivals, and offered them a wave.

Jessie waved back, an object wrapped in canvas under one arm, and Dr. Rayleigh smiled as she carried her doctor's bag down the steps. "I found what you asked for Zack!" Jessie called as they came within earshot.

"Great," Zack said. He accepted the canvassed item from her. "Thanks for bringing it."

"It was no trouble," Jessie said. "I did volunteer to help Shalua with tech support after all!"

"I know she'll be grateful for that," Zack agreed, turning his attention to the Doctor. "It's good to see you both made it safely. I know the field hospital is already dealing with its share of issues."

The doctor nodded. "I've brought as many supplies and volunteers from the Mideel clinics as I can."

"Great," the group walked back over towards the air-traffic-control station and he motioned for one of the other GUARDIAN troopers who had been waiting there to come over. "If you would," he said, show the Doctor and her helpers over toward the hospital, and then take Jessie over to our own intelligence center."

The soldier nodded and Zack turned back to the new arrivals. "I'd love to chat, but we've got a battle to get ready for."

"Of course," Rayleigh agreed. "We'll see you later then."

After the two walked out of sight, along with the rest of the plane's passengers, Cloud saw him hand the canvas-covered object over to Genesis. "I hope this is what you've been looking for."

Genesis' expression lit up as he removed the canvas and Cloud finally saw that it had been covering a familiar red steel blade. The swordsman was looking over its condition with apparent approval. "It's in good condition I see. I suppose you were able to retrieve it before it accumulated too much rust, and you cleaned it properly," he murmured.

"Yeah," Zack said, before bringing the conversation back to the matter at hand. "The truth is, we don't know anything about how Vincent can keep that thing safe, we're not even entirely sure what the Protomateria does at this point. Are you sure you want to take that chance?"

Genesis was silent as he considered his erstwhile enemy's question. "The wind sails over the water's surface, Quietly, but surely."

With that, he sheathed the sword and to Cloud's surprise, a single black wing shot out of the man's back. Without another word, the man took flight, disappearing in the direction of the mountains to the east of town.

* * *

><p><strong>June 20<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 4:00 PM**

Vincent once again stood at the window in the computer lab where Shalua and Shelke had been working for the last couple of hours. Once Jessie had joined them, things had gone a bit faster.

"So once we finish with this equipment, you'll be able to fix that data Doctor Crescent put together?" Jessie finished screwing shut the casing for one of the computers as she asked the question.

"Correct," Shelke confirmed. "As I explained, I should be able to resolve the errors on the virtual network. This should help us get a clearer picture of the details of her thesis, on which Professor Hojo based his own efforts."

"With any luck," Shalua agreed. "I think I'm all set over here. What about you Jess?"

"I put it all together, just like you told me," Jessie confirmed.

"In that case, let's begin," Shelke walked over to the reclining chair in the corner of the room around which another one of those bell-shaped devices had been set and picked up the headgear she'd been working with earlier that morning. After sitting down, she prepared to put the headgear on, though Shalua walked over and stopped her for a moment. "Is there anything else you need?" she asked.

"I have everything for commencing the data repair procedure," Shelke confirmed. "From here on in, I will be completely self-sufficient."

"Just… be careful," Shalua said. "We still have so much to catch up on."

Out of the corner of his eye, Vincent saw the door open, revealing Zack, Cloud, Reeve, and surprisingly, Yuffie entering the room.

"If you say so…" Shelke paused as she considered this before lowering the headgear over her brow until her eyes were obscured. "Engaging Synaptic Net Dive in three… two… one…" her body sagged slightly against the back of the chair as her consciousness was more fully devoted to existing within the virtual network and Vincent noticed that a small holoscreen in the center of the room had started glowing.

The new arrivals climbed the stairs to the balcony so they wouldn't be in the way of the two women working below. "So they already got started?" Zack asked.

Vincent nodded. "Just now."

"We would have gotten here sooner," Reeve said, "But our briefing for our own forces ran a little longer than we anticipated. Not only that but Veld needed to make sure everyone was using cleared communication channels."

Vincent nodded, turning his attention back to the scene below. "How are the men handling things?" he asked.

"They seem to understand what's going on," Cloud answered.

"We'll show those Deepgrounders a thing or two!" Yuffie said. "I can hardly wait to take a crack at'em myself. Once they see the White Rose of Wutai's coming after them, there's no way they'll do anything but run for their lives!"

"We can only hope," Vincent said trying to conceal a wry smile below his collar. At that point, everyone's attention was drawn to the projector down below.

"Wow…" Yuffie breathed. Everyone quickly moved to close any window shades that might be open as the projector was now showing a holographic image of the universe. Stars and galaxies floated through the room, reminding Vincent very much of Bugenhagen's observatory. However, he was completely unprepared to hear Lucrecia's voice echo through the room.

"_Just as we return to the Planet when our life-light has faded, the planet returns to the cosmos when her time has come."_

The image began to focus in on a particular galaxy, going deeper into it, passing clouds of gas, meteorites, stars and comets of all shapes and sizes until finally centering on a single planet Vincent recognized as their own. Lucrecia's voice continued. _"Anything that has definite shape will one day cease to exist. The same is true for this world. Before she takes her final breath, the pure lifestreams that flow freely beneath her crust will be brought together into one… by Omega. The ultimate lifeform. His purpose? To gather all life, sentient and non, and lead it into the sea of stars, where it will embark on a fabulous journey, along a road untraveled."_

A great cataclysm hit the planet within the image, as the Lifestream gathered at a singular focal point and fire and destruction reigned on the rest of the globe. Soon, the lifestream was jettisoned off the world, leaving it empty and barren. _"However, when Omega has lifted the life from this planet, all that will remain will be an empty shell destined to die silently, in the limitless void of space." _The universe faded back into the room as Lucrecia continued to speak. "_Omega is of the beings often identified as WEAPONs, and Chaos will herald its awakening…"_

"All of that's interesting," Yuffie said, "but its stuff we already sort of know, isn't it."

"Perhaps," Shalua said. "But, on the other hand, it looks like there are several other files in here," she had sat down at one of the computer terminals and was scrolling through a series of documents as Lucrecia's voice had gone silent. She paused. "It seems she left some notes here. Most of them do seem to confirm what we already know, but…"

Vincent walked down the stairs to stand behind her and read over her shoulder. _"Omega Reports… On Chaos… My conscience tells me that I must leave some sort of record documenting all that I have attempted. That which slumbers within him… The antithesis of Omega… Chaos… Soul wrought of terra corrupt… Before Omega begins his journey to the sea of stars, Chaos will Scourge the world of all things living, sending them back to the Lifestream… Only to be left with the burden of bearing the discarded remains of a dying world. And it was I who… I am so sorry…"_ His eyes fell to a different file, that was labeled "Protomateria" and began to read the note attached to that one. _"I have determined the materia found by Dr. Valentine at the fountain of Chaos to be a type of refined anti-matter formed within the grotto over the past several millennia. I believe the Planet created this instrument out of necessity as a means to control Chaos and prolong its own inevitable fate. By controlling Chaos, the Planet also succeeds in preventing the advent of Omega. If Chaos is allowed to fulfill his destiny of destruction, Omega's awakening cannot be far behind. That is why I…"_

A realization dawned on him at that point and he stepped away to stand by one of the windows as the others went to take a look at Shalua's computer monitor.

"Only to be left with the burden of bearing the discarded remains of a dying world…" Reeve mused. "That can't mean…"

"Possibly," Vincent said. "I don't know. There is a lot we still don't know."

"Like how we can protect this Protomateria," Zack agreed. "I'm starting to wonder if it's safe for you to be out on the battlefield tomorrow."

"I should be all right," Vincent said.

"Regardless," Zack said, "I'm going to be sticking close to you. We can't be taking chances."

"Definitely not," Reeve agreed. It was at that moment when Vincent noticed that Shelke had removed the headgear and was resting on the chair.

"If that's how it must be," Vincent said.

She noticed him watching her and said softly "Vincent Valentine…"

He walked a little closer. "What?" he asked.

"This feeling, is this what you meant, by doing something for someone you care about?"

"Perhaps…" Vincent said.

She smiled. "Dr. Crescent's data has begun defragmenting within my mind. I can see many different images. Images she experienced with you. Interference… recovery… so… so tired…"

Vincent gave the girl a last look before rejoining the others, though he noticed Shalua carrying a blanket over to her sister and pulling it over her so she could rest.

* * *

><p><strong>June 21st [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 1:00 AM<strong>

_Vincent was sitting by the pond in Lucrecia's cavern, looking up at her form, and hearing the whispers about the cave. "I… I saw you again… Just like you were all those years ago… But Lucrecia… is it true? Even so, I'm still the one to blame… I couldn't stop you… I just…"_

"_I'm… sorry…" A voice answered._

"_Lucrecia?" Vincent asked._

_The world seemed to fade into the depths of his subconscious as Lucrecia's words echoed after him… "I'm so sorry…"_

_The next thing he knew, he found himself in a world of pain. The thought of a young girl lying on the ground floated just out of focus. "Sis… it hurts… please… come save me…" Those thoughts were not his own…_

His eyes opened and he found himself sitting up in a corner of the safehouse. That girl in the image… Shalua? Then… He shook his head. Now was not the time to be troubled by such things. There was a battle to be fought, starting in a few mere hours. He could not let himself be distracted right now.

* * *

><p><strong>June 21st [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 5:00 AM<strong>

The sun had just breached the horizon when Zack awoke the next morning. He and Aerith had been sleeping in one of the rooms of the safehouse and now that they were up, they wordlessly went about preparations for the day. Aerith was making sure her staff and materia were in order as Zack debated what sword he was going to use. He could take the broadsword with him, but something about the situation told him no. He would be leading an entire army… and somehow as his eyes fell on the Buster Sword, he realized it was time. He was ready.

Taking up the blade with his left hand he secured it on his back and he and Aerith walked out onto the landing to find Cloud waiting for them, his own swords prepared, and Tifa standing next to him, her fighting gloves donned. Down below, he saw Freya with her shotgun over her shoulder and Kunsel with his gunblade slung across his back. Walking down the stairs, he saw Nanaki checking that his own equipment was in order as Barret finished some last-minute maintenance on his gun-arm. Upon going outside, he saw that Yuffie was holding her shuriken in one hand while Cid was balancing his spear over one shoulder. Off in the distance, he saw the Highwind, ready to depart, and he knew, it was time to go.

Elfe and Shears stood nearby, ready to join them at the front. They would be providing support to the medics on the field. Once everyone who had been at the safe house was assembled, Zack silently gestured that they walk across town to the air field. As one, everyone made their way in that direction, and Zack could see women and children looking out the windows as they passed. Most of the able-bodied men along with several women had volunteered once it became clear what the repercussions of failure would be. This was it.

They soon walked out of the city gates and through the refugee camp until at long last, they had reached the airfield and the Highwind, although at that point, he had a surprise waiting for him. Argento and Shelke also stood there, and that had been expected, along with Liz, the other Turk who had returned from the operation to remove the Restrictors, however Rufus, Tseng, Veld, and Elena were also there, as well as a familiar man in a red duster.

"So you decided to come back?" he asked.

"Even if the morrow is barren of promises, nothing shall forestall my return. It occurred to me that perhaps you did need my assistance after all," Genesis said haughtily.

"As for ourselves," Rufus said. "We thought it appropriate to see you off, given the possibility you might not be coming back."

"I'd rather not think about it," Zack said. "But think about this Rufus, if we don't, what's left between you and them?"

Rufus smiled. "Let's hope we don't find out."

"For once, I think we totally agree," Kunsel said.

With that, Cid led the way up the ladder into the Highwind and once everyone was on the bridge he took the helm. Zack walked to the front of the deck looking out over the village and refugee camp. The truth was, they couldn't fail. The entire world was counting on them. "Cid?" he said. "Let's get going."

"Roger that, General."

With that, the airship lifted higher into the air and made its way west to where their forces would be set up on the edge of the wastes.

* * *

><p><em>Next chapter, the battle for Midgar begins! Don't miss it!<em>


	66. The Longest Day Part 1

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spin-offs That honor goes to Square-Enix.

SOLDIER 1st Class Bradley, SOLDIER 2nd Class Eli, General Kant, General Hume, and General Nietzche are original characters.

**Part III: Demons**

* * *

><p>Chapter 66, The Longest Day Part 1<p>

**June 21st [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 6:00 AM**

Cloud watched the ground fly by underneath the Highwind as they neared the place where they were planning to meet the oncoming Deepground troops. In the morning light, the wastes look pale and empty, though he could see the canyons, hills, and ravines off in the distance, marking the last barrier between Kalm and Midgar.

"It's something, isn't it," Zack said after a moment.

"Yeah," Cloud agreed. "And there's still a long way to go."

Zack nodded, holding Aerith close as they all watched the army they would be leading come into view below them. It was huge, made up of every available trooper and SOLDIER Rufus could divert from Junon, every man and woman they could draw from their own reserves, and every volunteer they could find. Cloud could see several of Shinra's other airships and fighter planes soaring through the sky on patrol, and the artillery units from the mechanized division that had formerly been Scarlet's.

"You just make sure you all survive long enough to kick the Tsviet's asses," Cid chimed in. "Remember, if you live, everyone behind ya lives, if you die, everyone behind you dies. If any of you don't make it, I'll personally follow you to hell, drag you back, and kill ya again."

"How inspiring," Freya chuckled derisively. "But no worries there, we'll make it. After all, we're here now, and there is definitely something waiting for us on that horizon."

"It's ironic," Elfe said. "Once, we tried to destroy that city out there, but now we're going to liberate it."

"From the last of Shinra's mistakes," Shears finished for her.

"For those who have died, and those who still live," Nanaki said.

"And those who want to keep living and stealing materia!" Yuffie chimed in.

"I don't know about stealing materia," Barret said, "But we're gonna show those #$&$^#* what happens to folks who wanna rule the Planet!"

"We'll make sure it isn't destroyed before its time," Aerith said.

"And save who we can!" Tifa added.

"No matter what happens," Kunsel said, "We have to win."

Everyone let out a whoop as the Highwind landed near the front and Cloud saw Zack looking thoughtful as he led the way towards the hold, where Fenrir waited along with the heavier equipment. As he carried out the final check on his motorcycle, he heard Aerith ask his friend "Is everything all right?"

"Yeah, it's fine," Zack said. "Just thinking about what we're going to say to the troops when we get out there. It's more than just saving the world. This is also a chance for us all to regain something. I want them to know that." Just as Cloud finished making sure his swords were secure, he noticed Shelke watching them from the door.

"This is true," Vincent said. Cloud hid a small smile as Zack nearly jumped in surprise. The Ex-Turk had come up right next to him without him even noticing.

The swordsman gave the Turk a wry grin. "Haven't I asked you not to do that?"

"Perhaps," Vincent said. "The latest reports are that we should be making contact with Deepground's forces in approximately half an hour."

"All right then," Zack said. "Let's make sure we're ready." He turned his attention to Aerith. "You be careful, all right?"

She nodded. "You too, you're the one who's going to be in the thick of things."

He smiled. "Yeah." With that he gave her a last kiss.

"Don't worry," Shears said, walking up behind them, "Me and Elfe'll look after her."

"You'd better," Zack said, giving the martial artist a serious look.

Cloud felt a tap on his shoulder and looked behind him to see Tifa. "Are you ready?" she asked.

He nodded and mounted Fenrir, gesturing that she get on behind him. "Hang on tight," he said. "It's time to go." That was the last thing he heard before the cargo hatch opened up and he pulled on a pair of sunglasses to block the sunlight filtering in from outside. As he rolled the motorcycle out, he found the Highwind surrounded by men, SOLDIERs, troopers, GUARDIAN, and militia members from the local villages alike. It was jarring to see this many people in one place, and as he rode ahead he could hear people calling out in recognition that GUARDIAN's leaders were here to lead the assault. Finally he reached the front of the line and waited for the others to catch up. Zack soon came after, the Buster Sword on his back, with Kunsel and Vincent next to him. The others were spreading out, Barret and Liz headed towards the artillery, while Freya, Yuffie, and Nanaki were taking positions further down in the other direction.

Zack walked forward a little until he was standing on one of the higher rocks, and Cloud heard several of the people around them muttering, wondering what would happen next. He then recognized Eli a short distance away, and on the other side, he saw a man Kunsel had identified as Bradley, who had been given the leadership position for SOLDIER after Heidegger had been arrested.

He saw Zack raise a pair of binoculars and look out on the wastes as the Highwind lifted into the air behind their forces. Tifa gripped his shoulder nervously. The entire army was silent save for a few murmurs from the back. After a moment, Zack lowered the binoculars and then looked back at the people that would be under his command, and he pulled a headset out of his pocket, clipping it to his ear and adjusting the microphone. "All right," he said, "can everyone hear me?"

His voice echoed out of a couple of speakers on a few of the tanks in the area.

"Loud and clear!" Someone called from the back.

"Great!" Zack said. "Because Deepground is about twenty minutes away right now, and before we get out there, I have some things to say."

With deliberation, he walked to the top of the rock looking out at the empty wastes before taking a deep breath and turning to face everyone as a stiff breeze blew across the silent, empty hills. "I just want you all to know, this battle is bigger than any we've ever fought. Yesterday we talked about tactics and what units are stationed where, but there's much more here than just soldiers and officers and mech units. The size of the army we're facing may not be the same as what SOLDIER faced when they fought Shinra's wars in Wutai, but this is a different kind of fight. Then, it was a fight to control a country. Right now, we're fighting for something far different. We're fighting to protect ourselves from our own shadows. The darkness that lay below Midgar is rising up to try and end the world as we know it. This power didn't come from nowhere. It was a power we helped to create when we gave ourselves to the Shinra company."

"Our friends were taken by it, our families became victims of it, and for years, we quietly let the old president do as he wanted with it. Deepground is everything that is wrong about the Shinra company. The shadow of SOLDIER, the dark side of its soul. I think you've heard the stories GUARDIAN has told through rumors. About a guy named Professor Hojo, who used SOLDIER for his own ends, of Heidegger and Scarlet, who tried to use Deepground to take over the world, and you know very well that Weiss the Immaculate's trying to do the same." he drew the Buster Sword, letting it catch the light of the morning sun.

"Back when I was in SOLDIER, there was a man who said we had to have dreams to aspire to, pride in what we were, and honor in our position as Shinra's best fighters. That man's name was Angeal Hewley, and this is his sword!" He lifted it higher so that everyone could see. "After the Genesis incident, we were forced to hunt him down like a dog. A good man, simply because he was a failed experiment. It was this kind of thinking that spawned Deepground in the first place. We allowed this to happen, because we blindly trusted. For that our dreams were taken, our pride was stripped away as was our humanity with the threat of becoming living experiments, and our honor was tarnished as we were forced to turn on our comrades who refused to follow. But no more!"

He turned around and thrust the Buster Sword in the direction of Midgar. "There is the city we once protected, and today, we move to retake it! And not just the city. This is the day we move to save our families still trapped in there. This is the day we protect those people here on this planet that are depending on us! This is the day we regain our dreams of a better future! This is the day we retake our pride as free men! And this is the day SOLDIER and any others who would fight for it… No matter what happens, we will regain our honor, as SOLDIER and as the people of this planet! GUARDIAN stands with you! Do you stand with me?! The time is now! This will be that day!"

As his shouts echoed across the wastes, cheers began to rise from the crowd and as his voice shouted louder over the assembled army, Cloud noticed fewer and fewer people holding back. It was quite probable that not everyone completely agreed with everything he'd said. Some still trusted Shinra, and there was nothing that could be done about that, but with the news that Deepground's troops were approaching, he couldn't help but join in the cheers with Tifa next to him.

After a moment of letting out the tension Zack once again thrust the Buster Sword towards Midgar. "All right, let's move out! If we see this through, we'll be at the city gates by nightfall!" With that, the army started to march towards the next hill. Cloud rode his motorcycle a little ahead, followed by Shinra military transports bearing troopers and helicopters with SOLDIER contingents and he saw Zack pull himself up into the back of one of them as they all rocketed over the wastes. It was not long before they crested over the next rise, and with the wind blowing in his hair, the swordsman saw the forces of their enemies approaching on transports of their own, with footsoldiers, gunmen, and swordsmen poised to do battle in their mako suits and Deepground SOLDIER uniforms, flanked by Black Widows and Heavy Artillery soldiers. He saw their own troops run into the fray, guns blazing, and with Tifa grabbing a strong hold around his waist, he reached for the First Sword and gunned his engine, driving Fenrir straight into the heart of the nearest cluster of enemies, cleaving several of the oncoming combatants when he strafed past them, his Wall materia flashing as he brought up the magical shield. Bullets were already pelting off it as he flew by.

He caught sight of a powerful Ice spell off to his left that Tifa had just cast. In his rearview mirrors he had already spotted Zack disembarking to join Vincent in fighting off several other gunmen though the others were all too far down the line for him to tell where they were. After that, his awareness was only dedicated to the enemies that were around him, and he brought Fenrir around for another pass, this time with a mastered Bio spell dispersing in his wake.

* * *

><p>After landing on the ground, Zack retrieved the Buster Sword from his back and charged, focusing his energy on a Wall and rushing into the fray. As the familiar shield enveloped him he lifted his blade higher, blocking one of the regular SOLDIERs in Deepground's command before whirling around and decapitating the man. He was about to turn his attention towards his next opponent when a gunshot rang out and he saw a third Deepground soldier drop to the ground. Vincent lowered his weapon before moving to cover the swordsman's back.<p>

Off in the distance he spotted the tail of a familiar red duster. Genesis was moving through the soldiers coming at him in an elegant flurry of strikes with Rapier. Argento was also near him, and with each blow from her broadsword another enemy soldier fell. Volleys were being traded left and right as were sword strikes as the other SOLDIERs and regulars of their own army followed them into the fray. That was when up ahead he spotted a Black Widow flanked by a pair of helicopter-like vehicles Rufus's intelligence had identified as Dragonflies coming over the hill.

Running up the incline, he downed a couple more Deepground soldiers before hopping lightly up onto the Widow's outer hull. Several other soldiers shot at him as he did so, but his Wall held and Vincent fired off five shots behind him. With the Dragonflies now in range, he deployed a Fire 3 at one of the helicopters, and its fuel tanks quickly exploded as he turned his attention to driving the Buster Sword directly into the hull of the Widow. Metal screeched as he dug into the armored vehicle and soon, the blade found the engine. The Widow sputtered, its legs collapsing to the ground as the joints and engine sparked. He was backing away from the tank so as not to get caught in the blast he was expecting when the other Dragonfly went up in a conflagration and he noticed Genesis was in the air, his wing out and his sword aflame. He reminded himself to thank the man later. For now his attention was required elsewhere. He signaled that Vincent should follow him in the direction of another Widow and they began the process of fighting through the Deepground army anew, bullets continuing to sing around them.

* * *

><p><strong>June 21st [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 9:00 AM<strong>

Barret was riding atop one of Shinra's military transport trucks, guns blazing into the fray as they slowly made their way further into the thick of things, surrounded by variety of artillery units, including a second Motor Ball unit that had been pulled from Shinra's reserve in Junon. Several of the walkers up ahead were advancing on some Deepground regulars as the truck pulled to a halt. The last couple of hours had been a flurry of skirmishes as their unit had been fighting down three or four companies. The smoke and dirt flying through the air from the mess was making it a lot more difficult to tell friend from foe until they got up close.

Barret adjusted his gunarm, replacing the clip. They were slowly making headway into the canyons separating Kalm from Midgar, but that would make the passing even more treacherous. The road they were rolling along was open and their rear well defended, but further down on either side, he was certain their allies would be weeding out the enemy for quite some time. His attention was directed at that moment towards a pair of Heavy Armored Soldiers and he unleashed another barrage from his gunarm. He had to duck off the truck as a pair of missiles flew in his direction. Fortunately the vehicle got off unscathed but one of their helicopters went down behind him. With the inferno at his back, he opened fire again, hitting both soldiers squarely in the face, before he detected the sound of two powerful punches behind him. When the soldiers went down, he saw that Liz had appeared behind him, dusting off her hands.

"Thanks Turk," he said gruffly.

"Don't thank me yet," the mercenary replied. "We've been given the order to advance further. Intelligence says we'll be coming up against some of the higher level Tsviets soon. How are the ammunition supplies for this squad?"

Barret looked around at the mechanized units in their group. "We should be all right to last the next couple of hours."

"Good," Liz began. It was only at that moment when Barret caught the glint of a rifle up on the ridge and pulled Liz down below him, firing several rounds in the sniper's direction.

"They think they're so bad," he scoffed. "We'll show'em what's what!"

"Great, you continue on your route." Liz turned her attention to some of the SOLDIERs. "I want a few of you up on the ridges now looking for other snipers. Get to it!"

Barret nodded in approval as the SOLDIERs followed the order and turned his attention to the road ahead of the squad. There was no telling when the next unit of Deepgrounders would appear.

* * *

><p><strong>June 21st [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 10:00 AM<strong>

The sun was getting higher in the sky as Cid piloted the Highwind over the canyons. The weapons systems were functioning perfectly and they'd had a certain amount of success with deploying operatives further down behind enemy lines. They'd had a few near misses with Dragonflies over the course of the morning, but overall, the Highwind had managed to win out in terms of firepower. It was a much larger aircraft than a helicopter, and therefore capable of carrying much heavier missiles.

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard Shelke at the ship's computer station. "Detecting several PT Class Dragonflies on the approach from our eleven. They seem to be deploying heat seekers."

"Cargo bay! Decoys! On the double!" he yelled into the speakers.

"_Done sir!" _a voice echoed over the radio.

"Brace for a hard right!" Cid turned the wheel and just out of the side of the window he saw evidence of several explosions where the Highwind had just been situated before an even larger one racked its way throught the ship. "Status! What the hell was that!" Cid demanded.

"A pair of B1 Alphas just went down a short distance away," Shelke reported. "The pilots managed to bail out, but they still need to be recovered by an emergency crew. Damage to the Highwind minimal."

"They're gonna pay for that!" Cid growled. "Return fire on my signal! Let's teach these #$%^&!#$ a lesson!"

It wasn't long before several Dragonflies crashed into the wastes below, victims of the Highwind's own missile stockpile.

* * *

><p><strong>June 21st [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 12:00 PM<strong>

Kunsel was creeping along a deep ravine with Eli behind him along with several other SOLDIERs. The sun was directly overhead as they made their way through the rocky crags. Fortunately the ravine was sheltered in such a way that snipers would have a very difficult time interfering in the event of an ambush, but he could still hear the sounds of bullets and clanging swords echoing off the walls every now and then as conflict raged over and around the surrounding area.

Up ahead he could see the ravine was starting to open back out, giving a pretty good view of the next few hills and he motioned that a couple of the other SOLDIERs check the walls. The others were taking a moment to rest a little when his PHS buzzed. "Yes?" he said as he brought the com device to his ear.

"_We're detecting an enemy infantry unit a short distance from your next checkpoint," _He heard Jessie say on the other end. _"There's a high chance you'll need to engage in order to reach it._"

"Roger that."

Hanging up the PHS he waited for his two sentries to return. Upon reentering the ravine a few moments later, they walked up to him. "Report," he said immediately.

"Not much in the immediate area," one of the 3rds reported. "We found a few spent rifle clips." He showed him the cartridges.

"Good work," Kunsel said, turning to some of the men nearby. "Eli?"

The 2nd Class looked up from where he was talking to a couple of the other SOLDIERs. "Yeah?"

Kunsel pulled out a map and laid it out on the ground so everyone could see. "After this ravine opens out, we've got a spot where another hill causes the path to fork. I want you to take half the squad, on the left side. Stay under cover. It'll take you around the hill and should hopefully get that enemy unit from behind. I'll take the other guys to the right and run interference, since that's the way they're most likely to try any second advances."

"How do you know that?" One of the younger 3rds asked.

"Don't they still give you guys field training out here?" Kunsel returned.

"Most of it was all sims after you left," Eli said, grinning sheepishly.

Kunsel rolled his eyes. "Of course. Heidegger. Just follow your superiors, they'll know the route." He indicated a line along the topography of the hill with the point of his Gunblade. "All of you 2nds, I know you had me for orienteering. So get to it!"

"You got it Sir!" Eli said with a grin and turned to his half of the squad. "All right. Follow me, we're moving out!" Once they were away, Kunsel turned to his remaining SOLDIERs and gestured they follow him down the path on the other side of the hill. He walked quickly at the head of the line, eyes alert for anything that might indicate the enemy's presence, his gunblade at the ready. Though he could hear the sounds of aerial combat overhead, and the sound of machine guns nearby, he had yet to locate the source of the latter. Even so, things seemed to be all right when they neared the other side of the hill.

A gunshot rang echoed off the hillside and Kunsel spotted a Deepground soldier drop to the ground from where he'd been holding a rifle. He immediately looked in the other direction and saw Freya slip out of the bushes, with a couple of scouts in GUARDIAN uniforms. "Thanks," he said.

She grinned. "Don't mention it." The two of them looked up in the direction the enemy soldier had been advancing from and they spotted several more coming their way. "Looks like it's time to see how much more damage a Turk can do than a SOLDIER, huh?" Freya gave him a crazy grin, pulling back the slide on her shotgun to reload.

"That a challenge?" Kunsel asked, before firing a round from his gunblade, causing another advancing enemy soldier to drop.

"What else would it be?" Freya said. She had brought up her shotgun to line up her next kill.

"You're on." Kunsel answered, his tone dead serious, before he raced forward, leading the charge as several of his SOLDIER brethren fanned out ready to take positions on different parts of the hill. Freya caught up with him, taking point next to him as her riflemen took up positions. He brought his gunblade up and around in a wide arc to counter an opponent wielding a sword before his next strike swiftly cut his enemy to the ground. He could hear the lady Turk pause to aim a shotgun blast at three more Deepgrounders. Two of them dropped and another was cut down by one of the other SOLDIERs.

The brown-haired ex-SOLDIER and the lady Turk raced across the battle field occasionally cutting down enemies. At one point, Kunsel heard a bullet whiz by and stopped to fire his gunblade at another Deepground soldier that was aiming for his compatriot's head. She had just spotted it and ducked, firing a blast of her own through the brush. "Was that yours, or mine?" she asked when the man dropped.

"I think it was me," Kunsel said.

"You sure?" she asked. Their banter was interrupted when a flash of red loped down from a nearby cliff, followed by a Conformer which deftly connected with another enemy soldier's head.

"Hey guys! I'm here!" The ninja landed next to Nanaki, catching her conformer out of the air before touching the ground.

"We've got something big headed this way!" The red lion said. "It appears to be one of their Black Widow units, though it seems to be more heavily armored." His tail swished impatiently.

"In that case, everyone get to cover, we'll take it as it heads near that canyon over there," Kunsel ordered. "Move it people!"

Everyone retreated to cover and waited. After a moment, the mechanical monstrosity appeared over the ridge they'd just occupied. He sincerely hoped Eli hadn't been too early in getting to the next point on the map because that thing looked like it might have been headed straight from their next checkpoint. After a moment, he reached into his pack, producing a grenade. A couple of his other SOLDIERs did the same, and after pulling the pin out, they each threw their explosives in unison and ducked for cover. He ground erupted around the Widow and once he was certain the way was clear, Kunsel ran forward, putting up a wall as Freya loaded her weapon with single-shot slugs. Machine gun fire peppered the ground around him and he rolled under the machine as several of his squad sparred with the Deepground soldiers escorting the mech. Looking at the underbelly of the thing, he thrust his gunblade up with all his might cutting into the hull with all the strength a SOLDIER could muster.

Once he felt the blade penetrate through the hull, he fired several shots. Sparks flew and he pulled free just before a small explosion wracked its way through mech, sending out a small shockwave. The swordsman had just spotted another Heavy Armored Deepground Soldier coming their way when he heard a gunshot behind him. Sparing a glance, he saw Freya running up after him and an enemy SOLDIER dropping to the ground. She took up a position behind him, covering his advance.

"You all right?" she asked.

He turned his attention back to the Heavy Soldier and fired two bullets from his own weapon. One of them went wild, but the other connected with the man's chest. "Perfect," he said. He was about to fire another shot when a conformer flew out from behind the rocks they'd been sheltering under.

"Yeah!" He turned to see Yuffie jump up and down in celebration. "We got him!"

"Shouldn't we celebrate later?" Nanaki said, padding up next to Kunsel.

Kunsel let out a breath and took stock of their men. Most of them seemed to be all right, with a scratch or a wound here or there, however a couple of his 3rd Class SOLDIERs lay still on the ground where they'd fallen to the Widow's machine gun fire. "All right," he said, raising his voice to take charge of the situation. "We'll give ourselves a moment to patch ourselves up and then we'll continue to the check point. We can't keep Eli waiting." They'd been lucky this time, even with a couple of casualties. Even so, they were managing to advance, and every step closer to Midgar, meant a few less innocents might die at Weiss's hands.

* * *

><p><strong>June 21st [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 2:00 PM<strong>

The sun had almost been blotted out by the smoke from gunfire and explosions as Zack and Vincent hurried along a cliffside that ran parallel with a ravine. They'd been making good progress so far. Midgar was almost within sight, he just knew it, and it would probably take the rest of the day to fight their way to the city gates. The Deepgrounders had been falling back for the most part, something he was grateful for, though he and Vincent had been keeping an eye out for any sign of more powerful adversaries.

Vincent materialized next to him. "How are things on the other side of the cliff?" Zack asked.

"The others seem to be holding their own," Vincent said.

"Good…"

At that moment, Zack's PHS buzzed and he hit the button that would direct the call to his headset. "Yes?"

"_The satellite is sending us data indicating the chips corresponding to Rosso the Crimson and Azul the Cerulean are nearing your combat zone. Prepare to intercept."_

"Thanks Shelke. Just keep doing that great job as our eye in the sky, okay? We're counting on you!"

There was a silence and then the girl on the other end answered _"No one's ever 'counted on me' before General. It feels rather strange."_

"No worries, I'm still having trouble getting used to being called 'General' and it's been months since that started." Zack said with a grin as he crept further, bringing his voice low. "It's actually kind of nice to be counted on, isn't it?"

Shelke considered. _"Maybe, but I need to get back to my duties."_

"Don't worry, you're doing fine. Over and out." Zack hung up and crept over the hill, his hand already on the grip of the Buster Sword. He could hear Vincent behind him, Cerberus at the ready. The two of them rushed over the summit and hurried back down the dip to the other side. A swordsman and his shadow under the darkened skies. They were nearing the next portion of the ravine, and another cliff loomed overhead on the other side when Zack felt the vibrations of something very large approaching through the ground beneath his boots. He paused, looking out over the path ahead and he went into a forward stance, his weapon in a guard position, a Wall spell coming into existence.

Vincent stood at his left at the base of the hill and they waited as the origin of the vibrations approached, coming into visible distance as he stepped out of the haze of exploded dirt and smoke.

Azul's eyes lit up and he grinned wickedly upon seeing the two men. "There you are," he said, lifting up the hand cannon he was carrying.

Zack adjusted his grip on the Buster Sword. "Yup, here we are." There was no point in exchanging pleasantries at this time. He ran forward dodge-rolling as he went to avoid being hit by the blast of a shot Azul had been aiming at his head before bringing up the sword to connect with the handcannon's barrel, finding himself in what was for him, the unusual position of being faced with a fighter taller than himself. As Azul pushed down on the shorter man's blade, Zack narrowed his eyes at his opponent, pushing back through the deadlock. Even with his own advanced strength, he could feel Azul's raw power through the force applied, but he had not been training all these months for nothing. He could withstand this crushing force for at least a few more seconds.

At the edge his awareness Vincent appeared at the top of the nearest hill and aimed, firing directly at Azul's head, causing the Tsviet to duck out of the way, breaking contact and firing his gun rapidly. Zack dodged into the bushes as Azul sent a line of machine gun fire after Vincent who had begun running quickly across the battlefield, returning fire with a strafing run of several bullets from Cerberus before folding into his cloak and out of danger.

Zack took the opportunity as the gunman vanished to run forward in another assault, however, this time, Azul was too distracted allowing Zack to jump up, a boot landing square in the Tsviet's face before leaping to the wall of the cliff. Using his momentum, he pulled for as much altitude as he could before coming down on his opponent, using gravity to bring the blade hard across Azul's shoulder. Azul blocked again however, his large hand catching the Buster Sword and knocking the swordsman away, down into the ravine.

As he was about to climb out, ready to go in for the next assault, he noticed Vincent reappearing in the branches of a dead tree just above him and fire several shots before fading back into himself and floating up onto another boulder.

"Hold still Vincent!" Azul growled, sending out a shockwave that knocked Zack back down. "I need to make sure you end up like your friend."

Zack chuckled derisively as he pulled himself up once again. "Please." He took a running leap, hopping off the side of the ravine in order to get a good foothold on the cliff walls and land back on his feet in front of the blue giant. "It takes a lot more than that."

To his surprise, Azul stopped firing and began laughing on his own. "Hahahaha! This is how a battle should be! Don't you think so?"

Vincent reappeared nearby, Cerberus aimed at the Tsviet's heart.

"Not really," Zack said. "If it were up to me, we wouldn't be trying to kill each other."

Azul laughed again. "But then what else is there?!" he demanded. "It's that sort of weakness that will be your undoing! Now, feel my truth strength, feel the wrath of Azul the Cerulean!"

With that, their smokey surroundings became brighter than the light of the sun. Zack heard a roar that sounded more like it came from an animal than a man and through his fingers as he tried not to be blinded, he could see that some kind of transformation was taking place. It was the reverse of what had happened with they had been escaping from Midgar. The Behemoth-like beast emerged as the light died and Zack and Vincent were forced to dodge in opposite directions as the monstrous Tsviet charged.

* * *

><p>Cloud and Tifa had gone farther out into the field after the advancement of the gasoline trucks had caught up enough for Fenrir to be refueled and they were currently speeding through a series of plateaus to help support another squad of GUARDIAN soldiers that had advanced further ahead of the main line. His eyes were on the route ahead, scanning for any sign of enemy activity, as the wind blew through his hair and he felt Tifa holding him tight, the ground flying by underneath them.<p>

The way opened out for a bit as Fenrir screamed through the gully and over the next hill before he swerved hard to avoid the next cliff. The speed was exhilarating, and even though motion sickness was always threatening to strike when someone else was driving, the open feeling and the sense of control had been more than enough to dissuade it. The engine roared beneath him, as he prepared himself for the next curve.

A flash of red caught his attention a split second before Tifa raised a hand to indicate it, and both of them leapt from the seat of the motorcycle a split second after he drew the First Sword and slammed on the brakes. Tifa grabbed onto a nearby ledge before pulling herself up while he used his own forward momentum to propel himself towards their opponent. Rosso's blade met his and they were knocked apart by the sheer force of their blows before landing on the ground.

Rosso kicked off the face of the cliff before grabbing a handhold and pulling herself effortlessly over the edge to stand above the two of them. "Vell Cloud Strife, so good to see you again. Vould you and your friend like to play?"

"Do we have a choice?" Tifa asked.

"Probably not," Cloud murmured.

"Get up here, both of you! Or I vill come down and haf my vay with you vhere you stand!" Rosso taunted.

Cloud motioned that Tifa follow him up the path slightly to the right of where they stood. Fortunately, he had slowed Fenrir enough that it was able to come to rest in a stand of bushes nearby, but he would have to fix the paint job at a later time. Right now, he only spared a moment to attach one of the notched blades to the first sword before continuing up the rise.

Upon reaching the top the two of them spotted the Crimson Tsviet who lifted her bowlike weapon and fired off several strafing shots as she ran towards them. Cloud raced through the blasts, dodging and weaving to come at the woman before they traded several strikes. Out of the corner of his eye as her blade clanged against the First Sword he noticed Tifa getting ready to rush the Tsviet from behind. Good. He pressed the assault but the Tsviet reached out with a kick, attempting to trip him. He evaded the maneuver but his rhythm was thrown off sufficiently that her next strike knocked him backwards into the side of a large boulder.

Tifa picked that moment to jump in, running forward and landing a hard kick to the Tsviet's back. Rosso let out a grunt and then turned around, attempting to punch at her with her free hand. Tifa was having none of that and weaved to the side before landing a heavy uppercut to Rosso's chin. The Tsviet staggered for a moment before glaring at the martial artist and ran at her in a charge with a furious battle cry. "You! I'll haf you're head for that!"

Taking advantage of the Tsviet's distraction, Cloud lifted himself up onto the rock and cast a Fire 3 at the Tsviet's back. Unfortunately it missed as she spotted it and rolled to the side. The spell lighted a stand of brush just behind her. The flames crackled under the clouded skies which were starting to become darker overhead, but it had gotten Rosso's attention. She scaled the top of another rock and took a running start. Cloud followed suit and the two met in the air once more, their swords clashing several times before they hit the ground.

Tifa was behind the Tsviet again and Rosso had to back away a couple of steps so that the two of them were at a better angle for her to defend. She was forced to bring up her blade with one hand to defend against one of Cloud's swordstrikes but that left her vulnerable when Tifa used another nearby boulder to push off of and land another kick to her exposed right side.

Rosso was quickly losing her poise, and she let out another angry yell as she attempted to bring her blade around to try and slice Tifa in two, but the martial artist was too fast and was able to duck into a crouch. She attempted a hard side-kick from the ground but Rosso blocked it. It still knocked her back a couple of steps though and put her barely a few feet away from a ledge jutting out from the plateau.

She paused a moment, a crazy smile crossing her face, and she laughed loudly. "Now you vill see vhy they call me Rosso the Crimson!" An eerie red glow culminated around her and her eyes glowed a brighter red than usual. Trying to head off whatever bizarre ability this might be, Cloud lunged and was caught by surprise when the Tsviet stepped to the side directing his blade and therefore the force of his attack over the cliff.

"Cloud!" Tifa called in alarm as his boot found air and he felt himself starting to drop before he disengaged the notched blade and jammed it into the rock face. He slid several feet before the blade stopped, and standing atop it he looked up at the Tsviet, who was aiming her weapon at him, ready to fire any second.

* * *

><p><strong>June 21st [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 2:15 PM<strong>

Elena was standing near Rufus on a balcony overlooking the communications room where Reeve was working busily, alongside Shalua, Veld, and a large number of technicians who were overseeing the war effort. The latest reports were coming to them in a live feed on a screen conveniently set up right in front of them. The battle seemed to be progressing relatively well from where she was standing. Rufus took a sip from a cup of coffee before placing it on a table in front of him. Down below, one of the technicians received an indicator of an incoming call from one of the generals. "Yes?" Reeve answered it.

"_General Kant of the Shinra Infantry reporting. Our troops are making excellent headway and have nearly reached checkpoint Delta in the wastes."_

"Good work, please proceed as soon as the Air Force has provided adequate covering fire," Reeve answered.

Shortly afterward another report came in _"This is General Hume of the Shinra Air Force reporting in from the Gelnika. Commander Highwind of GUARDIAN is in position and all air support units are prepared to launch missiles in preparation for the next phase. We've had some heavy opposition thus far but we've managed to evade too many losses."_

"Excellent," Veld said. "Please continue." He turned his attention to another communication terminal. "General Nietzche, what is the status of the Mechanized division?"

"_We're A-okay down here. Those #$*%&#$ took a big chunk out of us earlier, but Commander Wallace has been keeping the heat off of us and we're good to go…"_

At Shalua's com station another man's voice rang through the speakers "_This is Commander Drake of GUARDIAN. The SOLDIERs are holding out fine in our sector, though our own men have encountered Azul the Cerulean and Rosso the Crimson. General Fair, and Commander Strife have engaged with Commanders Valentine and Lockhart assisting…"_

It was at that moment when she heard Rufus muttering "Is it really that simple?"

"Sir?" Tseng asked.

Rufus looked back at him. "We've been progressing at a relatively steady rate up until now, and only two of the Tsviets have shown themselves. Where could the other two be?"

"Perhaps still maintaining order in the city?" Elena suggested.

"Perhaps," Rufus answered thoughtfully, "Either that or they're planning something we aren't aware of…"

As if on cue, Veld's com-station buzzed another alert.

* * *

><p>Shelke had been working at a com station in a planning room off the Highwind's bridge when suddenly the console sparked and then died. Grabbing her PHS she hurried to the bridge just in time to hear Cid yelling into the ship's radio "Hey! Engine room! What the hell's goin' on down there?! Engine room! Damnit!"<p>

"What is wrong?" Shelke asked.

Cid ground his teeth with agitation. "Don't have a damn clue! All of a sudden the engine levels started droppin' like crazy! We haven't taken any direct hits so everything should be runnin' like clockwork!"

"I will go have a look," Shelke said.

"Thanks," Cid said. "Countin' on ya!"

With that, she turned around and hurried back into the depths of the airship. Upon rounding the last bend of the corridor to reach the engine room she found it aflame with traces of black mist everywhere. "It can't be," she said softly.

"Fancy meeting you here Shelke," a voice came from the corner.

Shelke already knew its owner before she even turned around. "You," she said.

"Quite unexpected," Nero said, stepping out into the room, the black mist swirling around him.

"Why did you come here Nero?" Shelke asked.

"Why?" Nero replied, apparently surprised that Shelke would need clarification on such a thing. "I was… short a few souls, and came to collect." She could almost see a small grin underneath the part of his headgear that obscured his mouth.

"What did you do with the crew?" she pressed further, walking a little closer, her stance guarded.

Nero chuckled at that. "Need you ask? Look around. My mission is complete."

"Oh," at that point she spotted a Cait Sith doll lying on the floor. Probably the Cait #6 unit Reeve had spoken of. She didn't know if robots could be considered noble but the little cat had probably been rendered completely inoperable in his activities to serve GUARDIAN. She took stance, lifting her two EM sabers in preparation for combat.

"And just what do we think we are doing?" Nero asked.

Shelke would have shrugged if such gestures had been normal for her range of expression. "I don't really know. However, since coming here, I've realized one thing. I don't want to let down anyone who's counting on me."

"Pure nonsense," Nero scoffed.

"Nonsense?" Shelke activated her EM sabers and her eyes began to glow orange. "Perhaps." With that, she charged, slashing at Nero with her sabers, a Barrier forming around her as Nero fired several shots.

* * *

><p><em>Happy 4th of July!<em>

_Next week, the battle continues!_

_See ya soon!_


	67. The Longest Day Part 2

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spin-offs That honor goes to Square-Enix.

SOLDIER 1st Class Bradley, SOLDIER 2nd Class Eli are original characters.

**Part III: Demons**

* * *

><p>Chapter 67, The Longest Day Part 2<p>

**June 21st [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 2:15 PM**

Rosso grinned as she aimed her weapon at Cloud's head. "Don't vorry Cloud Strife. Tifa Lockhart vill be joining you in the Lifestream soon enough. I vill cherish seeing your body broken and drenched in red for a long time to come."

"I think we'll pass," At that moment, he saw the flash of a black sneaker make contact with Rosso's right arm, knocking her weapon onto a nearby rock. Tifa pressed her attack, turning out of the spinning side kick and directly into a roundhouse punch which Rosso only barely deflected a few inches from her face. At that point, the Tsviet backed slightly away from the cliff, trying to make it back to her weapon, as she and Tifa traded a series of punches and kicks.

Cloud stabbed the First Sword into the side of the cliff and hopped onto it, before pulling out the notched blade and repeating the process, using the blades almost like pitons to maneuver over to a slightly lower ledge. Once he was on solid ground, he put the swords back in his sword harness and hopped up to the next ledge before locating a series of handholds that would get him back up onto the plateau, back to where he could help Tifa with their opponent.

Finally, he reached the summit again and pulled himself up over the side, and he was relieved to see Tifa was still holding her own, pushing Rosso's defense to the limit with a powerful flurry of punches. The Crimson Tsviet finally let out a scream of rage, and moved to push the martial artist to the ground. Tifa dodged but the Tsviet grabbed her arm, using it as leverage to slam her into a nearby rock before rushing to grab her weapon again in order to shoot at the martial artist while she was down. Cloud only got there in time to parry before Rosso could shoot anything. She returned his assault with five powerful strikes with her two blades. Cloud found he had to work to deflect them quickly enough and on the final strike, he felt something sharp connect with his left arm. As blood trickled down the length of his bicep, he delivered another right handed slash across the Crimson Tsviet's chest with the First Sword.

The Tsviet backed away. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to prevent Cloud from cutting a gash along her body. She reflexively clutched at the line of darker red that was starting to stain her clothes and glared at him. Tifa had recovered and was coming closer when Cloud stopped her. "Do you yield?" he asked.

The anger in Rosso's eyes suddenly changed. As though an animal had been let out. "Not until I've painted this entire cliff vith your blood." A shockwave triggered across the plateau and as Cloud and Tifa tried to regain their footing the Tsviet charged, yelling her rage. Cloud was about to pull them both out of the way but Tifa sidestepped in the other direction, ducking underneath the Tsviet's blade and landing a hard kick to the back of the other woman's head. Rosso staggered, before trying to rush at her, her blades flying, but Cloud got there first, blocking with the First Sword, and stabbing her through the gut with the notched blade. Blood dripped from the second wound as she backed away. There would be no continuation of this fight. "Someone… stronger… than… Absurd…" Rosso's voice dripped with as much scorn as her body dripped with red.

"If you move anymore, you're going to die," Cloud said coldly.

Rosso ignored him, the bloodlust in her eyes disappearing in favor of a proud and furious arrogance. She limped back, clutched her wounds, the blood dripping down her body and leaving little puddles at her feet. "Absurd!" she said again before her face became eerily calm. "Our time here together is done," she said. "I shall not grant you the pleasure of defeating Rosso the Crimson."

"What are you doing?" Tifa asked.

She glared at the martial artist as though she was an idiot before looking at Cloud. "You and your voman haven't defeated me Cloud Strife. No vone ever vill ever stand above me! No vone!" She raised her hand and red energy began to glow within it before it flew out as a blade and sliced at the ledge.

"No vone!" She exclaimed, slicing at the ground again. "No vone!" The ledge gave way under a final strike, and the Tsviet dropped into the gully below, laughing maniacally.

The area was filled with an eerie silence, only punctuated by explosions in the distance before Cloud finally broke it by drawing a breath and turning to the martial artist, checking her over. "When she slammed you into that wall… I thought…" He began.

She smiled. "Don't worry about me," she said. "I'll probably be a little bruised, but I'll be fine. I was more worried when she knocked you off the cliff." She glanced down at the trickle of blood that was forming a line along his arm. "We should probably use a Cure on that," she said.

Cloud looked over the edge before shaking his head. He could see the woman's body as the dust was beginning to clear, her head at an odd angle and her own blood pooling under the darkening clouds. Ironic, considering she had wanted to do the exact same thing to him, under the open skies of the wastes. He could hardly think of a more pathetic way to go, and the green mists forming around her confirmed what he already knew. "So pointless," he said quietly, the disgust evident in his voice. Finally, he turned to Tifa. "Let's get back to Fenrir."

She nodded solemnly before reaching for her Restore material and casting as they walked.

* * *

><p>Vincent fired several shots as the Behemoth monster Azul had changed into charged at Zack. The swordsman was poised to spring, the Buster Sword extended in his left hand and the gunman watched as he charged, pulling himself up by one of Azul's horns, cutting a long gash along the Tsviet's side before momentum sent him careening off the other end. He was a hair's breadth from being hit by the monster's tail and Vincent fired again before ducking behind a rock to reload. Zack was a professional fighter, he was more than capable of running interference.<p>

Once fresh bullets were in place, he pulled back over the side, firing again before being forced to duck away as one of Azul's claws slashed across his cover, reducing the rock to rubble. He cast a fire spell directly into the Tsviet's face, scrambling away as the beast man roared. Zack took that moment to summon Odin, and the thunder god tore across the field at his opponent, lightning flashing in his wake.

Azul was nearly bowled over by the summon and when it vanished into the smoke he turned his ire back onto Zack, and getting down into a crouch, he sprang, attempting to pin the SOLDIER beneath his weight. Zack rolled out of the way just in time, getting to his feet and whirling around to slash at the Tsviet again. Unfortunately, this time he didn't see Azul's tail. It connected directly into his chest, pounding him against the wall of the cliff.

Vincent cast a Wall in Zack's direction as a peal of thunder filtered down from the skies above them before running across the battlefield one more time, attempting to head for the ravine and cover, firing several more strafing shots as he went, but Azul whirled around again, slashing with his claws and this time, one of them hit home. Vincent was flying in the opposite direction when he felt his body begin to change, the iron control with which he kept his inner demons at bay was weakening, and Chaos was straining at his chains.

The final impact against a nearby rock was all that it took. His body began to reshape itself, his skin turning dark and his cloak giving way to ragged red wings, his eyes glowing a distant and alien gold. He could see Zack in the distance, blocking another one of the Tsviet's swiping claws before rolling under the monster and attempting to slash at him from below, coming out from under him, evading his horns, barely missing getting mauled by Azul's sharp teeth.

At that point, Chaos rushed in, its claws plunging directly into the chest of the beast. Zack's eyes widened in surprise as the demon backed away and Azul changed back into his normal form. As he did so, Chaos lifted the Tsviet's handcannon, hefting it as though it were nothing.

Azul had barely looked up, mouthing his recognition of the beast that had broken free with a whispered "Chaos…" when Vincent threw the weapon as though it were a javelin and the barrel speared its way directly through Azul's chest, pinning him to the wall. Zack barely had the chance to get out of the way, before Vincent felt a power rising within him and a blood lusting smile spreading across his transfigured face. He could do nothing to stop the power coalescing between his hands before it released itself as a powerful beam of energy, blasting the Tsviet deeper into the cliffside.

With that, Chaos withdrew, and Vincent staggered, dropping to his hands and knees as he fought to regain control.

Outside his mind, in reality, his senses detected an eerie silence in the surrounding area, only punctuated by the occasional distant clap of thunder. Zack regarded the remains of the Tsviet with a combination of relief and surprise before turning to cautiously approach where Vincent was crouched on the ground. "Vincent…?"

_He was in another place… green… a dull burn… but one the owner of this memory was long accustomed to. Scientists walked by outside, monitoring their subject's progress even as she silently wished it could end. She would do anything to make it end, but for now, all she could do was let herself go numb…_

"Vincent?" He blinked, his vision clearing and he saw his own hands, one gloved and one in the familiar golden claw in front of him. He looked up to see that Zack was watching him with some concern and he shook his head.

"I'm all right," he said, pulling himself to his feet, and collecting Cerberus off the ground.

Zack relaxed his shoulders slightly in relief before turning around to visually scan the area for anyone else who might potentially attack. "Okay, just checking. Was that Chaos?"

Vincent inclined his head in confirmation. "That was the first time you've actually seen him wasn't it?"

Zack looked back in his direction and nodded. "We should probably get going. Now that Azul's down we ought to be able to get a bit further. Once we're past the canyons all that's left is open ground before Midgar."

"Don't forget what comes after that," a voice said from nearby. The two of them looked up to see Argento standing atop the cliff, with Genesis next to her. "We still need to retake the city," the Silver Tsviet continued.

"That's true," Zack said. "The sooner we get there, the better.

"I'm surprised you've made it this far. Perhaps you didn't need me after all," Genesis suggested.

"Every little bit helps," Zack secured the Buster Sword back over his shoulder and walked out into the open. However, their reprieve was short lived. Almost at the same time, Vincent could hear another squad of Deepground soldiers coming their way, and as he readied Cerberus and the Tsviet and the WEAPON gathered together with them for the next onslaught, he heard another, much louder sound from overhead.

Once he saw what it was, he gestured that Zack look up and the swordsman glanced away from the sound of enemies for a brief moment. That was when all four of them saw the origin of the louder noise, as the shadow of the Highwind flew by overhead, her engine smoking as it was flying lower and lower to the ground. Zack drew a breath and the two of them traded glances before he spoke to what was on both their minds. "Cid's been hit!"

* * *

><p><strong>June 21st [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 2:30 PM<strong>

It had been just a minute or two before when Yuffie got a call from Zack that she and Nanaki needed to find Cid, and now, the two of them were running to the coordinates Shalua gave them for the location where his signal was still transmitting. Nanaki leapt lightly from rock to rock a few feet ahead, only pausing occasionally so the ninja could catch up. The location should only be over the next hill. At last they reached the summit and the sight that met their eyes was catastrophic as it was heart breaking. In a last ditch effort, Cid had attempted to shift the Highwind into jet powered mode, but Yuffie could already see a gaping hole where the engines were supposed to be. Whatever had done this had ripped the Highwind's propulsion system out entirely.

Running down the hillside, the Planet's guardian and the ninja soon spotted a familiar man, cursing a blue streak as he attacked the flames near the remains of the engine with a fire extinguisher. Blood was dripping down the side of his face, but he wasn't paying it any attention. "Cid?!" Yuffie called out to him.

"Don't just $%*&#^$ sit there ya idiot! We got crew in there that might still be alive!" The pilot shouted. Yuffie and Nanaki sprang into action at that point, digging through the wreckage for any sign of any of the crew members. About an hour passed as they worked. Cid had managed to land somewhat smoothly under the circumstances, but that being said, a somewhat smooth crash landing was still a crash landing. The navigator and the man at the primary com station on the bridge had definitely not made it.

Yuffie was in the process of patching up one of the intelligence officers who had survived by virtue of being in the meeting room at the time, when Cid finally got the fire out and was able to carve his way deep enough into the engine room to pull Shelke out. The girl looked a little singed in places, though it was hard to tell the true extent of her injuries from a distance.

Yuffie finished tending to the man and hurried over. "Shelke?" she asked.

The Tsviet opened her eyes. "It was Nero…" she said. "He specifically came to take the Highwind out of commission."

"So why didn't he go after the Gelnika?" Nanaki asked. "Or the other airships?"

"I don't know," Shelke said. "We fought, but… he seemed to have been distracted by something else." She shut her eyes again. "Tired…"

Yuffie reached for her Curaga materia and cast it. It seemed to help a little but Shelke said quietly "I am not injured very badly. What I need is Mako. I expect the adrenaline rush from the crash and the heavy use of my abilities accelerated the dispersion rate. I will need another dose within the next few hours in order to continue functioning."

"In that case, we should probably get you back to Kalm," Nanaki said.

"It may have to wait. Until the emergency trucks get here, we're on our own and we've gotta keep looking for survivors," Cid said, already turning his attention back to what remained of his airship.

Yuffie considered for a moment, taking into account what resources they had at their disposal and her thoughts drifted to a single materia sitting within her bangle. Cloud had been able to control Bahamut to a certain extent, right? "I think I have an idea," she said. Walking a short distance away, she focused on her Leviathan materia and started casting. The area around her suddenly felt incredibly wet and when she looked up, the sea serpent looked down at her curiously, as though not entirely sure why it was being summoned since it had not been asked to send a tidal wave at anyone. Yuffie turned her attention to Cid. "Is there anyone else that needs to get back to Aerith?"

"We got a couple of people," Cid confirmed, though he looked equally uncertain of what Yuffie had in mind.

"All right then," Yuffie hopped up onto the back of her summon and to her immense relief, Leviathan did not attempt to buck her off. "Anyone who can ride, get on behind me. Nanaki can stay with you, and I'll take some people back."

* * *

><p>On the inner side of the gate to Sector 5, Cissnei was surveying the area. The operation planned for a few hours from now could mean the difference between success or failure in the push to retake the city. Once the slums were opened, it would be possible for GUARDIAN and Shinra's forces to fight their way to the center of the city.<p>

She was observing her target through a pair of binoculars from a sheltered and shadowed collection of old debris, determining where the best places were to plant explosives. Legend was off scouting the patrol routes to know when the safest time would be for her to plant them. He should be back in a short while. The others were scattered about the city, also making preparations…

She spotted something moving out of the corner of her eye. One of the guards seemed to be headed in this direction. That couldn't be good. Doing her best to be inconspicuous, she slipped away from her hiding place and headed towards a nearby alley to hide behind another building. She waited with baited breath as the Deepground soldier walked down the road. Had she been seen? After a moment, she saw him reach for a communicator clipped to the collar of his uniform. She watched as the guard spent a few more moments talking into the communicator before walking back down the alley. Once she thought the coast was clear, she left her hiding place to sneak towards the safe house she and Legend had established deeper in the slums. She had made it down a small side street and was about to turn into one of the more rundown neighborhoods when she felt a presence that had not previously been there, but was disturbingly familiar.

Reaching for her rekka, she glanced around warily, and then suddenly felt a prickling at the back of her neck. Diving forward to avoid whatever it was, she rolled up into a crouch and her rekka flew at whatever it was. She caught sight of a puff of black mist before she caught the rekka in the air, uncertain whether it had scored a hit or not.

"Ah, so this is what our sentries were getting so excited about," a soft voice echoed along the street before a dark figure appeared out of nowhere.

"Nero," Cissnei let out in a breath. She stood at the ready in case a fight broke out, knowing full well she could not take the man in front of her alone. Even if she did manage to defeat him, there would be other soldiers coming, but the alternative of getting consigned to those transport crates going down to Reactor 0 was even less of an option.

"The game is up, Cissnei of the Turks. You know very well there is nowhere to run. Whether you die here or surrender yourself to Omega is your decision, but nothing you do will result in you leaving here alive."

"That's what you think," Cissnei replied. A Bolt 3 flew from her hand a half second later and the renegade dashed down the street towards an abandoned square where she had room to move. She caught sight of the black mist again directly in front of her and dodged to the right, narrowly avoiding being grabbed before she threw her rekka at him again. It flew through the mist and came out the other side before she grabbed it out of the air, and sprinted across the square, hearing a line of bullets pelting along her trajectory behind her. Sliding behind a pile of rubble, she cast another Bolt spell and electricity crackled where she thought Nero might be.

The man quickly withdrew into his darkness again and Cissnei moved again, this time hurrying down another side street. Her only chance depended on him not being able to predict where she would be next, otherwise, she could count on a one-way trip to the Lifestream.

Not if she could help it.

Kicking off a building to round a street corner she ducked between a couple of boards before hopping over a fence. Barely avoiding a guard dog that waited within, she leapt up and grabbed the other side of the fence, vaulting over in a smooth motion and landing an alley. Not good, she had to get out of here before he realized he could cut her off.

She went into a full on sprint, headed for the open area that was closer to the safe house. She wasn't going to lead Nero there of course, but if she could just lose him… Right at the entrance of the alley, a black mist was starting to form, blocking her off. Seeing it closing in, she triggered her Exit materia in her bangle and used the momentum to race up the wall itself. More mist waited at the roof and she flipped away from it before it could engulf her, grabbing onto a pole sticking out from the opposite building and swinging further out into the main street before landing in a crouch. It was at that moment when something exploded behind her.

She stumbled but kept right on running, tearing the green cardigan that was part of her plainclothes disguise on a nail that had come loose as she sprinted too close to one of the buildings. She didn't care at this point. She just needed to escape. Up ahead, she spotted more black mist forming, but this time, luck was with her. An old drum used for carrying fuel stood right next to it. Activating her Bolt material one last time, she aimed it at the container which promptly exploded. The mist dissipated but she didn't slow down. Instead, she kept going, leaping through the flames with the grace of a Golden Chocobo at the races, before rolling to put out any flames that might have caught on her clothes and continuing to sprint away.

She didn't spare a moment to catch her breath until she was back at the safe house. Only then did she slow to a walk. As she approached the apartment building she and Legend were using, she spotted her fellow renegade approaching from an alley, carrying a hat in his hand and dressed in a messy but other-wise neutral grey suit sporting none of the trappings that would identify him except for his shades. "There you are," he said. "I saw what happened. Good thing I let loose a couple of grenades when I did, otherwise you'd have been history."

"That was you?" Cissnei asked calmly.

"Sure was, you're lucky I was there," The older man adjusted his sunglasses.

Cissnei sighed. "I could have made it all right on my own… but thanks anyway."

With that, the two of them headed into the building. They had some bombs to prep.

* * *

><p><strong>June 21st [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 7:00 PM<strong>

Zack stood outside of an overhang, just within view of the city, and around him, though he couldn't see them, there were numerous improvised fortifications, in canyons, under rocks and anywhere and everywhere that might be sheltered from bombs and missiles. Sentries patrolled around the perimeter and planes and airships patrolled overhead, but thus far there had been no sign that Deepground was attempting to press their assault further. There hadn't been any further reports from Kalm either. They had left a garrison to guard the town, just in case, but chances were, they would see the Dragonflies coming miles away if Weiss decided any airstrikes were in order. The White Tsviet's ground units had been maintaining skirmishes, but a lull in the worst of the fighting had occurred. Deepground still had the city though, and as long as they had it, they had access to the reactors, and Midgar's people.

His eyes narrowed at that thought. He hated waiting, but they needed the signal from the renegades. Each one of those within the city walls were running a terrible risk. Even though planes were already attacking critical targets above plate from the air, they would also need the slums secure so the enemy would have nowhere to run… except back into their own hole. He let out a breath and turned around to rejoin the others who were sheltering with him. Cloud and Tifa were sharing a meal together near one end of the overhang while Kunsel was talking quietly with Nanaki about something. Having determined that the Highwind was completely scrapped, Cid hadn't deigned to join them, instead choosing to go back to Shera and get to work on gathering a crew for another airship in the fleet that was still functional. Nero had gone after a few others in the time since Cid had gone down, but he apparently hadn't been able to go after every single aircraft. The Gelnika which had hung back a bit, had managed to avoid a visit from the Ebon Tsviet, thank goodness.

Yuffie had returned once she'd delivered Shelke and the other crew members back to the safety of Kalm. The line had progressed considerably since this afternoon, and he could see Aerith sitting near Elfe and Shears. The three of them had come up to help provide support on the final assault once it was clear that the push through the wastes was more or less over. Vincent and Freya also sat by the fire, and though Barret had stopped in not that long ago, he and Liz had gone back out to assist the patrols. Argento would also be returning shortly, though it was anyone's guess where Genesis had gotten off to.

Aerith smiled as he took a seat next to her. "I'm really glad to see you," he said quietly.

"Me too," she said. Looking up at his face, she reached into a pocket and retrieved a hankerchief. "You look like you've been swimming in mud," she added, reaching up to wipe a bit of grime from his face."

"War is dirty work," he said.

"That's for sure," Kunsel added, apparently having overheard the conversation.

Zack offered his friend a tired grin. "But we're getting closer. Last I heard, some of our patrols were able to get up almost to the gates to the slums without too much interference."

"We've really been cleaning their clocks!" Yuffie exclaimed.

"Absolutely," Shears agreed. "Though once we get into the city, you'll need to be on the lookout. That's when you'll start having to worry about soldiers entrenched among the civilians."

At the curious look Zack gave him, Shears sighed. "It was a classic AVALANCHE tactic back in the day when we were fighting Shinra. Set your strong points where there are lots of people, make it as costly for the other side as possible. It seems like a probable strategy."

"It does," Freya agreed. It was a sign of just how much had changed from those days that nobody questioned the two former AVALANCHE leaders further on that revelation. The present was enough of a burden without continuing to drag the past into things again.

All further conversation at that point was halted however when Zack heard his PHS buzz. "Yeah?" he answered.

"_General Fair, this is Veld. We have received the signal from our operatives within the city. The next phase will occur in two hours."_

"Confirmed, the next push will begin as soon as the fireworks start," Zack said. Veld ended the call and Zack pocketed the PHS. "All right guys, get what rest you can, we need to be in position in an hour and ready to move out in an hour and a half."

The others nodded and the overhang visibly cleared out as most of the others left to make preparations.

* * *

><p><em>In order to help make sure the last three chapters of Part III are completed with the same quality, there will be a break week next week. Chapters will resume at Midnight EST, Thursday, July 25thFriday, July 26th, see ya then!_


	68. Into the Breach

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spin-offs That honor goes to Square-Enix.

**Part III: Demons**

* * *

><p>Chapter 68, Into the Breach<p>

**June 21st [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 8:45 PM**

The day was starting to grow darker as the sun was dipping closer to the horizon behind the storm clouds, lighting them a somewhat brighter grey in the fading twilight, and the combined troops of GUARDIAN and Shinra had made it right up to the city walls. They had not quite been able to make the push into the city itself because Deepground's anti-aircraft batteries had managed to keep their drop ships at bay for the most part. Most of Deepground's ground units had departed to man the city's defenses, but a few remained to keep the pressure on the attacking force.

Zack stood on a hill a short distance away from the Sector 6 gate, a Wall spell active as bullets pelted around him. Aerith was right next to him as were Cloud, Tifa, Freya, Kunsel, Vincent, Genesis, and Argento. If the Turks came through, which he was sure they would, then something should be happening very soon, and then the final push could begin.

He glanced to his left, and saw that Kunsel looked a little troubled. "Is something up?" he asked.

The brown-haired swordsman shook his head. "I'm worried about what we're going to find in there," he said. "There's been a lot of time that's passed since they've taken the city, who knows how many were murdered in there?"

Zack had a thought. "Your folks were in there too, weren't they?"

Kunsel shook his head. "My old man called me last night once he was able to get service. After our meeting, he and Mom were already on edge and when the evacuation got called, they made it out. But, so many others didn't." He let out a sigh. "On the one hand I'm relieved, but on the other, so many other people didn't leave when they had the chance…"

"I know what you mean," Zack said. He looked over at Cloud. "Kind makes you realize how lucky we all are that we're standing here at all, if you think about it."

Cloud gave grunt of agreement but was content with that being his answer. He was also watching the gate, lost in his own thoughts.

Speaking of other members of the group who seemed lost in thought… He glanced over at Vincent. His eyes seemed slightly unfocused as he leaned against a rock protruding from the hillside. At first, he'd thought his comrade's behavior not that unusual for a man who'd just turned into 'Omega's squire to the lofty heavens,' if such an event could elicit a normal reaction. After all, the breadth of Vincent's regular mannerisms usually ranged along the spectrum between quiet contemplation and intense brooding. He did emote enough to register a wry smile occasionally, or even surprise, but for the most part, that wasn't common, even in the moments following his shape shifting. However, after the incident with Chaos, there had been moments where he'd spotted the man looking downright disoriented, and for Vincent that was different.

He was about to turn his attention back to watching the gate, when, almost on cue Kunsel spoke in a low voice, "Hey Zack, is something up with Vincent?"

"You noticed too?" Zack asked.

His friend shrugged. "Not really sure. I wondered because yesterday before the meeting, he walked up to me with that same look on his face that he's wearing now."

"Yeah?"

"It might not mean anything," Kunsel said, "But if something's up…"

"I don't know," Zack said softly, "But when we get in there, it might not be a bad idea to keep an eye on him. I intend to regardless, since we're still not sure how he's supposed to protect that Protomateria thing, but…"

"No worries," the brown haired swordsman said. "I'll stick close too, just in case."

"Thanks…" At that moment, their conversation was interrupted when an explosion rent its way through the Sector 6 Gate, blowing the entrance into the slums wide open. Off in the distance, several other blasts went off in unison, some corresponding to the destruction of anti-aircraft units on the upper plate while others belonged to the remaining Sector Gates. Zack reached for the headset connected to his PHS and hit the com button which would broadcast his signal to every single communicator in the army. "All right guys, it's show time! Begin phase two! Let's get to it!"

At the signal, a battle cry rang along the line of troops and overhead, the fleet of airships, planes and helicopters could be seen making a new push to knock out key targets on the upper plate. In the cacophony of blasts Zack raced forward, flanked by Cloud, now on foot, along with Kunsel, Tifa, Argento, Genesis, Freya, and Vincent. Aerith was right behind them, casting Wall spells as she went to protect the front line along with Elfe and Shears, both of them alert for any sign of dangers coming around from their flanks. A small army of summons appeared before them, opening the way to the ruined gate as the Deepgrounders scattered unable to withstand the might of the onslaught, and when they disappeared, just as Zack reached the gate, they were too disorganized to put up a strong resistance. Not with the combined might of GUARDIAN and Shinra's forces streaming in through the gates to the slums in a torrent, nor the airships dropping operatives onto the plate above which Barret, Cid, and Nanaki were helping to lead.

Zack brought the Buster Sword up to counter the blade of a Deepground SOLDIER, before cutting him in two and continuing on his way. Around him the others were holding their own, and in the smoke and noise of battle, they made their way down the main street in the direction of the train tracks dodging bullets and skirmishing with enemies as they went. The flash of a Bolt spell went off nearby, followed by a Fire, drawing the group's attention to two men who had just exited the shadows.

" 'sup yo!" Reno yelled over the noise before he and Rude took position and started assisting in clearing a path.

"You're the escort to Sector 0?" Tifa only paused for a moment, eyes alert for any other gunmen on the walls.

"Courtesy of Rufus Shinra," Reno spotted a Deepgrounder up on one of the roofs and immediately sent a charge from his EMR rod in that direction before ducking for cover in case he decided to retaliate. "We scouted out your route while we were prepping the charges for our detonation points. If there's an installation on the tracks, we know it's there." The group turned down a narrower side street and Genesis detonated a powerful Fire spell in front of them. Pausing to let the flames die down before they could continue, everyone took cover among the fallen debris.

"So what have we got then?" Kunsel asked, shouldering a little closer to Zack, Aerith, and the two Turks.

"There's three stations along the way with Widows stationed at checkpoints, yo. Public transportation isn't running right now, so you won't have to worry about trains, just soldiers."

"Great," Freya said. Suddenly everyone heard a noise, and looked up. That was when Zack heard the lady Turk continue. "So what can you tell us about that?" Now that he saw what it was, he wouldn't have minded a little elaboration too, to tell the truth.

It looked a bit like a Deepground soldier, with the same sort of Mako suit and everything, except, this particular man's uniform was black, and the helmet had what almost looked like a fin along the top of it and following the curve of the head. He was also packing a machine gun and seemed to be on the lookout for anyone who might try to get past him.

"Oh, him," Reno said. "He's one of their elites. Probably just a step down from the Tsviets."

"Well, we'll have to get through him to get where we're going won't we?" Tifa asked.

"Yup," Reno confirmed. "But it probably wouldn't help to make a big spectacle about it."

"In that case, we'll catch him by surprise," Zack said. "Cloud, Vincent, Tifa, you're with me." He turned back to the Shinra affiliated Turks. "You guys too if we can have you. Everyone else, wait here until our friend drops."

"Got it," Kunsel said.

Genesis on the other hand, seemed a little miffed, but decided to let it go for the time being, but Elfe, Shears, and Argento seemed perfectly content to wait, and guard their backs.

Ducking into the next street, Zack led the way along the city block, noting their proximity to Wall Market. As they reached the next alley, Zack motioned that Cloud and Vincent take point on this and the two stepped forward, however, it was at that point when Rude cleared his throat. The swordsman and the gunman looked at him questioningly and the martial artist made set of field gestures with his hands. Vincent repeated the signals in confirmation and Rude nodded before Cloud also nodded to show he understood the suggestions the Turk was making for handling the situation. Zack blinked. He thought he understood most of it, but if he didn't know any better, he would have thought a complete conversation had just gone on between the three of them without speaking a single word.

Once they were finished, the gunman and the blonde swordsman crept down the alley and then out of sight. The next thing he heard was a short cry of surprise followed by several quick gunshots, before Cloud reappeared, giving the all clear sign. Zack motioned that everyone should follow him and they hurried out into the next street.

Behind them they could hear the clamor of the front that they were leaving behind, as per the the plan, and it wasn't long before they made it to the train station. Upon getting there, Zack spotted a familiar young woman waiting for them.

"Glad to see you made it Zack," Cissnei said, the rekka over her shoulder. Around her was a small pile of bodies, the Deepgrounders who were supposed to be guarding the area. "I hope you don't mind that I felt like taking out the trash while I waited."

"Not a problem," Zack replied. "Good to see you again."

"Would you like me to I tag along?" the renegade asked.

"The more the merrier," Aerith said with a smile. "Although, I guess…" she turned to Elfe and Shears. "You'll need to get to the reactors won't you."

Shears nodded. "Yeah, this is about as far as we go." He turned to look around at the others. "Make sure you beat these guys extra hard for us, all right?"

It was Freya who answered with a grin. "You can bet we will."

Elfe nodded approvingly and then walked away, and Shears followed her automatically, offering a thumbs-up before the two of them disappeared into another alley.

After a moment, Zack spoke up again. "So, now that we're all set, let's… make tracks?"

There was a collective groan from the group as they got going along the rails and Cloud murmured "That was pretty lame."

"Hey," Zack said with a chuckle, "You have no room to talk, especially not after what Cid told me you said at the Crater."

At Cloud's blank look, Zack's grin became even wider. "I mean seriously, 'Let's mosey?' The least you could have said was something like… I dunno, 'Let's get this guy!' or even 'Charge!', right?"

Cloud returned the grin sheepishly before he stopped, seeing that up ahead, Argento had also paused along the train tracks. "What is it?" he asked.

The Silver Tsviet was alert, poised and listening for further movement for a few moments before speaking. "We have soldiers approaching on our 2 o'clock, and we will be within their visible radius in about half a minute.

Silently, everyone prepared their weapons again before moving forward.

* * *

><p><strong>June 21st [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 10:00 PM<strong>

Shalua had just finished her shift at the command center about half an hour ago and had walked over to the infirmary which had been set in place in one of the larger homes in Kalm. Off to one side of the building a small room had been set up with a Mako tank, which she was now sitting nearby on a folding chair she had brought with her. This part of the infirmary had been something they'd had to put together on the fly. Most SOLDIERs could survive without constant exposure to Mako, as the compounds within it literally became part of them in the initial procedures; Shelke was a different matter, as was Argento, though the treatments she had endured were the sort that would allow for a much more extended period of time before withdrawal set in. Her little sister was resting in the tank, almost as though asleep, a situation Shalua could barely fathom. Why did it have to be like this? It wasn't fair. She'd only been a child when this had been done to her, her innocence stolen away by the hard life of a Tsviet before she'd even had a chance to live as a human being.

The former AVALANCHE member glanced down at her own prosthetic arm and gritted her teeth in frustration. Shelke had volunteered to help Cid, she knew, and there had always been the chance something might happen, but none of this should have ever had to happen. "Shelke," she said, wondering if her sister could hear her behind the glass, "After this is over, you and me are going somewhere quiet, where no one can hurt you, and we're going to start over. I'm going to be a better sister to you, and nobody's going to take you away from me."

The girl didn't seem to stir and Shalua continued to watch her for several minutes before she heard a door opening nearby before she heard a familiar voice. "No, it's no trouble. I'm sure we can find somewhere for him to wait." Doctor Rayleigh came into view and paused at the doorway. That was when Shalua saw that Jessie was with her, along with the boy they had found at the Church. Denzel, she believed his name was. "Oh Shalua. You don't mind if Denzel stays in here for a little do you?"

"What happened?" Shalua asked.

"He came looking for news about Cloud and Tifa," Jessie explained. "Reeve gave me a few minutes to find him somewhere to stay, but I need to get back to Central Command."

Shalua smiled. "It's all right."

Rayleigh left the room to get back to work and Jessie turned to her younger companion. "I'll come check on you later, okay?"

The boy nodded and walked over to another chair near a desk against the wall, sitting down without a word. After Jessie left, the room was once again uncomfortably silent. Shalua glanced up at the new arrival to see him looking around the room curiously. "You're worried about them?" she asked after a moment.

"Yeah," the boy answered. He paused, thinking a little before continuing "I know they said they'd look for Mom and Dad if they could, but… I don't want anything to happen to them either."

"I can understand that," Shalua said. "It's not easy waiting around, not sure of what's going to happen next. But I'm sure they'll be fine. Cloud's tough, and I don't know if there are many women as stubborn as Tifa… And they've got Zack and the others with them. They all took Sephiroth together. A few Tsviets shouldn't be a problem."

Denzel visibly relaxed at that. "Thanks," he said.

"No trouble, kid," Shalua replied. She turned her attention back to Shelke, who seemed to have opened her eyes in the tank.

"Shalua?" the girl asked.

"Something I can do Shelke?" she asked.

"Not really… I was just listening… I think… I am beginning to understand… maybe…"

Shalua stood up and walked over to the tank. "Understand what?"

"Why the Tsviets and Deepground must be defeated," Shelke said. "If they succeed… a lot more people will be hurt… and that's not something, I think I want."

Shalua placed her real hand on the glass. "It's not going to happen," she said.

For the very first time since she'd seen her sister in Midgar, the flat expression was gone in place of a small smile. It was a real one, tentative, but real, and Shalua felt she would give anything to see her little sister wear it more often. But then, something else happened…

On the inside of the tank, a black mist started to form. Before Shalua could even say another word, Shelke was enveloped by it and then disappeared.

Shalua's eyes widened in shock, and then narrowed in anger. Turning to Denzel she said "Would you wait here? I have to go."

The boy nodded and Shalua hurried to the door, she had to find Rayleigh to let her know what was going on. And then, she was headed back to Central Command to talk to Reeve and get in touch with Zack. There wouldn't be enough time to get to the city itself before the end of the final assault, but she could be on her way there. She was not about to lose her only sister again.

* * *

><p><strong>June 21st [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 11:00 PM<strong>

At long last, GUARDIAN had reached the railway station in Sector 8. A squad of Deepground soldiers with Shrike class hover packs had been waiting for them when they emerged from the tunnel in order to climb up on the train platform for the final push to the Shinra building. Zack quickly put up a shield to protect himself and Aerith while Cloud sent out a fire spell. Freya took position between him and Kunsel as both of them each fired off shots. The birdshot caused the Shrikes to spark wildly as one of their pilots frantically tried to get down to the street safely but that was before a shot from Kunsel's gunblade brought him the rest of the way down.

Kunsel looked around as Genesis moved to counter a Deepground SOLDIER on the ground while Argento cast a powerful Bolt spell, sending another Shrike careening into a nearby building. Reno and Rude were holding their own, though as Freya fired off another round at the approaching squad of Elites at the door, and dove for cover, Kunsel noticed them do the same to evade a grenade that had been tossed in their general direction. Freya loaded two more shells into her shotgun and fired them both to disrupt the onslaught when all of the swordsmen in the party rushed in to take the elites directly, followed by Vincent and Aerith, both casting spells while Vincent alternated casting and shooting. Little by little, the conflict was moving steadily up the street, the clash of swords ringing, the gunfire raging under the darkened skies that so seldom ever showed stars, until at last, the group stood at the main entrance to the Shinra building.

As the last enemy fell a hush fell over the area. Bathed in the floorlights that had been installed into the concrete, everyone now looked at the main entrance into the Shinra building and wondered what lay beyond it. Freya sidled over to where Kunsel and Cissnei were. "How are you guys doing?" she asked, her eyes alert for any attackers.

"We're fine," Cissnei said.

The lady Turk looked them over and after a moment she said to Kunsel "I think someone clipped you while you weren't watching."

He glanced down at his side and noticed a small trickle of blood where a blade had ripped through his sweater. "I was looking for an excuse to get rid of this shirt anyway," he said.

Freya sighed and reached for her Cura materia. As she finished casting, she heard Zack step up to the door. "So, are we ready to go inside?" he asked.

"As ready as we'll ever be," Aerith said.

"Okay then." With that, Zack stepped forward, and dramatically pushed the golden double doors open, and everyone followed in after him.

As they stepped into the foyer, the lights from an ornate chandelier above them cast ghostly shadows across the gray marble floor, flanked by the two stairways leading up into the higher levels of the Shinra building. As they crossed the threshold, he could see the old familiar elevators to his right as well as the exhibit hall through the glass window, painted with the Shinra logo. However, right in front of the empty receptionist's desk, stood two familiar figures. Nero the Sable waited a few steps ahead of his brother, the air of protectiveness obvious in his eyes. Weiss the Immaculate stood about three steps behind him. But something about him seemed… off somehow… Something about him at this moment… He wasn't sure what it was, but the Tsviet looked different, almost like he wasn't feeling well.

At that point, Zack stepped a little ahead of the others. The light in Weiss's eyes was one of anticipation and even this far away, Kunsel could see his teeth glinting as he smiled. "At last we meet face to face, Zack Fair. And you, Vincent Valentine, and Cloud Strife."

"I can't say we're happy about it," Zack said. "All those people you murdered, not even for anything they did wrong… Especially because they did nothing wrong. It's enough to make a guy sick."

Weiss chuckled as though what Zack had said was hilarious, and he sat on the reception desk as though he were some ancient lord surveying his subjects. "What out of anything I've done thus far makes you believe that I care?"

"Perhaps if you considered the risk you were taking by tampering with that which you don't understand," Argento said. "Not that you would."

Weiss laughed even harder at that. "Who are you to lecture me, Argento? Don't forget, you were just as much a part of our coup in the beginning. What makes you so weak-kneed now?"

"True," the silver Tsviet replied. "But I knew full well what we were attempting when we made it our goal to kill the Restrictors. We did what we did because it was the pragmatic solution in order to win our freedom. But what good is freedom if the world ends? You are dealing with forces greater than all of us, and the risk of unleashing the mere threat of them could cause the end of the world."

"Either way, I've seen more than enough of this crap," Kunsel said, his glare fixed at Weiss, though his statement was directed at both Tsviets. "None of you have any sense of right and wrong at all. You got your freedom, sure, but do you understand what you had to do? Who you had to use, to do it? The people you killed, and those whose deaths you caused. You used them, and then cast them aside when they weren't useful anymore. How is that anything but wrong?"

Nero looked in his direction. "Wrong? Such a quaint concept… Such weak ideas quickly leave the picture when all that matters is who comes out on top, and we're more powerful than any living creature on this planet. If anything, it's more than right that it should be under our control."

"To hell with that, and to hell with you." Kunsel pointed his gunblade directly at the black Tsviet. "It's always been this way, the people with the most power think it gives them the right to do whatever they want and step on whoever they want! The ends always justify the means, and who gives a damn about whoever gets in their way! But let me tell you something. Every time you choose to sacrifice someone for your cause, that's one more person who isn't coming home to his family! Every time you use someone as a pawn, that's one more person who has to deal with how what you're doing affects them!"

"The weight of knowing that, it's pretty heavy, if you actually care. It's what a true leader has to deal with every day in times of trouble. A lot of Shinra's leaders didn't care, and that attitude was exactly what was wrong with Shinra in the first place!" He didn't expect them to understand. Everything Luxiere had suffered because of them. Everything the people of Midgar had suffered because their lives were nothing but fuel for Deepground's schemes. These were levels of evil on par with Professor Hojo, and personally, after everything he'd seen happen, with Angeal, with Genesis, with Sephiroth, with Zack, and Cloud, with Luxiere, with SOLDIER, the Turks, Shinra in general… He'd long ago gotten tired of watching.

"An impressive speech," Nero said. "But bleeding hearts like yours have no place in Deepground. Nor will they have a place in the new world we will create. Anyone who can keep up is welcome, but those who can't can either die, or get out of the way and down on their knees."

"Well said brother," Weiss said, standing straight and walking towards the center of the room. "Naturally, those who choose to resist; they shall be slashed, strangled, and slaughtered. Beaten, stabbed, and crushed. Garroted and impaled. Shot and executed without mercy. The time has come to cleanse this world."

Kunsel heard Freya scoff with annoyance next to him. "Well excuse us if we don't see it that way!"

"That's right!" Tifa said, bringing her hands up in a ready stance. "We didn't save the world from Sephiroth just so you could turn around and take it over."

"As if we'd let you," Cloud agreed, disconnecting the hollow blade from the First Sword so he could take stance.

"We're already fighting over who controls the place as is," Reno added, tapping his rod over his shoulder, rather haughtily. "We don't exactly need the competition yo."

"Legend shall speak of sacrifice at world's end," Genesis said, taking stance with Rapier at the ready, "But that time is not now."

Weiss laughed again. "Well in that case, I hope you're ready to play."

"I guess we'll just have to find out," Zack said, hefting the Buster Sword in front of him.

Weiss drew a pair of weapons that looked very much like katanas with guns built into the blades. "Then come at me with all your strength," the Immaculate emperor crowed. With that, he charged, and the dark smoke around Nero began to get thicker. That was also when Kunsel noticed that several Deepground SOLDIERs and elites were also coming down the stairs from the upper level.

* * *

><p><em>Glad to be back everyone. To clarify, when I said last three chapters. I meant the ones that had yet to be completed for Part III, one of which, will be the chapter you see next week. However, that is not quite the end of this little saga. There is still one last interlude and a final story arc left. More details will be provided at Part III's conclusion, so stay tuned.<em>

_See ya next time!_


	69. Down the Rabbit Hole

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spin-offs That honor goes to Square-Enix.

**Part III: Demons**

* * *

><p>Chapter 69, Down the Rabbit Hole<p>

**June 21st [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 11:30 PM**

Cid was flying a bomber-class airship, slightly smaller than the Highwind, over Midgar when he saw that they were nearly in position over the Sector 6 Reactor. "Attention crew, confirm missiles are ready to launch."

After a second someone replied through his headset _"Confirmed. Armed and ready when you are sir."_

He looked down at the button just to the left of the steering wheel and then reached for it. "All right, this is for trashin' the Highwind you Deepground #$!&$^#%!" Jamming the button for the first missile, he watched it fly out ahead of them through the window, bound for its target. A second followed, and then a third. The missiles made contact with the reactor, causing flames to burst from the installation in a huge display and the entire crew cheered. As Cid watched, one by one, across the city, the other reactors were starting to smoke and then burst into flame as the various teams that had infiltrated the city blew them sky-high, and the individual Sectors were going dark until at last, only the Shinra building remained, a pillar of light on an otherwise darkened plate surface. Zack and the other should be in there right now, and hopefully it would go dark soon too.

"Sir!" an intel officer interrupted his thoughts at that moment. "We've got several Dragonflies coming our way."

"Well, let's not disappoint 'em!" Cid said, gritting his teeth in a determined smile. "We still got plenty of ammo left! Missile bays, get loading!" With that, he turned the airship hard to the right to get into position for the next volley.

* * *

><p>Kunsel paused to pepper covering fire at some of the Elites on the left stair as the forward group rushed to take Weiss. To his left, he could see the Turks moving to guard the left staircase while Cloud, Tifa, and Argento were working their way to the right. Spells and bullets peppered the air, when Genesis let loose a Flare, and flames washed over the mezzanine above them. Confident that should keep the Turks covered for the time being, Kunsel turned his attention to how Zack was doing, just in time to see Weiss go flying backwards through the window into the exhibit hall and over the side of the truck.<p>

Aerith had ducked for cover, casting Walls and Cures where needed and Vincent had just dodged an attempt by Nero to try and absorb him into his darkness and was returning fire with his gun. Everyone on the stairs seemed to be holding their own, so Kunsel leapt through the window after Zack as the two SOLDIERs flanked Weiss, both striking with their swords. Weiss blocked both with a pair of powerful sideswipes before jumping up on top of the flatbed of the tricycle and launching an energy blast at both of them. Zack dodged right while Kunsel dodged the other way. Once he had evaded the blast, he opened fire with his gunblade while Zack unleashed a Fire 3 at the Immaculate Emperor, but Weiss jumped down from his perch, shooting a volley of machine gun fire in their direction.

Outside, Kunsel saw Vincent and Genesis were still playing tag with Nero, but that was the last glimpse he got for a while, as he was busy fleeing across the exhibit hall to take cover behind one of the cars on the right side of the room. Zack had joined him there and after trading a nod and casting a Wall spell apiece, the two of them leapt over the car and split, Zack going right, while Kunsel went left, drawing Weiss's attention with a few shots from his gunblade. Zack had almost reached Weiss and moved to strike when he blocked, knocking Zack backward, and sending him careening into the Hardy Daytona with a blow that shook the foundations of the building.

Weiss lifted his gunblades, ready to fire at the Ex-SOLDIER, however, at that point, someone else entered the equation. Cloud jumped down from the mezzanine, shattering the glass window above as he went and bringing the First Sword to bear on the White Tsviet. Weiss had to block with both swords and staggered backwards, breathing hard. It was at that point when Kunsel could see the man was sweating profusely in spit of his light attire. Was something wrong with him?

Something moved out of the corner of his eye and he rolled out of the way as a black mist enveloped the spot where he had been standing only moments before. He retaliated by shooting at it, but the mist and it's controller dissipated into thin air to reappear near Weiss. "Brother?" he asked.

"I'm fine Nero," Weiss growled. The Ebon Tsviet turned his attention to Cloud, and Weiss started running towards Zack. Zack tried to dodge and bring the Buster Sword around to try and take him from behind, however, several things happened at once. Nero's mist began to appear around Zack and he never would have had time to dodge with Weiss right on top of him, but at that point, a limit channeled on the second floor. A familiar red rekka flew around the exhibit hall, striking through the spot where Nero had tried to emerge four times before striking at Weiss another four. The two staggered before looking up to see Cissnei catch the rekka in her hand as she turned her attention back to a group of elites up on her own floor. Weiss backed away, clutching a shallow wound on his chest.

"Weiss!" Nero was at his side in an instant, and then in another, the two of them were gone. A few seconds later, the fighting upstairs had gone silent.

As soon as the danger was past, Aerith hurried over to Zack. "Are you all right?" she asked.

He nodded in affirmation. "Of course I am. Takes a lot more than that to take me out." After securing the Buster Sword to his back, he looked around at the others. No one else seemed to have been hurt that bad, aside from one or two of them who had sustained minor injuries, quickly healed with Restore materia.

"Where would they have gone?" Tifa asked.

"Maybe up to the President's office?" Zack suggested.

"Not likely," Vincent said, from where he stood near the entrance to the exhibit hall.

"He's right," Argento said, looking thoughtfully up at the ceiling. "I don't know if you noticed but something was clearly the matter, and it was more than just the fact that the young Turk here wounded him."

"Yeah," Kunsel murmured as he too secured his own sword behind him. "He almost looked sick."

"I didn't see much of your end of things, but he didn't have the stigma… did he?" Freya asked.

"It didn't look like it," Cloud said, though he was focusing his attention on checking to be sure they weren't about to be ambushed.

"Perhaps that protocol triggered after all," Argento mused.

"What, you mean the one that prevented you from fighting the Restrictors?" Tifa asked.

The Tsviet shook her head. "That was only supposed to happen should one of us actively attempt to kill a Restrictor. However, Weiss, at the time of his development was so powerful, they put a number of other failsafes in place." She took a couple of steps towards the model of Shinra #26, considering what she was about to say. "Initially, they felt he was too dangerous to be allowed out. One of the first things they did, was to imprison him in Reactor 0. But that wasn't the only precaution. Should a normal Tsviet attempt to harm a Restrictor, not only is a reversed Barrier spell triggered, rendering the attacker immobile, but the defending Restrictor would have then been able to do whatever he wished. Had I attacked Keter for instance, he could very well have cut off my head where I stood, if he didn't choose to take my remaining eye and possibly my heart first."

"Your point?" Genesis asked impatiently.

Argento raised her unobscured eyebrow, clearly not approving his impatience. "For Weiss, there were other precautions he had hoped to neutralize by using someone else to resolve, one of which was a powerful virus that could potentially take hold should a Restrictor be killed. We thought it was tied to our own actions. It wouldn't be reasonable otherwise. Accidents happen after all. But in that case, he's probably even more desperate to get the Protomateria now…"

Everyone had been listening to the Tsviet with rapt attention, but at that moment, the tense silence was interrupted when Zack's PHS buzzed. He clicked the button on the headset. "You've reached Zack." He listened for a moment and then turned back to the others with a quiet "Thanks Jessie," before speaking a little louder. "Intel says their chips showed up in the lowest area of the Shinra building where the satellite can get a signal."

Argento gave everyone an appraising look. "They're trying to lead us into Deepground itself, it's the final place remaining where they have the advantage."

"The sooner we catch up to them the better," Zack said.

Argento walked out . "We should be able to get there through the basement elevator system."

"Then let's go," Cloud said.

"Actually, this is where we're gonna have to go our separate ways yo." Every one looked over at Reno to see Rude standing next to him.

"Why's that?" Zack asked.

"Because we've got something else to do, good luck with Weiss guys," with that, the two Turks hurried up the stairs.

"Should we stop them?" Tifa asked.

Zack considered the question before shaking his head. "Every moment we're up here, that's one more person we can't save. Whatever Rufus asked them to do up on the upper floors can't be more important than stopping Weiss and Nero. Let's get going."

"Then follow me," Argento strode ahead of them and began quickly leading them down a hallway which brought them to a set of stairs into the basement.

* * *

><p><strong>June 22nd [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 1:00 AM<strong>

Vincent walked a short distance behind Zack, his eyes alert for any sign of pursuers. The last hour or so had been tense, as there was no telling when the next corner wouldn't house another Deepground soldier waiting to come in for the kill. After leaving the foyer of the Shinra building, they had been traveling progressively downward for a little while, first through a series of hallways, and then across the first bridge and down an elevator. If he remembered the recording Rufus had given them correctly, this should have been the elevator in which Elena and SOLDIER had first encountered a series of Aerial Mines. True to their account, a number of them had been flying around, making plenty of work for those in the party with ranged capability.

Afterwards, they had passed by several rooms with computer terminals, down another elevator and currently, they were passing through another series of corridors dimly lit by emergency lights. They were well below the Shinra building now, possibly even below the slums, down in the bedrock itself, if the sense of the immense amount of weight above them was any indication.

Up ahead, Zack paused, signaling that those with guns come to the front while everyone else should take cover. Freya and Kunsel cocked their weapons in anticipation, looking out through the door at a catwalk in the two-story room they were approaching. After a moment, the two of them left the doorway, fanning out to get better positions and Vincent headed out through the center. Barely a moment later, Vincent lifted Cerberus and fired off three shots at a Deepgrounder with a sniper rifle who was taking cover behind a couple of packing cases. Two more of them returned fire and Freya fired a blast at one of the doors on the second level while Kunsel set his sights on someone ducking behind some heavy machinery. Not long after, the room was silent.

Without a word, Argento took the lead again, walking over to a security door and typing in the key code. "How much further is it?" Freya asked.

"Not much longer," the Tsviet replied. The door opened, revealing a bridge over a huge precipice, only lit by a few Shinra issue fluorescent lamps. The gap was so deep, it seemed bottomless, Midgar's supports descending into the emptiness below before disappearing into nothing. "There's one last elevator to go, and then we'll be at the President's personal entrance." The Tsviet walked to the next security door, and as everyone gathered behind her, she quickly typed in another code on the keypad.

When the second door opened however, she let out an unmistakably disappointed "Oh…"

"What is it?" Zack stepped up to look through the door and upon seeing what lay beyond he backed up. "Yeah… I guess that would be a bit inconvenient." He turned around to face the others. "The elevator's out. All we've got's an empty shaft. It's not a terrible problem. Just means we'll have to climb down instead of ride."

"We should be more worried about what could happen while we're climbing," Kunsel suggested.

"Nero, most likely," Vincent said.

"Right," Zack said. "It looks pretty open, so…" he turned his attention to Genesis. "Do you mind being the advanced guard on this? We'll be right behind you."

Genesis unfurled his wing. "If you insist." With that, he stepped out into empty space and allowed the air to catch in his feathers, circling in the empty space below. As he went, Vincent noticed he had drawn Rapier and was holding it above him, the words inscribed upon the blade shining red, lighting the shaft in an eerie glow.

Zack looked over at Aerith and Tifa. "I need you two to be climbing buddies. I know you're both tough girls, but it's a real long fall."

The martial artist nodded. "We've got this!"

"What about you Zack?" Kunsel asked. "I hate to bring it up, but you've only got one arm to climb with. I doubt you'll be doing much with the Buster Sword on the way down."

Zack nodded. "I know, but we'll manage. I need you and Vincent to help cover Genesis. If anything's hiding out on the walls, he's going to be hitting it first."

Vincent moved closer to the shaft and the void it contained as everyone else worked out what order they'd be climbing in. Once he had confirmed that Kunsel was ready, the two of them lowered themselves down into the shaft. With the grace of a spider, Vincent maneuvered over to the opposite side so the swordsman could have room to move, and then began the task of descending along the lining of cables and steel supports that enveloped the empty space.

On the other side, Kunsel's hazel eyes reflected out of the gloom, though on occasion, he paused, and Vincent could hear the sound of something being affixed to the wall. Looking back up at one point, he could see a series of small battery operated lights, illuminating the way for those who were climbing behind them. In their glow, he saw Zack making his way down with Cissnei spotting for him. Cloud stood on another steel beam, protectively sticking close to Aerith while at the same time covering Tifa so she could climb down to where they stood. Argento dropped from one cable to another nearby and higher up, he could see Freya, standing on a crossbeam and checking their rear before sliding down to the next secure surface.

Looking down, he could see Genesis continuing to circle in the empty space below. The WEAPON was watching the walls, and after a moment he grabbed onto a cable, signaling a halt before unleashing a fireball below them. Vincent folded into his cloak to materialize next to the former SOLDIER and immediately spotted the remains of a Deepground soldier with a Shrike jet pack falling into the abyss. Another one was rising out of the depths, and Vincent aimed at the man's head, sending a bullet right through the singular eye piece on the soldier's helmet.

Kunsel had dropped to hang on a cable across the void and after a moment, he fired a shot from his gunblade at another target below them. Another Shrike dropped just as it pulled into view below them.

They waited in the darkened shaft for several moments as the echoes from their gunshots slowly died away, in case any further resistance awaited, but nothing seemed to be coming. Perhaps Genesis' Flare had sent most of the other sentries packing. But then… what if…

He glanced over at where Kunsel was adjusting his hold on the cable he was using for support and that was when he spotted the black mist a few feet higher, almost as if... "Above you," he said, before reaching out with his hand to cast Stop at the area above the swordsman. Kunsel only spared a moment to glance up before leaping to the side to grab another cable and then immediately cast Bolt at the location Nero had been threatening to occupy. The mist quickly vanished.

"This situation might be more serious than we thought," Genesis commented, the glow from his sword illuminating the black cables and those holding onto them in a blood red light.

Vincent nodded. "Those sentries were to confirm our location." Looking up through the dim path of lights Kunsel had been setting, he saw that the others had paused in their descent, all of them alert in case Nero appeared again.

The tense atmosphere held a physical presence in the empty void in spite of the echoes reverberating through the shaft for several seconds. Then, up above them, they heard Tifa yelp in surprise, jumping away from the spot where she had been hanging and casting a Bio spell at the location she had been mere moments before.

Half a second later, Aerith cried out as Zack let go of his own cable, running down the wall several feet. A spread of bullets followed after him as a Wall manifested around him before it came to a stop. Up above them, Cloud had cast a Fire spell which lit up the area overhead and the image of a man with two handguns disappeared in a puff of smoke. Zack leapt from the wall on which he was running to cross the gap and use his good hand to grab on a support beam a few feet below Genesis. "Phew," he said. Looking down as he pulled himself back up to secure ground. "Thanks Cloud." The other swordsman nodded, keeping his focus on the area around him.

After that, everyone started to pick up the pace of their descent. The lower they could go, the sooner they reached the bottom, and the less chance an uncontrolled fall would be fatal. A few moments later, a laugh permeated through the gloom. "You realize," a voice echoed through the shaft "as long as you are here, killing you would be as easy as shooting, if you'll pardon the expression, fish in a barrel. I can appear anywhere in here."

There was a surprised cry from above them and a report from Freya's shotgun before the lady Turk dropped several feet below where she had been standing to grab another cable and the Tsviet continued, "I can destroy the integrity of every handhold you could find." Below them, Vincent suddenly noticed a void blocking their path and promptly sent a Fire spell in that direction, accompanied by Genesis, as well as Cloud. The void did not react but Nero's speech continued. "And, I can hinder any attempt you make to find your way." With these words, suddenly, all of the lights Kunsel had placed along the shaft went dark, leaving only Genesis' sword and the eyes of those who had been exposed to mako as illumination. "In essence…" Nero finished, appearing in front of Zack, his blood red eyes contrasting with Zack's violet ones, making them seem almost blue in the dark as they illuminated each other's faces. "I've already won."

Zack looked directly back into the other man's obscured face, and his own eyes narrowed in the dark. "Tell it to the hand." Slowly, gritting his teeth with the effort of using his once-dominant hand, he brought it up to Nero's chest just enough so they were touching and Vincent felt magical energy trigger as a Thundara spell shot through the Ebon Tsviet's body.

The black mists below vanished and Nero let out an angry yell of surprise. The lights reappeared as the mist that had been obscuring them faded, but the Tsviet's voice echoed once more through the shaft. "Very well, have it your way." Another dark void opened up above them and Vincent could see the man was preparing to shoot, but Freya beat him too it, a shotgun blast reverberating above them as the shot permeated through the walls. Nero had already disappeared and Freya hopped down from the cables on which she'd been hanging to the support where Cissnei was standing.

Another void opened in the wall a short distance lower, across from where Cloud, Tifa, and Aerith stood. Vincent fired a shot but saw that Cloud had already seen it, for he had jumped from the beam where he was standing, drawing one of his switchblades. Flying across the gap, he stabbed the blade directly into the void. Nero had already vanished though, leaving the switchblade to embed itself in the wall. The swordsman grabbed another nearby cable before dislodging the blade and sheathing it again.

Genesis had let go of the wall by now, pumping his wing for altitude and Vincent felt something stir within him. Chaos was restless. Not that he himself wasn't. Any moment, Nero could come swooping in on them.

Something moved out of the corner of his eye and he brought Cerberus around just in time to see Tifa dodge behind a vertical girder to avoid a stream of gunfire. Aerith stood still nearby, but the Wall spell around her told him she was fine. Even so, Argento leapt down from another girder to take a guard position in front of the Ancient stemming the flow of bullets with an Ice spell. Once again the void in the middle of the shaft closed.

Overhead, a Bolt spell shot from Cissnei's hand, followed by Genesis soaring up to slash at something with Rapier. Silence returned, but Vincent remained tense. Nero couldn't have been scared off…

The very moment he thought of this, Chaos suddenly started becoming frantic. He barely noticed the changes before they were already happening, and by the time he realized it, he had dropped like a stone. His own wings caught the air and he was suddenly gaining lift, feeling power collecting in his own hand. Chaos flew past everyone, up and up. But the void had vanished, to reappear below everyone.

Vincent could hear several people calling his name as Chaos allowed itself to drop even further like a hawk diving after prey, but he was so busy attempting to wrest control back from the demon, he couldn't tell who. And then, without warning, the void lay right in front of him, and Chaos flew directly through it, with the speed of a bullet.

Vincent suddenly had the sensation of something cold flow across his skin. He was no longer in the elevator shaft. Instead, he seemed to be alone, in an endless expanse of darkness. Had he actually gone inside of Nero's void? Chaos continued to fly forward, looking for a target and then at the first sign of movement, it threw an energy blast. It hit nothing, but continued on, getting further and further away, until it was no longer visible in the gloom. Chaos kept going, searching for something to destroy, and hopefully to get rid of this adversary it did not understand, while Vincent fought to regain control. He had to. Before anything else happened. If there was one thing he could not allow, he could not let Nero get the Protomateria.

His concentration was temporarily interrupted when something wrapped itself around Chaos's left wrist, causing the winged beast to jerk to a stop. It turned on the tendril of dark energy, clawing at it with its right hand, trying to free itself, but then, another tendril reached out of the dark, encircling around the monster's right arm, tangling it even further. Chaos roared angrily and flapped its wings, snapping its jaws and Vincent tried even harder now to regain his concentration. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed an orb of energy that looked like a barrier, and saw Shelke kneeling within it, watching him.

Nero appeared right next to her. "So this is mighty Chaos. Omega's squire to the lofty heavens. He doesn't seem so difficult to deal with. Now tell me Shelke, before you exhaust yourself with that barrier spell of yours, where is the Protomateria?"

"I have no intention of telling you Nero," Shelke said. Suddenly the pressure around the barrier intensified and she grimaced at the amount of energy she was having to put out to maintain it.

"Then, I suppose I shall have to tear him apart, piece by piece. It's a pity. He might have actually lived to carry out his role otherwise." Nero said, approaching the captive demon. Shelke looked from Nero towards where Vincent was fighting tooth and nail against Chaos's impulses.

"Vincent…" Shelke called out to him. "You must regain control. You may not have understood… but…" Nero's power was pressing even more heavily on her Barrier, causing it to crack around her. "Chaos is a being created of the same corrupted Lifestream that gives Nero his power. This darkness should be easy for you to negotiate… because part of you was born from it. You must fight him… I don't want anyone else to die." The cracks were becoming deeper in the barrier.

"_I'm so sorry… Please, you must fight him! I don't want you to die!" _A voice echoed through his thoughts. Lucrecia? Why now?

"Shut up!" Nero demanded. "This idiocy ends now." With that, he reached forward his hand ready to be plunged into the Ex-Turk's chest, where he would no doubt search until the Protomateria was found, however, at the last moment, a clawed hand grabbed his arm. Slowly, but surely, Vincent focused, using every shred of his will to force Chaos back into the recesses of his mind. It might have wanted to carry out its duty of heralding the coming of Omega, but now was not the time. As control returned to him, he tightened his clawed hand around Nero's arm before throwing the man away from him with every ounce of strength he possessed.

The darkness with which the Tsviet had tried to trap him, was falling away, and even though his body was still in the form of Chaos, the calm serenity of his eyes belied a deep conviction within. Troubled as he was, he would not allow this to pass. Nero tried to approach him again as Vincent in Chaos' form stepped forward, but a wing batted him away like a minor annoyance, sending him flying into the void, and Vincent walked towards where Shelke waited. "Unless you find something appealing about this place," Vincent said softly. "I suggest we leave."

Shelke nodded and stood, allowing the man in the form of a demon to pick her up and carry her out. A few moments later, they were dropping though an empty elevator shaft, until the air caught in Chaos' wings and Vincent began the slow process of circling downward. Hopefully the others in their haste, had not gotten too far ahead.

* * *

><p><strong>June 22nd [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 2:00 AM<strong>

Cloud dropped the last few feet to the floor of the elevator platform as Zack landed next to him, his sword arm holding Aerith, only letting her down when he was securely on the ground. Tifa landed in a crouch nearby, followed by the Turks, while Argento and Genesis scoped the perimeter along with Kunsel. It had taken them several minutes to get down here from where Vincent had disappeared, but they had been climbing faster than most of them had believed possible as a result of his departure. If Nero managed to extract the Protomateria from him, then it might be all over. They needed to find them again.

Once he was certain everyone was safely on solid ground, Cloud followed Zack and Aerith to look up at the huge door. "So this is it?" Zack asked.

"It is," Argento said, her voice as calm as though they were discussing the weather. "This is the door to Hell."

"Then, what are we waiting for?" Zack asked. "If Nero took Vincent in there, and Weiss is in there, then we need to get moving."

Cloud heard a pair of boots connect with the ground behind them. "I suppose you are half right." Looking over his shoulder, Cloud saw a strange being with dark skin and leathery wings, who had just let Shelke down to sit on the floor of the elevator.

Zack turned around too, and upon seeing the beast that had just landed, said "Vincent? How many times have I told you not to sneak up on me like that?"

"A few," Vincent said. After a moment or two, the wings began to disappear, the fangs and claws receded, and a pale man with lank dark hair, clad in a black bodysuit and red cloak reappeared.

"How did you get away from him?!" Freya asked.

"Are you okay?" Aerith added.

"I'm fine," Vincent said. The tone of his voice spoke to a desire not to be questioned on the matter. "We were able to evade Nero before he could compromise the Protomateria."

Everyone visibly relaxed at that. "I don't know if we could be more relieved," Cissnei said, before looking over at Shelke. "What about you? When Jessie notified us about what happened, she told us Shalua was nearly frantic. It was all they could do to keep her from hijacking an airship before Midgar's airspace was considered secure."

"I am also unharmed," Shelke said. "Though it was by a very near miss. I doubt I will be much use if we encounter further conflict."

"That shouldn't be a problem," Tifa said. "If anything happens, we ought to be able to handle it."

"I am glad," Shelke said, and for a brief moment, he thought he saw traces of concern on her face before the usual blank mask returned. "Shalua was worried?"

"Of course she was," Freya said with a smile. "That's what older siblings do."

"I thought you were an only child," Kunsel commented.

"Sure I was," the Turk said, "But don't get me started on how Lou used to worry when Elena was younger. Come to think of it, she still does…"

"Perhaps I should tell her I am unharmed once we are back out of the underground communications blackout zone," Shelke murmured, pulling herself to her feet.

Vincent nodded almost imperceptibly, and then he looked up at the door that lay before them. "So this is Deepground," he said at last. "The path to darkness opens once more."

"Yes," Argento agreed. "But sometimes, opening the door can be the easiest way to let the light in. Shall we go?"

"Yeah," Cloud agreed. As they approached the door, a motion sensor triggered, and it began to slowly open. First a device similar to an airlock in appearance spun open, and a door slid to the side, revealing two more slabs of metal blocking their way. These too slid open revealing a bright light behind them.

"Now that's kind of funny," Zack commented. "All this talk about darkness yet it looks pretty bright in there… whoa…" As everyone's eyes adjusted, they stepped through the door, and Cloud found himself just as amazed by their surroundings. They found themselves on a catwalk overlooking what appeared to be a small city, surrounding the largest Mako reactor any of them had ever seen. Overhead, Gargoyles flew through the air, and down below, tendrils of Mako flowed up through veins passing between buildings.

Zack put an arm protectively around Aerith. "Do you hear anything?" he asked.

Aerith closed her eyes and listened. "Yes," she said. " The Planet is worried. But the voices here," she took his hand in her own. "So many deaths happened. So much pain…"

"I know," Zack said, taking a step forward. "But we'll put a stop to it, one way or another."

Aerith nodded. "Right." She placed her staff in front of her. As if this were the signal, everyone proceeded forward. Reactor 0 lay within sight, on the other side of the city.

* * *

><p><em>Looks like Weiss and Nero are trying to use Deepground itself as their defense. Though I'm not entirely sure about how effective that's going to be since Vincent has proven a little more difficult to extract the Protomateria from than last time. Maybe because he wasn't caught entirely by surprise when someone attempted a ninja stab to the chest maneuver to get it this time.<em>

_Oh yes, and something happened this chapter that hasn't happened in a while. Someone channeled a new limit break. Details are below:_

Jinx: Cissnei's level four limit, A string of eight shuriken attacks that can randomly cause status ailments.

_No wonder Weiss and Nero got out of there in a hurry._

_See ya next week!_


	70. Reactor 0

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spin-offs That honor goes to Square-Enix.

**Part III: Demons**

* * *

><p>Chapter 70, Reactor 0<p>

**June 22****nd**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 2:45 AM**

It had been some time since they had entered the labyrinthine series of tunnels and catwalks of the outer wall, and Cloud was beginning to wonder if they would ever get to the reactor. Every now and then they'd encountered light interference, but it seemed the vast majority of Deepground's forces were occupied trying to defend the city. He walked behind the others. It had been his turn in the rear guard, as they walked along another platform. Up ahead he heard someone shout "Below!" Everyone ducked for cover, before Vincent, Freya, and Kunsel fired their weapons almost at the same time.

The man dropped instantly. "Yes!" Freya whispered loudly.

"We can celebrate when we've won," Argento said, striding ahead of them. Cloud and Tifa followed behind, ready to cast at anything that might get too close. Up ahead, Zack and Aerith hopped down to one of the lower platforms and after everyone else followed, Argento and Shelke guided them to a door built into a wall.

After Shelke typed in the entry code, everyone found themselves in a cramped corridor that seemed to go off in two directions. Zack took a step forward, but a split second later, Vincent put out a hand, holding him back. "What is it?" Zack hissed.

Vincent looked around for a moment and then reached for an old piece of wooden debris that lay on the ground and threw it across the hallway. Almost immediately, a series of bullet holes tore through the ceiling and the wall. "How did you know?" Zack asked.

"I could hear them," Vincent whispered.

Shelke started towards another wall. "We might be able to evade them by going this way," she said, pointing to a different tunnel.

"All right," Zack said. "But just in case," he cast a spell in Aerith's direction and Cloud now saw the telltale signs of a Wall before the ex-SOLDIER reached for an ether in one of his pockets. "Okay, now we can go," he said. Shelke nodded and ducked down what appeared to be a maintenance tunnel leading to another path. After everyone had joined her there, they continued until they found an open room. In the middle of it, Cloud could see a depression in the ground, laid with rails.

"A train," he observed.

Argento nodded and walked over to a control panel. "I think about three cars should do it," she said, typing a command in on the control panel. Instantly, a door opened below the platform they were on, and three passenger cars appeared on the track. "This should get us significantly closer to the reactor. Though I suspect there will be plenty of soldiers trying to stop us."

"If that's the way it has to be," Kunsel said.

Vincent took a position in the first car and everyone else began situating themselves. Zack had taken a spot in the middle with Aerith, Argento, and Kunsel while Genesis had decided to stay up front along with Cissnei, Vincent and Argento, leaving the rear car for Cloud, Tifa, Freya, and Shelke. Once he saw that everyone was on board, the ex-Turk hit a button in the front car, and after a brake was released, their transportation slowly started moving forward, into what seemed to be a switch track. After the rails adjusted, the cars began moving again picking up speed until it almost felt like they were flying away from their starting point.

Cloud kept his eyes on the right side of their traveling car, confident that Tifa was watching the other side. Suddenly, he caught sight of several Shrikes overhead, accompanied by a couple of Gargoyles. "Here they come," he said. Immediately Vincent opened fire and Freya followed soon after. Two of the Shrikes crashed into one of the buildings as the train hurtled past and out of the corner of his eye, Cloud spotted a Gargoyle trying to approach the rear car. He turned abruptly as he and Tifa both cast spells in that direction, his a Fire and hers a Bio. In front of him, he sensed Kunsel casting a Bolt spell before firing his gunblade several times from the middle car, putting two more shrikes out of commission. The train continued forward, passing a series of residential buildings washed in dim blue and gold florescent lights providing the image of a city in artificial twilight under the oppressive cavernous ceiling above them. In the distance there was a green glow that was drawing ever closer as they neared the boundaries dividing the regular parts of Sector 0 and the reactor itself. The unspoken message could not have been any clearer for Deepground's denizens. _Abandon all hope, there is no escape._

The wind blew through his hair as the railcars neared a turn and everyone ducked as they heard the sound of whirring blades overhead. Looking up from where he had shielded Tifa from a hail of bullets, he spotted a Dragonfly following them through the cavernous space just above the rooftops. Seeing that everyone else's attention was already directed upward, he reached for his Bahamut materia and the dragon appeared in midair just over the helicopter. It reared its head back, letting loose a powerful beam of fiery energy at the helicopter which burst into flames behind them as the railcars rocketed into a tunnel. For a moment the cars stopped and Cloud was momentarily disoriented as first the front car, then the middle car, and finally their own were lifted up by an elevator to reconnect on another track and regain speed before heading out into the artificial lights filtering up from the buildings below them.

Coming out the other side, he saw up ahead of them that a couple of Shrikes had been waiting really close, ready to come in for the kill. He saw that Zack was on his feet, and the Buster Sword was out in an instant, decapitating one as Cerberus claimed the other before GUARDIAN's lead quickly ducked down into the railcar again. Cloud spotted a sniper on one of the walls, but Kunsel was already on it. The enemy was dead within a matter of seconds.

Thankfully up ahead, he could see that they were getting close to another tunnel, and as they approached it, he discovered they were coming to a boarding platform and the end of the rails. "This is where we get off," Argento said. As the cars slid to a halt, everyone piled out and took a moment to reorient themselves.

"That was a rush," Zack said. "What's next?"

"We should reach the reactor itself soon," Shelke said. "After that, it will not be long until we can reach the core."

Once everyone was set, they walked outside the building to find themselves standing on what appeared to be a bridge. Whether it had been destroyed before it had been completed or after, Cloud couldn't say, but what lay beyond, between them and the reactor was even less inviting than the part of Sector 0 they had already traversed. The buildings here looked like they were terribly rundown, almost as though they were part of a war zone. Holes from mortars pockmarked the walls. Sometimes whole floors were missing. Windows were broken and streets were dirty and desolate.

"You were right Argento," Kunsel said as he took in the sights next to where Cloud was standing. "This place is Hell." No one seemed keen to add to that statement.

In a tense silence, GUARDIAN made their way towards a ladder that descended to the rooftops below.

* * *

><p>Far above the ground in Hojo's laboratory, Reno and Rude were standing at a computer terminal, where they had just finished downloading a series of files they would be decrypting later. After Rude retrieved the disk there was only one thing left to do. They looked around what remained of the scientist's once pristine work space. There were several tables askew now, and someone had apparently smashed the glass on the specimen cage very violently during their absence from the building. Reno couldn't say who or for what reason, but they were not here to ascertain that information. Rude followed him along the catwalk until they reached the stairs down into the main lab, keeping an eye out for any potential threats, however, instead, the red-headed Turk's gaze was drawn to a glass container that lay forgotten where it had been knocked over onto the floor at some point. The glass was slightly cracked, but not enough to leak the contents on the floor yet.<p>

"There you are," Reno said. Reaching for a pair of sterile gloves, he slipped them on and picked up the container, grimacing at its contents before Rude produced a black case and opened it on a counter nearby. As soon as Reno placed the glass container into the case, Rude shut it tightly, and Reno could see his eyes behind his sunglasses were narrowed at the sinister alien face they had just locked into the dark. After a moment, the Turk produced a thread of yellow tape and began to wrap it around the case, as if there was any doubt of the danger contained within.

Once finished with the procedure, Rude gathered the case under his arm and Reno reached for his PHS, dialing Tseng's number. On the other end of the line he heard the Director answer. _"Yes?"_

"This is Reno, the subject has been retrieved. We're ready for extraction."

"_I'm sending Elena in a chopper to the agreed upon coordinates," _Tseng replied before hanging up.

Reno pocketed the PHS. "Let's get moving."

Rude nodded and the two Turks left the lab without another word. Whatever Rufus wanted with Jenova's head was beyond them, but they still had to reach the rendezvous point without arousing suspicion either from GUARDIAN or from Deepground. Reno let out a breath. This week had been way too exciting, even by his standards.

* * *

><p><strong>June 22<strong>**nd**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 4:00 AM**

It had taken them a short while for GUARDIAN to get through what was left of the city portion of Sector 0, thanks in no small part to Argento's knowledge of the quickest route through the heavily damaged buildings. With that, they were able to evade a large amount of the resistance, having only come up against a couple of SOLDIERs, and maybe two or three elites. But Freya was certain there was no way even with the vast majority of Deepground's forces distracted by what was going on at the surface, that Weiss and Nero would not make use of their troops to defend their own positions.

They were now hurrying through a network of catwalks and tunnels within the reactor itself and had just come to a bridge leading to a large building in the center of a pool of Mako. "Is this it?" she asked.

"Yes," Argento said. "On the other side of that door, we'll come to the last corridor before we reach the place where Weiss was once held. It may have been his prison, but it was also the only place he ever knew as home. For that reason, it is the most likely place to which he would retreat."

"I notice Nero hasn't been back," Tifa said, stepping up the pace a little to catch up to the main group as they walked along the bridge.

"I wouldn't hold my breath assuming he won't," Zack said, regarding the area suspiciously. "Let's get this over with as quick as we can. I'm not too keen to stay here any longer than we have to."

They continued across the bridge in an uneasy silence, as the Mako churned below. It was hard to believe, sickening even, but if Deepground had managed to accomplish even a small amount of their attempt to use Midgar's population as fuel that could very well be their spirits down there. Freya turned her attention to the area around her. Now was not the time to get lost in such thoughts. It was time to think like a Turk. If anything were to be coming at them to stop them from reaching Weiss, where would it come from? Probably not below. Too much risk of someone falling to their deaths. That left the catwalks surrounding the Mako pool… and…

Almost on cue, a bullet connected with one of the bridge's supports, barely a few feet from where she was standing. Looking behind her she could see several Deepground Soldiers as well as SOLDIERs behind them, and then the wind picked up. As everyone ducked for cover, she saw fast approaching them was a Dragonfly, though this one looked more heavily outfitted than most of the helicopter-like aircraft they had seen previously. Kunsel and Argento had managed to duck in next to her as the others had taken shelter behind whatever they could find and she could see a plethora of Wall spells coming into existence. Argento glanced over at the other side of the doorway to a control panel as more bullets flew overhead. "If there's any chance anyone could cover me," she said, "Then I should be able to get the door open."

"You've got it," Freya said. Taking a position near the edge of her cover, she allowed herself to focus, channeling a limit and bringing her shotgun to ready position, and fired. Energy coalesced around the fragments of shot as it spread and she quickly chambered out the spent shell and replaced it with a new one. Three times, shotgun blasts peppered the area, and as each blast came up against targets, each individual fragment blasted anew in tinier explosions, not just creating a smokescreen, but further pandemonium. In the confusion, Argento ran to the door near where Zack was sheltering with Cloud, Tifa, and Aerith, and typed in the combination.

"You and the others go on ahead," she said. "Just follow the corridor until you reach Weiss's sanctum. From there, you need only defeat him, and that will be the end of it."

Zack looked out at the oncoming but temporarily distracted Deepgrounders who were getting ready to continue their assault and came to a decision. "All right." He looked around making a split second decision. "We'll split into two teams. Who'll back you up?"

"I'll do it," Freya said, grinning from where she'd taken cover behind one of the bridge's supports. "Someone's gotta keep you guys safe while you're off being heroes."

"I'll stay too," Cissnei said.

"Myself as well," Genesis said from the opposite side of the bridge.

Zack looked at him in surprise but Genesis shook his head. "There is no hate, only joy, for you are beloved by the goddess…" The Dragonfly was getting closer and Genesis drew his wing, Rapier ready for combat. "Hero of the dawn, Healer of worlds…" He lifted his hand in the direction of the oncoming soldiers and suddenly the mako below them. In the area in front of GUARDIAN, a collection of what looked like stars began to gather before shooting at the Dragonfly and all the soldiers in a storm.

"Go," Genesis ordered.

Zack didn't wait for further prompting as a series of explosions wracked the cavern from the spell Genesis had cast. At his signal, Aerith, Shelke, Kunsel, Tifa, Vincent, and Cloud followed him through the open door and Cissnei joined Freya behind the pillar she was sheltering against, her expression a mix of awe and surprise at the destruction Genesis had just wrought against the Deepgrounders.

"Pandora's Box?" she let out in a breath.

"We can ask later," Freya said, surveying the damage. The Dragonfly was still in the air, and while the enemy troops on the other side of the bridge had obviously been sent into temporary chaos, she could already see several of the Elites issuing orders. Quickly reloading with a double click of the pump, she glanced over to see that Argento was already casting an Ice spell to send at the soldiers as Genesis was flying at the Dragonfly, Rapier ready and a Shadow Flare smoldering in his other hand. "Right now. We've got us an army to fight."

Cissnei readied her rekka. "Nobody said it'd be easy."

"No, but you know what they do say," Freya said, as Cissnei cast two Barrier spells.

"Yeah." With that, the two of them got into position flanking Argento.

Freya aimed her shotgun. "Let's show these guys what the Turks are made of!"

* * *

><p><strong>June 22<strong>**nd**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 4:10 AM**

Vincent had been walking alongside Zack as they made their way through the last corridor, when finally they reached what seemed to be an antechamber flanked with dim blue lights. The door ahead of them could not be mistaken for leading anywhere else but to a location of great significance. "This has to be it," Zack said. "Is everyone ready?"

Looking behind him he could see that Cloud and Kunsel definitely were, but at that moment, Shelke leaned against one of the walls. "I will wait here," she said softly. "In my current condition, I will most likely only slow you down."

Zack walked over to the girl and put his hand on her shoulder. "That's okay, you've already helped us a lot."

Shelke looked up at him and Vincent caught sight of a small smile. "Thank you… for counting on me," she whispered. After a moment she looked over at Vincent. "Remember what I said before. If he tries to wake up again, you absolutely cannot let him control you."

Vincent nodded. "He won't."

Zack looked around at those who were left, and finally said "Tifa, Aerith, do you think you can stay here? Shelke probably won't be able to fight, and if we missed anyone between here and the bridge…"

Tifa nodded. "We'll be right here if you need us."

Aerith walked over to Zack, "I understand," she reached up and kissed him on the cheek. "That's for luck."

Zack grinned, and hugged her close before walking to the other end of the hall as Vincent walked to the door. Cloud and Kunsel were behind him. "We'll be back," Zack called over his shoulder.

"I know," Aerith said.

"You are a lucky man, you know that?" Kunsel said.

"Believe me, I do," Zack answered as he and Cloud pushed the door open.

Ahead of them, the room they had entered was laden with steel plates, occasionally punctuated by a piece of machinery, filtering mako. Each of these were situated around the room in a half circle. Along the far side of the room was a pit surrounded by a guard rail, though in the center of this lay a single platform, only accessible by a small bridge, on which was what seemed to be an ornately carved throne, though Vincent could see evidence that at one time chains had been attached to it.

Weiss reclined on the seat, clearly breathing but looking decidedly worse than the last time they'd seen him. The three swordsmen and the Ex-Turk stepped out into the room and as they approached, Weiss looked up. "So good of you to join us," he said, pulling himself to a standing position, though Vincent could see his body was drenched in sweat.

"You're dying, aren't you," when Zack spoke, it wasn't a question.

"Not yet," a voice said to their left. The four of them turned towards the sound and witnessed Nero filter out of the dark. "Once we have the Protomateria, a new life will breathe inside of him, just as one does in you, Valentine."

"At the expense of all those people you murdered," Kunsel said coldly, his hand close to the grip of his gunblade.

"A small price to pay," Nero said, dismissing the accusation with a wave of his hand, as if that alone would sweep away the severity of the situation. "And with the professor in our midst, one that would have occurred anyway. It would be terrible to let such a useful resource go to waste. Nothing is going to stop me from saving my brother, not Shinra, not GUARDIAN, not you."

"I have to admit, it's not easy weighing the life of someone you care about against the lives of a city, but that doesn't make you any less of a murderer," Zack said, taking a couple of steps further into the room.

"What would any of you know, that you would consider yourself a good judge, Zack Fair? You, who spent a meager four years in captivity. Nero and I, we had to endure a lifetime," Weiss scoffed.

"I don't think it's a contest," Cloud said.

"And what would failed Sephiroth clones know?" the Immaculate Tsviet intoned.

"A lot more than you," Zack said. Vincent could see he found that taunt particularly offensive.

"Regardless," Weiss said with a smile, "We will claim our prize." Vincent could see their eyes on him, though he already held Cerberus ready to shoot if they approached, but to his surprise, Kunsel appeared in front of him, his sword clashing with Weiss's.

"For that prize, you destroyed so many, without a single thought," Kunsel growled. "For that, I will do everything I can to make sure you never get it."

Weiss gave him a smile that was almost pitying. "And how would an Ex-SOLDIER and Shinra dog propose to do that, when I am more powerful than you could ever hope to be?"

Kunsel didn't seem perturbed by this, instead, he broke the lock between his gunblade and Weiss's two and fired off a shot which Weiss easily dodged. "I don't care how powerful you are; if you insist on continuing this insanity, we will end you."

Behind him Vincent noticed a dark mist beginning to form. His reaction was immediate. Shiva appeared between where Nero was planning to materialize and the swordsman's back. Noticing the drop in temperature, Kunsel rolled out of the way as a blue-tinged woman appeared, sending a wave of ice crystals at the mists, but the Ebon Tsviet had already moved. "You will not threaten my brother!" Nero demanded. "If you wish to dance, I will gladly oblige you."

"Bring it," Zack said, taking stance with the Buster Sword in front of him.

It was hard to tell if Nero was smiling under his head gear, but the mechanical winglike appendages on his back, which up until this point had been folded at his sides suddenly spread, revealing several gun placements. As the man raced forward from one angle, Weiss was suddenly in front of Cloud, and the blond swordsman blocked his attack with the First Sword and the hollow blade right before Vincent and Kunsel fired three shots apiece at Nero, while running in the opposite direction. Zack ran to help Cloud, using the Buster Sword to knock the Immaculate Tsviet away from him. The last Vincent saw before turning all of his focus on their own opponent, the two of them were practically flying around the Immaculate Tsviet, blades flashing in the green light, as Weiss did his best to hold them off, matching them blade for blade.

The Ebon Tsviet seemed to have multiplied. An illusion he was sure, though to be on the safe side, the two of them dived for cover before firing at the different images, trying to find the real Nero. As they were getting close though, he noticed dark mist forming under his feet and jumped out of the way, just before a clawed hand reached out to try and pull him down.

Almost immediately, another portal opened a few feet away, near where Kunsel had just cast a Barrier. Vincent raced forward, firing a shot that definitely struck home. Nero let out a grunt from inside the hole in space-time and vanished again without the man he'd been threatening to pull after him.

The two of them looked around, scanning the area for Nero's next ambush when they both saw signs of the black mist collecting right behind Zack. Weiss had stepped up his assault and it appeared the man was trying to push GUARDIAN's leader directly into the void.

"You're too far away," Nero's voice whispered. "No matter what you do, you will never be fast enough to get there in time. They'll be inside me before you know it, just like you in a matter of moments."

It was at that moment when Vincent felt a powerful energy radiate through the room. This was definitely a limit, and it was on the more powerful end of the scale, possibly comparable to some of Zack and Cloud's, but neither of them had channeled one.

"Wanna bet?" Kunsel growled. Something resembling a haste spell had activated in the immediate area, and though Vincent jumped out of the way as Nero made another attempt to grab him, Kunsel was running towards the other battle, his gunblade already aimed and he fired it several times, so rapidly Vincent couldn't even tell how many times it had actually gone off.

Weiss backed off as several of them connected with a Barrier he had erected before two of them struck the Tsviet in the shoulder, and Kunsel continued past him, striking the gunblade directly at Nero's shadowed form even as it had tried to withdraw back into the shadowed portals he'd opened simultaneously on both sides of the room. The gunblade connected with the Tsviet seven times before the brown-haired swordsman reappeared between Cloud and Zack, the haste spell still active. As he had struck at Nero, Vincent was already headed after the Ex-SOLDIER, and as he approached, he saw Kunsel looking around the room as Zack and Cloud were already getting back to holding off Weiss.

Weiss backed off now, retreating towards the throne. Definitely moving slower thanks to the wounds Kunsel had inflicted, and Zack blocked one of his attacks easily, allowing Cloud to slide in under his defense and wound his leg. Another door was forming near where the blond swordsman was, but he stepped to the side, allowing Vincent to fire several shots into the dark before the hole closed, leaving only the floor.

Kunsel dodged as Nero made another attempt to drag him into the dark, before shouting at the ceiling "You can't keep doing this forever Nero!"

"Perhaps not," a voice echoed, and then suddenly, it was right behind them. "But neither can you." Vincent recognized where the voice was coming from and moved to push Kunsel out of the way, but this time, a shot from one of Nero's guns struck true. The swordsman looked down and Vincent saw a hole just going through his left side that was beginning to ooze red. Nero had fazed in behind his Barrier, and if Vincent had not reacted, the bullet would have gone through his chest. Zack looked behind him and his eyes widened. Silently signaling that Cloud keep the pressure on Weiss, he raced over, as Vincent turned around, trying to keep an eye on every angle from which the Ebon Tsviet could possibly come next.

Kunsel leaned against one of the mako tubes coming out of the floor, reaching for his Restore as Zack hurried over to him. Vincent looked around warily. Without the swordsman, he had fewer eyes to look for Nero, and he could hear Weiss laughing on the other side of the room even as Cloud was working to hold him at bay.

"Kunsel?" Zack asked.

"It's nothing," the swordsman said through clenched teeth, his breathing ragged. "I'll be fine in a minute."

"All right," Zack said as he saw the other man was already focusing on casting a Cure. "I'll cover you."

That was when it happened. Vincent was about to dodge to a different location, when once again, the mist surrounded him. But this time, instead of the darkness, he found himself standing in a strange, desolate place composed of a network of rocks and bridges suspended over dark clouds, while in the center a fire pit of magma bubbled ominously. He looked up in time to see a strangely spiderlike being climbing out of a hole in the fabric of space above him. Nero appeared shortly afterward, hanging upside down yet bodily affixed to this strange object. At guess it was a manifestation of the darkness he had called upon, but the Ex-Turk could not be certain, and further speculation would have to wait as the Ebon Tsviet called across the space between them. "You can't keep going forever, Vincent Valentine. Even if Chaos puts us on equal ground here, that doesn't mean I won't kill you."

Vincent decided to answer by lifting Cerberus and firing several rounds. Unfortunately, that was when the shield appeared, and he quickly had to dodge to avoid several floating objects. The discovery that these were mines came to him when one of them smashed on the rock he taken cover behind. He dashed across one of the bridges shooting any explosives that came too close. He was almost behind another boulder when he saw a fiery projectile headed his way and he dived to avoid a fireball that hit the ground behind him, sending sparks and cinders across the rocks. Rolling into a firing position he aimed three more shots at Nero before ducking into the shelter of the boulder in order to reload.

Once Cerberus was ready for the next round, he ducked around the rock and emptied the triple barrel of his weapon. The shield finally went down, and after ducking behind the rock to reload one more time, he shot across the opening between his current cover and the next boulder. Another wound grazed Nero's side and he faded back into the dark with a grunt. For a few moments, the area was nothing but silence and then a voice filtered up from the ground below him.

"You aren't going to keep me from saving my brother," he heard someone say below him. Leaping into the air and grabbing a handhold on the rock he was covering behind, he fired at the ground which had opened up into a blackened abyss below him. Nero grunted again this time clearly in pain and disappeared and did not return. Vincent was certain it had been a serious wound.

In the eerie silence of this nightmare world, Chaos was stirring again but he mentally clamped down hard on the demon's urgings. He was not about to lose control again. He couldn't. Not here, especially not if one of those memories assaulted his mind again. However, at that moment he heard something nearby that sounded like Nero shouting out "Weiss!" before the area around him dispersed into darkness, and then without warning, the mist gave way, and he dropped to the metal plates surrounding Weiss's throne…

* * *

><p>After Vincent disappeared, Zack had waited for several moments as Kunsel cast Cure on himself and the wound closed. It had been pretty serious, and even with the spell, he'd probably need a day or so for his enhanced healing to completely compensate since there was a high probability some organs had been punctured. The Cure would patch things sufficiently in the meantime, but the stress of the initial trauma would still be there. Even so, the man had absolutely refused to sit down. "Do I need to get you to Aerith?" he asked. At the very least, he'd be out of the line of fire until he was safely restabilized.<p>

"No," Kunsel said seriously, his eyes on Cloud and Weiss as the former of the two leapt off the other mako tube to flip over Weiss and attempt to get him from behind. Weiss whirled around, blocking the other swordsman's attack and then backing away with a speed that was almost on Sephiroth's level, firing several gunshots as he went. Giving his friend a grin that Zack thought could probably have rivaled one of Freya's, Kunsel continued with a shallow laugh. "After all that talk when we started, I'm not leaving. What's that thing Barret always says? About trains?"

"We aren't getting off this train we're on, or something like that," Zack supplied.

Kunsel nodded, "Something like that," he repeated, before looking around. "Go back and help Cloud, I'll be fine."

"You sure?"

"I can manage." With a last look at his friend, still leaning against the tank, Zack hefted the Buster sword in his left hand again and charged, just as Weiss fired two more shots at Cloud. The blond swordsman dodged, before veering around in a semi-circle, leaving the Immaculate Tsviet's back open and Zack took his chance, slicing the Buster Sword at Weiss's left side.

At the last minute, Weiss attempted to block, but it wasn't quite fast enough to prevent Zack's blade from leaving a long laceration along the Tsviet's exposed ribs. Weiss let out an angry bellow as he backed away, but didn't bother to cover the wound as he attempted to fire on Zack's position. Zack rolled to the right before using the Buster Sword as a shield while Cloud went in for the kill, driving the Tsviet back towards the pillar on which his throne stood. As he did so, Zack could see that Weiss was moving slower. As Cloud parried another strike, he called out over the room "You aren't going to last much longer like this, Weiss. Can't you just stop?"

Weiss simply laughed. "You fool, even if I die, it'll simply mean Nero can resurrect me once he has the Protomateria, this battle won't mean anything in a matter of minutes."

"I wouldn't count on that," Cloud said as he locked blades with Weiss a final time.

The force of this blow was the one that finally led Weiss to stagger, and he backed away from Cloud, across the narrow bridge to sit on the dais, his breathing getting shallower. "Well then," he said. "I suppose… we'll just have to see… who's right…" He relaxed, allowing both blades to fall to the ground.

Cloud was about to approach with Zack behind him, but then someone cried across the room "Weiss! Keep your hands off my brother!" A black void opened between them and the Immaculate Tsviet, but almost at the same time, a gunshot rang out from across the room. Zack looked around for the origin and noticed that Vincent had dropped to the floor, though he was in the process of picking himself up. Kunsel on the other hand, had moved around the mako tube and the barrel of his gunblade was smoking.

The black mist around Nero dispersed as the Ebon Tsviet dropped to this knees, and started crawling towards his brother. "Weiss…" he moaned. "Weiss… I…"

"Nero…" Weiss replied as the other man moved to curl up with his head on his lap. "Were you able to…"

"I'm sorry…" Nero said. "I did what I could…"

"It's all right… brother…" Weiss intoned. It seemed that once he had stopped fighting, he was weakening faster than before. Even now, his body seemed to be exerting a lot of effort to stay up, "I'll be right… behind you…"

Nero reached up and grabbed his brother's hand, "I'll be… waiting…"

After that, Nero's hand went slack and Weiss looked up at the SOLDIERs. Vincent was walking to join them. Weiss chuckled derisively… "Well… perhaps… you did win… after all…"

"It didn't have to be like this," Zack said.

Weiss narrowed his eyes at him and simply shook his head. "Fool… you wouldn't have lasted a minute… here in… Deepground…" An uncomfortable silence permeated the room, only broken by the sound of the mako below them.

After a moment, Zack returned the Buster Sword to his back and walked forward, mutedly checking Nero for any signs of life, and then checking Weiss. It seemed the Immaculate Emperor had passed barely a few seconds after his last words. He walked back to where Cloud was checking to see if Kunsel needed any assistance on the way out. "It's over," he said.

Kunsel attempted to stand straight. He managed, but he was definitely moving gingerly. "Then we need to get back," he said.

Zack turned to look back at Nero, the dark haired Tsviet who had given everything to save his brother, and somehow found himself thinking of what might have happened. If it had come down to it, when Cloud was ill, would he have given everything to save him? In some ways, it was both pathetic and tragic that it had ever come to this.

"Zack?" Cloud asked.

Zack turned around, to see that Vincent was standing next to the other two swordsmen. "Sorry. It's been a long night, and we still have to get back topside." It was true. He could contemplate might-have-beens another time. Turning to Vincent he asked "What about you?"

The gunman looked around the empty chamber thoughtfully, glancing at the two bodies behind them, already being reabsorbed by the Lifestream before answering. "Let's be on our way."

Cloud gestured that Kunsel could lean against him as they walked to the door, and Zack was headed in that direction but he heard the noise of something clattering to the ground behind him. Looking over his shoulder as Cloud opened the door to the antechamber, he saw that Vincent had dropped Cerberus on the ground and seem to have put a hand over his face. "Vincent?" He hurried back to try and lift up his companion.

"Sister…" Vincent muttered before blinking and looking at Zack, apparently realizing he'd vocalized the word out loud.

"Care to level with me on what that's about?" Zack asked.

"I don't know for certain…" Vincent said as the dark-haired swordsman offered to help him to his feet. Instead, he picked himself up "But it seems since we returned from Midgar after Hojo's death, I believe I've been seeing memories that are not my own."

"You should have said something earlier. Had we been back in Kalm I might have been able to resolve the issue before we left," a voice carried through from the other chamber. As they crossed the threshold, they saw Shelke sitting against a wall while Tifa was talking with Cloud nearby. Aerith was already looking Kunsel over with a Sense materia as the younger Tsviet stood and walked over to Vincent, a slight reproachfulness filtering through her usual expressionless mask. "It is quite possible due to the violent nature of your breaking off my SND, fragments of my memories were left behind. Fortunately for you, the nature of our connection was merely one for seeking information rather than manipulating your thoughts. Therefore, it should be quite simple to correct the problem."

"I think I can understand why he'd be reluctant though. Even then, we weren't quite sure if we could trust you," Kunsel said from where he was leaning against the wall.

Rather than argue the point, Shelke simply sighed. "I suppose this is true, but I still find that attitude dangerously hard-headed."

Kunsel gave her a wry grin, and Zack realized it was probably the first smile his friend had given the Tsviet. "He's not the only one around here with that problem."

"Look who's talking," Zack retorted before turning his attention back to Vincent. "But seriously," he whispered. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"I felt you had troubles enough…" Vincent murmured.

At that point Tifa broke the tension by directing a question at Kunsel. "Shouldn't you sit down?"

"Eventually," Kunsel said, "It's just tender is all… I used a Cure, so I should be fine till we get to the surface…" He winced as Aerith ran a hand over the spot where the bullet had cut through him.

"What a trooper," Aerith commented, "It's a lucky thing Rayleigh's Sense materia doesn't seem to detect anything to indicate any complications. Gunshot wounds like that are nothing to joke about. She'll probably want to take a look at you anyway."

Kunsel let out a relieved sigh. "Thank Gaia, I know it could have been a lot worse. "

"What would have?" Everyone looked up at that point to see four others standing at the other end of the chamber. Argento's coat was slightly torn where a sword had obviously made contact with it and Genesis and the Turks looked slightly singed. It was Freya who'd asked the question.

"Glad to see you guys are all right," Zack said.

"Well of course we are!" The lady Turk said, looking everyone over as she approached. "Though it looks like we missed the fireworks."

"Perhaps," Argento agreed.

Aerith walked over to Zack and he put his arm around her. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm ready to go." With that, everyone turned around to walk back the way they had come. There was still the possibility that an ambush by any Deepground holdouts might happen, but that was a problem they could deal with when they got to it. The main threat had by and large been removed.

* * *

><p><em>Only one chapter left in Part III! I can still hardly believe it.<em>

_So, we had a couple of limit breaks this chapter. As noted below:_

Blast Screen: Freya's level 3 limit, designed to be both offensive and defensive by doing damage, lowering enemy accuracy, and inflicting Blind.

Gunblade Assault: Kunsel's level 4 limit. With blinding speed, he starts by firing several bullet at all enemies before striking with his blade seven times. While not as powerful as Cloud's Omnislash or some of Zack's limits at his prime, it is still nothing to sneeze at, and since his limit tree was one of the first I developed for the part of the cast that weren't protagonists, for this story it's kind of a big one. ^^

_See ya next week!_


	71. What Comes Next?

By** a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spin-offs That honor goes to Square-Enix.

SOLDIER 2nd Class Eli is an original character.

**Part III: Demons**

* * *

><p>Chapter 71, What Comes Next?<p>

**June 22****nd**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 5:00 AM**

On their way out of Deepground, they had passed a group of elites at the bridge, who had just been standing there. When they saw GUARDIAN approaching they'd looked like they were unsure of what to do.

Zack had stepped to the head of the group and said "Here's the situation. Weiss and Nero are dead, but we will give you the opportunity to lay down your weapons and surrender. If that's what you're going to do, go to the main entrance of the Shinra building and put your weapons by the elevators. We really don't want to hurt you, and we'll treat you fairly, as long as you don't hurt anyone else, but if any of you harm even one more person in this city, it won't be tolerated."

There was silence for a moment and then one of the elites walked forward. "Weiss is… gone?" he asked.

Zack nodded, "His killer was the Shinra company, in the end."

"Then there is nothing left…" the Elite said. "He gave us hope, you know. That was why we stood by him."

Argento stepped forward. "Then perhaps you should find something else to hope for. Deepground may be the only thing you remember, but by far, it is not the only life that exists."

"Lady Argento…" the Elite removed his helmet revealing a man about Cloud's age with red hair, and a scar across his cheek. "What about Shinra?"

"We're working on that," Zack said. "Tell me, did any civilians survive after they were rounded up for Hojo?"

The elite looked confused. "You mean, those people we were asked to gather into the cages…" He shook his head. "I think they were all dumped directly into the Lifestream. Most of us didn't know what that was all about until Nero began the process…"

"No one survived?" Cloud asked, walking forward to stand next to Zack. "Are you sure?"

The man nodded. "We were just following orders. After Nero took them, there was nothing left."

Deep down, Zack felt a quiet rage building and he could tell Cloud seemed equally angered, but now… he couldn't. He had to be a leader. He had to do this carefully. Otherwise, it would just cause a lot more pain. "I see," he said at last. It felt wrong, he knew. But there was nothing more that could be done to make it right. "Spread the word to your other men about surrendering. Too many people have already died," with that, Zack motioned that everyone follow him through the street. He was incredibly relieved to see that no one tried to hinder their path to the elevator. It seemed anyone who would be a hold out decided that now was not the best time to act.

* * *

><p><strong>June 22<strong>**nd**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 6:00 AM**

It wouldn't be long now before a helicopter arrived to retrieve everyone, since Zack had called mission control on the way up. Once they reached the main entrance of the Shinra building, it hadn't taken him long to find that GUARDIAN and Shinra had consolidated their joint control of the upper plate and a vast majority of the slums in their absence. However, Argento asked to make a stop by the lab to retrieve something and it had been decided that the President's personal helipad would be the best location by which to get everyone back to Central Command.

Everyone had ridden up the elevator in a tired silence, and as Zack looked out at the glass separating them from the elements, he noticed that the sun was shining to the east of them, due to the fact that a strong headwind had blown most of the dark clouds away. He quietly hoped this would be a good omen for the future.

When the elevator stopped on the level with the Science department, Argento walked through the door to the upper level and the others followed. It was only then that Genesis' eyes widened in recognition. "The Masamune," he said.

Argento nodded. "I think I've determined why the Turks left us," she said. "It would seem Jenova is gone."

"You mean the head?" Cloud asked.

"I'm afraid so," Argento agreed. "But at the very least, with any luck, no one shall use this blade again." She looked up and Zack could see her grey eye sweep over the Buster Sword and and the Fusion Swords with a small smile. "I trust that its cousins are in good hands," she finished before walking past them towards the last stairs to the President's office. That was when Zack made the connection.

"You're Gin Okazaki's daughter," he said.

"I was," Argento said, and there was a hint of wistfulness in her voice, "Before I became Argento the Lustrous."

The conversation died again for a short while, as they entered the last reception area before the steps to the President's office, and ascended before walking out onto the platform leading out to the helipad. At that point, Kunsel sat down against the wall of the building while Cloud, Tifa, and the others found places to lean against railing. It was only then that Zack asked another question. "Are you going to go home?"

Argento shook her head. "Perhaps one day, when I am no longer needed. For now, I think my path will lead me to follow the Planet's youngest WEAPON." She looked over at Genesis who simply shrugged.

"The lady expressed an interest in seeing Banora," he explained.

"In that case you'll be pretty close to where we are," Kunsel observed, looking up for a moment.

Argento nodded. "Should your blades need repairs for any reason, you will know where to find me."

Zack turned his attention to Genesis. "Now that this fight's over, what do you plan on doing?"

The red-headed swordsman looked out over the city as the wind blew through his hair. "I doubt I shall see this city again," he said. "I have much bigger matters to attend to. I suspect I shall have some time before my duties truly begin, though in the meantime, I will need to make preparations."

"Well, if you've got some time," Zack suggested, "Are you going to try living a little? Seems to me just going back to sleep would be a terrible waste when the Goddess basically gave you more time to… enjoy her gift, don't you think?" He noticed that Vincent had looked off away from everyone at that.

Genesis gave him a slightly annoyed look. "I'll consider it," he said at last. He walked a little away from the others and unfurled his black wing. "For now, I think it is time I bid you farewell."

Argento walked over to him. "Impatient, aren't we?" she commented.

"No. I'm simply tired of our present company," Genesis said. "You may come later if you wish."

"I have nothing left to do here," Argento replied.

"Then let us be off," Genesis looked back over at Zack and the remaining members of GUARDIAN. With that, he placed on arm around Argento's waist and then with a powerful beat of his wing, he lifted himself and the Silver Tsviet into the sky, and began flying south.

After he was beyond their sight, Zack turned his attention to the rest of the group. Freya was sitting next to Kunsel while Cissnei and Shelke were both standing nearby. Cloud and Tifa were watching the sky with Aerith, and Vincent was quietly brooding while looking out over the city.

After a moment, he walked over to the two Turks, turning his attention to Cissnei. "I didn't quite get the chance to thank you back when we were fighting Weiss in the exhibit hall."

"It was nothing," Cissnei said with a smile.

Freya grinned. "I guess Kunsel's rubbed off on us a little," she gave the swordsman a gentle fake punch to the shoulder, "What's that thing you always say? We've got your back."

Kunsel gave her a wry grin before looking up at their leader, his expression turning serious. "So what happens now?"

The dark haired swordsman noticed that Cloud and Tifa were also listening for the answer to that question, but as he considered it, he also heard the whirr of chopper blades in the distance. "I don't know," he said at last. "I guess we'll just have to figure that out."

Aerith let out a sigh. "We will, eventually."

The helicopter was getting a lot closer and soon, it hovered in to land on the pad. As the doors opened, the first person out was Shalua. "Shelke!" she cried upon seeing her sister.

Shelke looked up and then walked a little closer as the woman ran to her and wrapped her arms around her. The shorter girl froze at the contact, uncertain of what the proper protocol for this was, but after a moment, Zack saw her try awkwardly to return the hug.

He looked around at the others. "So, think we can get back to Kalm now?"

* * *

><p><strong>June 23<strong>**rd**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 10:00 AM**

Upon returning to Kalm, it had been decided that everyone would rest a little before getting into the minutiae of figuring out what would happen next. With Weiss gone, and the vast majority of Deepground dead in the fighting, there wasn't a lot of resistance left. It seemed he and Nero had been the driving force keeping them in line. Once that had been removed, many, though most certainly not all of them, had seen the writing on the wall. A few had surrendered, though what remained had fled using the last of Deepground's Dragonflies. They would have to be dealt with eventually, but in the meantime, there were other things to be concerned about.

Among the problems that couldn't be ignored was the glaring fact that even though Midgar was once again secure, a significant portion of the population had been systematically erased from existence over the course of a week. It would take time for rebuilding to occur, and it would have to happen without the reactors, if GUARDIAN had anything to say about it. Even so, people were still in need of services and many of the citizens left behind were afflicted by Geostigma; an even higher percentage now than before Deepground had gone through the city. Not to mention there were still families trying to find loved ones who had gone missing during the city's occupation.

Some of the first questions Reeve had come to Zack hoping for answers about was how he intended to handle the loss of energy, once he had sent in a team to dismantle Reactor 0 for good. Rufus had been displeased by that, but now that the conflict had definitely alerted the public to the truth regarding what mako was composed of, a significant portion of the population had been in favor of its removal, especially once it was revealed that Shinra actually did have emergency alternative energy supplies such as oil and gas for a short period of time, though it wouldn't hold out forever. These were all issues they would need to resolve soon, and Rufus was already pressing that a meeting should take place today. It would, later this afternoon, but now that GUARDIAN had a little time to rest, there was another important thing that needed to be taken care of.

Vincent was waiting on the balcony looking over the computer lab Shelke and Shalua had set up in Kalm, observing the goings on as the two women directed the technicians in setting up for the current project. He wouldn't admit it to anyone, but he was somewhat apprehensive, and the various demons he shared living space with, so to speak, seemed to realize this. He wasn't sure if they understood why, but rationally, he had made the decision, so all that remained was to act on it. While Shelke had assured him there would be no memory loss from another SND, it would very likely be taxing on both of them.

"_Even so,"_ she had said the previous night when she had taken him aside to discuss the matter. _"It is impossible to completely undo everything I've done, for Hojo, or the Tsviets, but the least I can do is try to repair the damage."_

He watched the girl walk across the room to sit at a computer station near her own SND access terminal and type in some code, looking up when Shalua asked her a question and nodding in affirmation. At that moment, the front door opened and he saw that Zack had entered with Aerith and Kunsel. Fortunately for the brown-haired swordsman, Rayleigh had confirmed definitively what Aerith had already surmised. No complications from the wound he'd received from Nero. He'd spent most of yesterday sleeping off the trauma but most of the rest of the party was too exhausted from the previous night for it to be much different from what everyone else was doing. Zack and Aerith stopped on the ground level to talk to Shalua, but Kunsel walked directly up the stairs to the balcony. "There you are," he said before leaning on the railing and looking down at the goings on. "I guess things are just about ready to go aren't they."

"Yes," Vincent said, not really looking in the swordsman's direction. "I expect they will be needing me down there shortly."

"Well, before it happens, I guess I just want to say I hope it works. I'm not too fond of the idea of someone messing around with your mind… or anyone's really, but…"

"I appreciate your concern."

As he spoke, Vincent saw that Zack was looking up at them. "Is there anything you need Vincent? Or would you rather just have some privacy?" The other Ex-SOLDIER asked, his voice carrying up through the room.

Vincent allowed a hint of a smile to play across his face. "That should be all," he said. "This is a matter between myself and Shelke. I would prefer to keep it that way."

"Got it," Zack replied. "In that case, just let us know how it turns out, okay?"

Vincent inclined his head in the affirmative. "I will contact you once the situation has been resolved."

Seeing that Zack was going to continue on his way, Kunsel straightened again. "Well, we'll get out of your hair, but just so you know… we've all got you covered."

There was a moment of silence before he started towards the stairs again. As he reached them Vincent spoke again. "It's not something you have to do," he said.

"No," Kunsel admitted with a sheepish grin. "But…" he laughed self-deprecatingly. "Sometimes, I guess we just can't leave well enough alone."

"That isn't always a bad thing," Vincent said.

"Maybe not," Kunsel agreed. With that, he walked down the stairs and rejoined Zack and Aerith before they all walked back outside.

As they walked out, Shelke looked up at him. "We have finished preliminary checks. Are you ready?"

Vincent walked down the steps to join them near a pair of reclining chairs, one of which was under a familiar looking bell-shaped device. They had discussed whether or not restraints would be needed for this venture, but considering the nature of this particular SND, Vincent was certain he should be able to keep his demons at bay this time. "Yes," he said.

"Then please sit down."

Vincent did as she asked, waiting patiently as she took a seat near her own terminal and donned her custom headset. "With any luck," she said, "Since this is a mutually agreed upon exercise, commencing the dive should prove much less violent."

Vincent waited patiently for a few more moments before Shalua finished typing something at her computer terminal. "All right, I think we're set."

Shelke lay back and Vincent could see her usually blue eyes begin to go slightly golden orange with the power she was utilizing. "Uplink successful…" she said, "Now commencing SND…" That was the last thing he heard before he suddenly had a sensation of falling away from consciousness…

_It seemed his demons were uncertain as to what was going on, but they prowled at the edge of his awareness, bade to stay there by his will. Shelke appeared, floating about a foot off what he perceived to be the ground in front of him. "Connection successfully established, begin defragmentation process in three… two… one…" _

Vincent found himself looking at what appeared to be a grave, and he could clearly hear a sound of a little girl sobbing. It wasn't long before he realized the point of view was that of the girl herself. "Stop crying Shelke," another girl said from her right.

"But…" the younger girl began to say. "But…"

"It's all right, Mom just returned to the planet. We'll see her again."

"We… we will?" Shelke's field of vision shifted and Vincent could see the girl that Shelke had superimposed into Luxiere's memories. Her own recognition confirmed what Vincent was already certain of. It was Shalua, though much younger, much less injured, and much less battle-hardened.

"Of course we will," the younger Shalua said. "Mom said everything in this world flows around in a circle. That means, she'll come back some day." The younger Shelke was still crying and so Shalua tried to comfort her sister again. "Mom wouldn't lie to us, right?"

"R-right," Shelke said at last.

"Right," Shalua confirmed for her again…

_Vincent stood alone but he found himself thinking that while such a thing did have a grain of truth, it was still rather naive. Certainly there were stories of encountering the dead in the Lifestream, and Aerith spoke of it sometimes, but eventually, they became part of the whole, and while that energy did indeed flow in a circle, that which had been reconstituted would inevitably come back completely different from what it had been in its previous life, changed by the mere vastness of the energy cycle it had become a part of. If there was one constant in life, it was change._

"_Perhaps…" a voice said. "But it gave me hope, when I had none…"_

"_Perhaps…" Vincent repeated._

"_It would seem a small amount of Lucrecia's data has been left behind as well, most likely a result of when I tried to break your defenses."_

"_Is there anything more that I must do?" Vincent looked around and noticed that Galian Beast seemed to be trying to press into the lighted area around where he stood, but he gave the demon a hard glare that bade him stay where he was. _

"_Continue to keep your demons at bay, the repairs should take effect automatically as soon as the data has been uncorrupted."_

_Vincent waited patiently for a few moments when suddenly, he found himself looking on another familiar scene…_

Lucrecia was standing in her laboratory, looking up at the mako tube in which a dark-haired man floated lifelessly. She had tried so many things to revive him already but to no avail. "No…" she said, "It's still not enough… I have to hurry, or the tissue will continue to decay." Suddenly, she felt terribly lightheaded and collapsed to the floor…

Another memory came to the forefront, the one in which Hojo had entered her lab to discover what she had been working on. "Hahahaha, I see. Another experiment? You're using this fine specimen to finish your thesis, aren't you, doctor?"

"No! You're wrong! You're wrong! YOU'RE WRONG! I…" Lucrecia screamed, but then she paused as though something had occurred to her. "Experiment…?"

"_I found it…" A voice echoed through Vincent's thoughts and soon it was joined by a multitude of others._

"_With him…"_

"_That's why…"_

"_I couldn't save him…"_

"_Proof…?"_

"_Never again…"_

Vincent found himself watching through Lucrecia's eyes and sensing that she felt horribly ill, no doubt from the experiments in preparation of giving birth to Sephiroth. She walked through the underground lab and suddenly found herself looking in on Hojo, to see a body on the floor. It was Vincent, as he had been before Hojo's experiments, and her own. Horror and shock were the first emotions that ran through Lucrecia's mind followed by anger. "Hojo… what have you…?"

Vincent's past self moved on the floor, but it was quite obvious he would die if things remained as they were…

"_You had his eyes…" Her voice echoed through the dark as the image faded away. "I didn't…"_

"_I didn't want to remember…"_

"_I didn't want to face the truth…"_

"_I pushed you away but…"_

"_Now I realize…"_

"_I never wanted to lose you…"_

Lucrecia was curled up on the floor in her laboratory, clearly in pain, and looked up at the lifeless figure in the mako tank. "N-not again… not today…" Pulling herself unsteadily to her feet she leaned against the base of the tank looking in at Vincent's motionless form. "Vincent… did you know… that your eyes are exactly like your father's?" The image flickered away as quickly as it had come…

"_I've done it…"_

"_Born of the Lifestream."_

"_Bringing all together."_

"_Stopping the imminent decay of tissue."_

"_But instead…"_

"_Born was…"_

"_The Chaos that took him… away from me."_

Lucrecia was once again looking at the mako tank, but within it, Vincent saw a terrifying figure, the very demon herald of the end that now lay within his own body. "Stop!" Lucrecia pleaded, her terror and fear evident as she tried to placate the being that had taken her colleague and was now threatening to destroy his son by tearing his body apart from the inside out. "Stop!" She screamed again. That was when something gleamed to life on the floor, near where Grimoire Valentine himself had died. A materia glittered brightly and in its light, Chaos suddenly went dormant. Lucrecia approached it curiously as the image vanished into the dark. "This…"

"_The materia… I found…"_

"…_we found together…"_

Lucrecia was typing furiously on the keyboard of her computer, but for whatever reason, it refused to accept the commands she was giving it. Finally, she slammed her hand down on the keys in surrender. "No!" She cried out angrily. Looking back at where Vincent remained immobile in the tube, she sank to her knees and burst into tears. "What am I doing…?" She moaned at last.

The scene changed again and this time, Vincent found her shouting at Hojo. "Give him back! Give my son back!" She demanded.

Hojo simply ignored her and asked "And how is your experiment proceeding?"

Lucrecia ran across the room, putting as much distance between herself and this man as she could. "I don't know! I don't know! I don't care!"

"_Let me see him! Just once!" Her anguished screams echoed through the dark to be replaced by sad acceptance._

"_I'm so sorry."_

"_I can't…"_

At last, he saw her curled up under the mako tank, and the defeat in her voice made it clear she had come to a decision. "I'm sorry…" she said. "I can't… take it anymore… My body… my mind…"

"_Before I go…" Slowly, the voices began to speak again before dispersing into a torrent. He wasn't sure what it all meant. The emotions attached to these random thoughts were just as confused and fragmented. _

"_Jenova's cells…"_

"_Vincent…"_

"_Stored as data…"_

"_Must leave…"_

"_Thought…"_

"_I loved…"_

"_Record…"_

"_Memory copy…"_

"_For him…"_

"_It was wrong…"_

"_Wait…"_

"_Disperse…"_

"…_so sorry…"_

"_Apply…"_

"…_but I…"_

"_For…"_

"_Fragment…:_

"_Survive…"_

"_Hope…"_

"_who…?"_

"Who is she?" Shelke's voice carried across an unfamiliar lab Vincent could only assume lay somewhere within Deepground.

"Doctor Lucrecia Crescent, girl, and you are to gather her data so we can find the materia! Get on it! I won't say it again! Idiots…"

"_That data is already defragmented. We are almost done… Just let her in Vincent. It will make this a lot less difficult…"_

Vincent found himself sitting in Lucrecia's cave, however, as he sat there, her form appeared before him, as he remembered her from thirty years before. "Hello Vincent," she said softly. Then she looked around curiously. "Hmm… something's wrong…" Looking down at him she tried to explain. "You see, this is me, but only in a sense. It is merely a reflection, created with my remaining data." She walked behind him, continuing to look around the cave. "The real me crumbled away long ago." She looked up at the surrounding cavern, thoughtfully. "Vincent? Do you remember our place, under that tree?"

Suddenly, there they were, sitting as though nothing had changed, the flowers of the Nibel mountains surrounding them as they looked down at Shinra Mansion below them. "The warm breeze on our skin…" she murmured, closing her eyes as she took in the sensations of the place, the sound of the wind and the birds in the trees, the smell of the flowers and the mountain air. Finally, she lowered her head sadly. "I know that it no longer exists. Things fade with time, and because of other factors as well." She watched a leaf fall from the tree. "But there are some things we can't let disappear, hmm?"

Vincent continued to watch, transfixed as she leaned a little closer. "I finally realized my true feelings. Even if you may never understand them." She looked back out at the landscape with a nervous chuckle. "Not that I mind though…" almost immediately her expression saddened. "But… this isn't how it was supposed to be… I… I made too many mistakes… And I've hurt you… so… so much…" her voice was on the verge of cracking into a sob as she spoke. "Oh, why did I do what I did?" She turned to face him as the scene was already going dark. "I'm so sorry…"

"_But I'm so happy… you survived…"_

"_I think we're done…" he vaguely heard Shelke off in the distance, already leaving his inner space. "Terminating SND in three, two…_

_He could detect consciousness approaching, but somewhere deep in this place, he felt something else pulling him, and Chaos was definitely aware of it. Hellmasker, Death Gigas, and Galian Beast all seemed uneasy, but at the same time, felt drawn to it. "Lucrecia…" He didn't know how he was… but something was pulling him towards… he wanted to be where she was… or at least as close as he could physically be…_

* * *

><p>"<em>Terminating SND in three… two… Shelke paused. Suddenly her connection to Vincent had been cut off in the network. Not that there was any danger for him now. The data on his part of the network had been successfully uncorrupted, but it still would have been better if he'd followed protocol. She sighed impatiently. He truly was a difficult person. It most likely came with the territory of being an Ex-Turk.<em>

"_Shelke? You didn't terminate the connection… and Vincent just vanished! Are you all right...?" Shalua's voice echoed through her consciousness._

"_I'm fine…" she tried to say, but there was something here that made her linger. Looking around her own inner space, she couldn't quite put a finger on it but… something was off… and then she saw it…_

_At first, she could barely make it out in the gloom but then, a lone figure walked out of the shadows. "Hey! You! Red head!" the man called out to him. She took in every detail of him, his blue eyes, his young face, dark a hair, and the 2nd Class SOLDIER uniform he was wearing and realized… It was the Tsviet they had manipulated… the one Kunsel had called Luxiere._

"_Yes?"_

"_You played with my life like it was a toy…" The man gave her a disapproving glare._

"_I know what I did to you was wrong…" Shelke began._

_The man shrugged. "Not much that can be done about that now unless you want me to haunt you. But then again," He considered the area they inhabited. "You and that Lucrecia lady aren't the only ones who royally screwed up. Talk about embarrassing," he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly._

"_What do you mean?" she asked._

"_Well, you knew they'd wiped my memories anyway by the time you got to me, but… after what happened… I guess some things couldn't be permanently erased. You probably knew that just by how that illusion you named Usher turned out. It looked so much like Kunsel even with that ridiculous red hair that I got confused when I found the real guy. But let me get straight to the point, before I'm… not me anymore… again... Do you think you could let the guys know… I didn't mean to cause so much trouble for them? If anything, I just wanted a taste of the glory… instead of Zack for a change…" he laughed humorlessly. "If I'd listened to Kunsel when I had the chance, maybe even tried to help him… maybe things wouldn't have turned out like they did… I just wanted to tell them I'm sorry too… and thank them for not leaving me… even after what I tried to do…" _

"_Perhaps…" Shelke said thoughtfully. "But how are you even here?"_

"_Don't know the details," the 2__nd__ Class said. "But… what you're doing right now? It's a lot like what Zack's wife can do." He chuckled to himself at his own words. "Wow… hard to believe he's married now. And to that cute flower girl of his…"_

"_The manipulation of mako through the energy utilized for the network… of course…" Shelke observed._

"_Whatever. I never was that technically inclined. But do you think you could do that for me?"_

_Shelke smiled sadly. "I suppose it's the least I can do."_

_He gave her a nod of gratitude. "I really tried too hard to have everything, and ended up falling further than I thought possible. Heh… Never thought I'd be thanking you…"_

"_Shelke!" Shalua called out to her drawing her back towards reality._

"_I'm coming…" Shelke said. Looking around, she saw that the 2__nd__ Class SOLDIER was gone. Pulling herself back inward she spoke again. "Terminating SND in three… two… one…"_

* * *

><p><strong>June 23<strong>**rd**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 11:00 AM**

Cloud sat next to Zack and Kunsel across the table from Rufus while Veld presided over the accords. They were in the process of deciding who would maintain control over the various portions of Midgar.

Zack shrugged impatiently. "So the problem is, you don't trust us."

"In a word, yes," Rufus agreed calmly. "It was the pragmatic choice to simply join forces with you when it was clear there were no other options, but now that the threat of Deepground has been removed, what guarantee do I have that you simply won't attempt to have the Shinra company dismantled?"

"Well," Kunsel suggested, "You could just decide not to make your goal world domination."

Reeve nodded. "In all honesty, Deepground was a symptom of the rampant ethical problems the company has been facing for decades. It doesn't have to be that way Rufus. You could be better than your father, if you choose to be."

Rufus raised an eyebrow. "And you think you have the moral high ground? Some of you actually helped forward those ethical standards. We all did." He looked pointedly around the room, his eyes landing on Veld, Reeve, and Zack in particular.

Zack met his gaze. "That doesn't mean we can't do better."

"Regardless," Veld interrupted, "There are people who need us to make a decision so they will be able to get on with their lives, leave or rebuild."

"Sir," an assistant on Rufus's side of the table spoke up. "I apologize for butting in, but without the mako reactors, Midgar is essentially inoperable, as it stands."

"I am aware of that," Rufus said. "That brings us to another question. How are we going to be compensated for damages?"

"From when we blew the reactors?" Zack asked.

"Precisely," Rufus said. "Regardless of their strategic importance, they were Shinra property."

"We'll work something out," Reeve said.

"What about the scavengers?" Another assistant asked.

Everyone looked in his direction curiously. "What do you mean scavengers?" Kunsel asked.

"Well sir, after Deepground fell, we noticed a number of people picking through the remains of houses bereft of their owners. It's been really difficult to determine what's theft and what isn't."

* * *

><p><strong>June 23<strong>**rd**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008, 11:30 AM**

It was a short while later when the negotiating parties broke for lunch, and Zack led the way as they headed back towards their own headquarters. They were almost to what had been the Turks' safe house when Zack let out a tired sigh. "Do you ever get the feeling this is getting us nowhere?"

"Yeah," Kunsel agreed. "The truth is, as long as our interests keep conflicting, we're probably not going to come to an agreement with him."

"If anything, the people in Midgar need a place in this too," Zack said thoughtfully.

"You mean like a government?" Kunsel asked.

"Hmm?" Zack looked over at his friend curiously.

"You need to read more history," Kunsel said. "Back before Shinra they had local principalities and countries that would control parts of the world."

"Like Wutai, yeah, I know," Zack defended.

Kunsel slowed his pace a little as he spoke. "Well, has Midgar really had that for a while? I mean, there was the mayor, but by our time, he was more or less a librarian."

"And Deepground probably got him if he didn't get out," Cloud observed.

Zack considered this as he opened the door. "It would be nice if we had someone looking out for the people that wasn't trying to take advantage of them… but where do we even start on something like that when the Shinra company keeps trying to block us at every turn?"

"Did I catch you guys at a bad time?" a voice carried through the room. As Cloud walked in after Zack, he saw a familiar figure standing near the table in the kitchen area. His straight blond hair looked a little mussed and his SOLDIER helmet sat next to where he stood.

"Eli?" Kunsel said. "What brings you here?"

"A lot more more in SOLDIER are talking about leaving for good, and they want to know if you've got an alternative once rebuilding is finished."

Zack gave him a tired smile. "Of course we do. What about Bradley though?"

"What about him?" Eli said. "He's still pretty loyal in spite of everything, but there are only a few that want to follow him. With the company going through so much right now it's getting harder to control what we do. If we leave, who's going to stop us? The troopers? Scarlet's machines certainly aren't smart enough and Rufus doesn't want to lose an army in the event one of us fought back while being detained."

"I certainly won't," Zack said. "It's nice we're getting some good news."

Cloud had just sat down on the couch when barely a moment later the door opened and Shelke appeared.

Zack turned his attention to the girl. "Hey, how did it go?"

The Tsviet paused for a moment and then answered "Frankly I am not sure what to think of what happened."

"Why?" Kunsel asked.

"Because he disappeared, though… I think I might have an idea of where he went."

"Then, where did he go?" Zack asked. "This isn't exactly the best time for people to be running off."

Shelke looked down at the floor. "I am not certain it is my place to say, but if I am right, it was somewhere very special to him. There was something else too…"

"What?"

* * *

><p><strong>June 27<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008**

Kunsel looked out over the scenery below them as Shelke piloted the GUARDIAN helicopter westward across the Corel Mountains. He still wasn't sure why he had volunteered to come with the Tsviet, but after the last few days with no contact from Vincent, Zack and the others had been getting worried since he hadn't been answering his PHS, and as Shelke was the only one with any inkling of where he might be, it had been decided that she'd go with an escort.

The last four days had passed by in a whirlwind of activity as people worked to put their lives back in order, Rufus tried to hold on to what control he had left, and Midgar's ultimate fate was in the process of being decided. Cloud and Tifa had taken a little time off to look for Denzel's family, but unfortunately, the boy's parents had indeed been among the dead. After discussing the matter, Cloud had suggested that maybe they should look after him, and so they had decided to take him back to Mideel before returning to help Zack. There was still so much that needed to be done…

"There seems to be a lot going on," Shelke commented. "It feels as though since the day Weiss and Nero died, no one has stopped working."

"Perhaps," Kunsel said. The young girl looked very different since she had traded her Deepground uniform for some more normal clothing, at Shalua's urging. She still required a significant dose of Mako every few hours in order to maintain her body's equilibrium without the suit, but Doctor Rayleigh had already suggested that if her addiction was handled the right way it would be possible to resolve her inability to function without it if given enough time and the correct adjustments.

The flight continued in an uncomfortable silence for a little longer, and then Shelke continued. "I do not know if what I have done can be properly forgiven, since I know that the truth of my actions while a part of Deepground seemed to have strongly upset you, but…"

"Don't," Kunsel interrupted, still looking out the window. The tone of his voice wasn't angry, but it was abrupt enough to get her attention.

Shelke glanced away from the scenery. "Is that something you do not wish to talk about? I understand if that is the case…"

"No, it's not that so much," Kunsel replied, turning to look in her direction. "The truth is, if a situation gets desperate enough, people can do some pretty terrible things. I'm not saying what you did was right, and… even if what you saw in that last SND was actually him… there's a lot of things I don't get… but I do know one thing. You aren't the only person I know with a little bit of a history. If I refused to accept you for what you were, it wouldn't be fair to everyone else in this motley crew of lunatics now would it? Especially not when I think you really do understand how serious it was and you really are trying to make amends. We all have our skeletons, but as long as you honestly keep trying," he allowed a corner of his mouth to slide up a little, "I'll be counting on you to follow through. Fair enough?"

Shelke returned the smile with a little one of her own. "Then consider it my promise, both to you and to Luxiere, that you can count on me."

"Great," Kunsel turned his attention back out over the mountains just in time to see them part to reveal a valley with a huge river running down the center of it. "Is this the place?" he asked.

"I believe so. I didn't see much, but his thoughts seemed to be drawn to this location when he vanished." Shelke brought the helicopter down over an open field on the west side of the river and the two of them stepped out onto the grass. Kunsel secured his gunblade on his back as he followed the Tsviet towards the cliffside. The girl climbed ahead of him, as though she knew every single step by heart.

"You sure you've never been here before?" he asked, reaching for another handhold among the rocks.

She had just reached the final ledge and stopped to wait for him. "No, I have not, but Vincent and Lucrecia have," she replied.

As Kunsel leapt up to join her he saw that the cliff jutted out from the waterfall in front of an ancient looking cave. He paused to look around at the valley below, taking in the view appreciatively. "He sure knows how to pick his hiding spots. I'm surprised no one lives here already."

Shelke looked back behind them at that moment and spoke to someone standing in the shadows. "They sent us to look for you Vincent Valentine. Not that I… mind though…"

Vincent walked out into the sunlight, and Kunsel noticed there was something different about him… more at peace, he supposed. "Are things progressing in Midgar?" the ex-Turk asked, allowing a small smile for the young Tsviet.

Kunsel grinned. "They are, but we can use all the help we can get. Zack says he understands if there was something you needed to do of course but is everything all right? You kind of left in a hurry."

Vincent inclined his head in affirmation. "No need for concern. He will have my assistance."

"Great," Kunsel turned his attention out across the valley again noting the shadows of clouds floating over the land below them like leaves in a stream. He held no illusion that there would not be any more problems coming their way as Midgar pulled itself back on its feet, but with everyone working together, and a bit of luck, he was sure they'd be more than up to the challenge.

**End of Part III**

* * *

><p><em>And with Part III now closed, there's still so much to do. I'm really looking forward to getting the show on the road for the Fourth and final part, but next week is going to be a break week since I'm going to be travelling for a bit. After that though, our second interlude, "Does Our Future Still Lead to a Smile?" will commence with exploring what Reeve's up to. Same bat time, same bat channel, Midnight Thursday, August 29thFriday, August 30th. Don't miss it!_

_Also, to everyone who has followed, favorited, and reviewed so far, I would like to once again thank them from the bottom of my heart for sticking with me through this adventure, and I hope the last portions of this Behemoth of a fic will be just as enjoyable for all of you as it has been for me!_


	72. Birth of the WRO, Begin Interlude 2

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spin-offs That honor goes to Square-Enix.

**Does Our Future Still Lead to a Smile? (Interlude)**

* * *

><p>Chapter 72, Birth of the WRO (Case of Reeve)<p>

**June 30****th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008**

Reeve was working in the office at the small house the others had set aside for his work-space in Kalm. After the battle, he had promptly gotten busy, taking inventory of available resources and helping to coordinate teams between the Shinra and GUARDIAN forces. He picked his foot off the floor when a small cleaner robot rolled across the carpet near his feet, as he perused a series of documents. Zack and the others could keep track of things well enough, but for an issue this immense, with no one knowing where to file paperwork for damages, and no one knowing where to find emergency services it was like wading through the swamp to find anything he really needed.

He laid the papers down as he noticed one of his Cait Sith units approaching with a glass of lemonade. "Reeve, how long until yer done with that mess?" the little cat asked. "The meetin's goin' to be startin' soon."

"I just have a few more details on our budget, and then I'll be set," the man said, looking down at the little cat to accept the glass. "Thank you."

"I just think we'd best be hurryin'," the little cat pressed. "Zack needs those numbers if we're to be able to work smart with Rufus."

"I know, I'll be done in a minute…" Reeve sipped his tea and turned his attention back to the paper he was perusing. Several minutes passed as his eyes moved back and forth across the page and he made notes as he went while the morning sunlight filtered through the window to form a sunbeam on the carpet in front of his desk. He was almost finished and was in the process of placing his papers into a briefcase when the front door of the little cottage opened and he heard an indignant series of beeps from the cleaner bot. Looking up, he saw Cloud had entered the room, and had almost stepped on the little thing. He was looking down at it with no small amount of surprise as it almost seemed to be scolding him in its incomprehensible language.

"Are all of your machines this temperamental?" he asked, looking up at Reeve with mild amusement.

"A lot of the objects I work with seem to take on personalities of their own," he walked over and looked down at the cleaning robot, "Shoo," he gestured to the little disk. It let out a single shrill beep and then scurried under a nearby easy chair.

"So it's time then?" Reeve asked.

"Yeah," Cloud said with a nod. From the look on his face he would rather be doing anything else but what they were about to be doing. Reeve had to admit he could understand. After everything the Shinra company had done to Cloud and Zack, and the vast majority of GUARDIAN's other members to varying degrees, it was easy to understand why.

Reeve returned to his desk to retrieve the brief case. "All right, let's go." He turned over his shoulder. "Cait 7, if you would watch the office while I'm gone?"

"Will do Reeve!" the little robot waved from around the corner. Reeve nodded at the cat with a smile and then followed Cloud out into the afternoon sunlight. They strode across the streets of Kalm noting the villagers watching them as they passed.

The last week had flown by in an endless blur of chaos and confusion. Families were looking for loved ones, security forces were overwrought trying to stop scavengers in the city from going after the homes of those who had survived Weiss's genocide, and Rufus… the young President of the Shinra company seemed to have his hands just as full. With employees struggling to protect company property and the military operation not only exhausted and heavily demoralized thanks both to having been decimated in the fight to win back the city and the fact that Heidegger and Scarlet were being held as criminals, the fact they had won back the city was a single bright spot to them on an entire horizon painted black.

Reeve sighed as they passed through the street headed towards the town hall. It wasn't long until they walked through the town square with the familiar sculpture in the center that clearly indicated pride in the quiet mining town this settlement used to be. Not long after that, Cloud opened the door and walked through leading the way towards the conference room where the meeting was taking place. However, he could already hear the tense voices murmuring behind it. To his surprise, as they neared the door, Zack walked out of the room looking rather frustrated. "Hi guys," he said, walking over to a table nearby where someone had had the foresight to place a few pitchers with drinking water.

"Everything all right?" Reeve asked.

"Nothing I can't handle, we've just been arguing over how to organize the cleanup crews for going back into the caves around Deepground," he gave an exasperated sigh. "I hope you remembered those inventories we talked about."

Reeve tapped his brief case. "Of course. I have them here."

"Thank Gaia," Zack murmured. "I'm starting to wonder if there's any way we can get along with that guy. If he's not making demands, he's trying to send us invoices or accusing us of trying to destroy the Company. Sure that's what we were doing before this mess happened but…" as he talked, he poured himself a drink. "Are you still planning to go into the city after the meeting's over?" he asked, changing his thoughts mid-sentence.

"Yes," Reeve agreed. "I'll be checking on some of the crews in Sector 5 today, and there's someone else I'd like to check on while I'm at it."

Zack nodded. "All right, just keep me posted. We'll see what we can work out here. You ready for some negotiating?"

"I'm simply glad to make myself useful," Reeve responded. With that, the three of them walked into the conference room, ready for battle.

* * *

><p>It was about an hour or so later when they were heading back towards the building Reeve was using as his office. Reeve opened the door and let the other two swordsmen enter. Zack let himself drop on a couch that sat on the wall opposite the area where Reeve's desk waited. "How do you do it, man?" he asked after a moment.<p>

"You should probably be more specific Zack," Reeve said, motioning that Cait 7 get some lemonade from the refrigerator.

The little cat scurried off while Cloud took a seat in a nearby chair, and Zack looked up at the ceiling considering just what he wondered Reeve was capable of. After a moment, he leaned in "Truth is," he said after a moment, "You're a pretty good negotiator."

"Well, I don't know about that," Reeve said quietly. "I just try to find common ground where it exists and work to smooth things over when waves are made."

"That's exactly what I'm saying," Zack continued. "You're good at that."

"You are too, in your own way," Reeve replied. "Although I suppose legal and political matters are not the sort of thing you're used to handling are they."

Zack ran a hand through his hair and grinned. "Yeah, you caught me. Not that I'm gonna hide from it, if this is what we have to do, but on the other hand…"

"There's something else you're worried about isn't there?" Reeve asked.

"I guess," Zack said. "When we're in there with Rufus, we keep talking about oil when we talk about power generation, and though he seems to get that we can't keep using Mako because of what it does to the Planet every time it's used, I get the feeling he's kind of suspicious of us when we offer our own solutions."

Cloud nodded in agreement. "It's like he's afraid we're trying to take over his empire," he said.

Reeve nodded thoughtfully before he felt something tugging at his pant leg. Looking down, he saw Cait offering him a glass of lemonade. "Guests first Cait, didn't I teach you manners?" he said with amusement.

Cait chuckled. "Och… sorry Reeve, I don't know what I was thinkin'." He walked over to where Cloud sat and offered the glass, which the swordsman accepted with a quiet thanks. Cait went back to the kitchen and soon returned with two more glasses filled with the sweet drink. Upon returning, he passed one of them to Zack before finally returning to Reeven. As he took the second glass from the little cat, Reeve sat down behind his desk.

"So what you're saying is that you think it's possible our own efforts to get the Shinra company under control might be hindering things with negotiating with them?" Reeve suggested.

"In a nutshell," Zack mused. "Though I guess I also wonder if there's some truth to us trying to take over."

"What do you mean?" Cloud asked.

Zack frowned as though struggling to put his thoughts into words. "From what Kunsel says, Shinra started as a weapons development company, and then moved into power before they started really taking off," he started. "We know oil is a good source of power… but what happens if we do the same thing? Does that make what we did worth it if GUARDIAN turns out like them?"

"You'd never do that though," Cloud said.

"No, I wouldn't, at least not on purpose, but it's definitely not good to force people to do things they don't agree with without giving them at least the chance to disagree and come up with a different solution, and right now, it feels more like we're arguing over who's standing at the top of the hill while everyone else is trying to get their lives back together."

Cloud looked thoughtful at that. "That is a good point."

"Do you think there ought to be a counterbalance of some kind?" Reeve asked before taking a sip from his glass.

"Maybe," Zack said, his eyes meditatively on the glass in his hand.

Reeve looked down at a few of the other papers on his desk, brow furrowed. "Well, I suppose we can find a solution. But in the meantime, I need to find the last of my papers so I can give the clean-up crews an update on when the next relief supplies are coming in."

Zack nodded and looked up with a grateful smile. "Don't let us keep you, if you're in a hurry."

* * *

><p>It was getting into the early afternoon as the helicopter came in for a landing at a helipad on one of the buildings in Sector 5. As the rotors slowed to a halt, Reeve stepped out of the passenger compartment, accompanied by Cait Sith and a pair of GUARDIAN troopers, and looked out over the city, considering what was on his agenda. He had specifically planned to allow some extra time before he was due to meet with the leader of the cleanup crew in order to run a specific errand. They walked into the elevator and waited for it to descend down to the plate level.<p>

There was silence as he reached out and hit the button, and then the sensation of the small box they were in sinking to the ground below them. It slowed to a halt and the doors opened again, revealing the glassed in foyer of one of the smaller skyscrapers in the city and Reeve strode out, pulling Cait Sith up so the little cat could ride on his shoulder. One of the troopers chuckled softly as they reached the door, and he couldn't help but smile. Cait had this way of easing tension in a situation most of the time that was actually welcome now that he could carry him out in the open without worrying about the Science Department.

As he walked down the steps to a waiting car, he reached into his pocket, fidgeting with a pocket handkerchief with a pattern of blooming flowers printed across it. It wouldn't be long now. After taking a seat in the back and letting Cait Sith slip down into his lap, he watched the two troopers enter on the other side, and leaned against the window. The car started, and soon, he was watching the various buildings slide past his field of view. This part of the city felt quiet and desolate. So many people were gone, it was hard to believe.

"Is somethin' wrong Reeve?" Cait looked up at him curiously.

"Not really. I was just thinking."

"You built a lot of the upper plate, didn't you sir?" One of the troopers asked.

"I designed it, yes. But that was before we knew what Mako really was," Reeve replied.

There was an uncomfortable silence as the car left the Sector 5 business district and turned into one of the residential neighborhoods. Not long after, he spotted a Shinra trooper standing with a GUARDIAN trooper and the Shinra trooper lifted his hand to stop the car before the two walked up to the driver. "This area is still under security sir, would you state your business?"

"We're escorting a GUARDIAN official," the driver replied. "Mr. Tuesti has all the proper authorizations."

"Tuesti…" The trooper paused before looking through the window.

Reeve rolled it down to address the man personally. "I understand you all have a job to do, but I assure you my presence will not interfere with your work."

The GUARDIAN trooper had walked up behind his partner, giving Reeve a friendly salute. "It's no trouble sir, you can come on through."

Reeve glanced up at the man and returned the salute. "Thank you. Carry on."

As the car rolled away, he could already hear the Shinra trooper asking his companion "What's Reeve Tuesti doing here?"

"He has his job just like the rest of us," the GUARDIAN trooper said, his voice fading into the ambient noise of activity as they pulled further away. Pulling further into the neighborhood, he could see that things were disturbingly quiet, with the exception of a tent that had been set up with relief supplies. The area surrounding the shelter was quite busy at the moment. He would be headed that way in a moment, but for now the car continued onward until it came to a small house on one of the other streets.

Stepping out onto the street and letting Cait Sith slip down to the ground, he looked at the two troopers in the car and said politely "I'd appreciate it if you'd wait here please."

"Yes sir," One of them responded.

With a nod Reeve strode over to the door and knocked. He did his best not to shift his feet nervously, after all, even if he hadn't been able to see the person who lived here since well before he'd fled Midgar, he had no reason to fear her.

The door opened a few moments later and he found himself looking at an elderly woman with her white hair secured back in a bun, standing in a room in which flowered wallpaper blanketed the walls. "Reeve?" she looked up in surprise and then he could see joyful tears well up in her eyes before she reached out to hug him. "Where have you been? First you disappeared and then all those Deepground soldiers started roundin' up me neighbors. I didna know what to think."

Reeve returned the hug with a relieved smile. "They didn't hurt you, did they mother?"

Ruvie Tuesti pulled back for a moment. "Never mind me. Let me look at you," she said, ignoring his words before nodding in approval. "Well you look like you've been stayin' healthy," she said. "If I didna know any better, I'd have said you'd actually gotten some sun."

"I suppose you could say that," Reeve said.

"Hello mum," Cait Sith offered Ruvie a jaunty wave from where he stood below them, and Ruvie knelt slightly to scratch him behind the ears.

"Hello to you too Cait Sith," she said. "Have you found me son a wife yet?"

"Not yet, but I've been takin' good care of him," Cait responded jovially. He always had been quite fond of Reeve's mother, and he made a noise rather like a purr as he accepted the gesture. Reeve looked down at his mother, noticing she was wearing some of her older clothes and that a pair of work gloves was sitting on the kitchen table, and fresh earth appeared to be caked on the fingertips.

A box of supplies lay open on the table and Ruvie had been quietly enjoying some lunch it seemed. Noticing where his gaze was directed Ruvie walked to the back door. "There was a depression in the back that looked like it would be a good location for a small garden. I haven't managed to coax any flowers to grow, but I'll get them yet," she said, opening the door to show him.

Reeve walked over to look out and sure enough in a corner of the back yard, a set of improvised garden boxes had been set up. "So you've been all right up here, since I've been gone?" he asked again.

Seeing the concern in his expression Ruvie nodded. "Those soldiers did come through here, and they made a nasty row, but after one o'them found me in me garden, I gave them a right scolding they'd never forget. Apparently once was enough for them…" she chuckled softly. "But never you mind about me, I'm just happy you're here. I don't have much that hasn' spoilt since the power went out, but the old coal stove I brought with me from our old house still works just like it always did. A lot more reliable than those reactors anyway if you ask me. But I should be able to cook up something small if you'd like, I was just about to make some lunch anywey."

She was already walking towards the kitchen, even as Reeve was about to open his mouth. There was something off though, something about the way she was moving. It was almost as though his mother wasn't telling him something. He walked over to the kitchen table and that was when he spotted something peeking out from under the box of relief supplies. "It's… all right…" he said. "I was not intending to stay long…" looking down, he lifted the box just slightly and swallowed hard. Underneath the cardbooard sat several bandages. They weren't heavily saturated, but they were definitely stained black.

After a moment, he looked over at Cait Sith who had started playing with a tassel on one of Ruvie's pillow cushions. He had long ago offered to leave one of the other Caits with her, but she had absolutely refused saying as much as she liked him, she had no intention of letting others do what she could do for herself. He walked over to the little cat and whispered "Do you think we could give her a hand?"

"Right'o," Cait responded and scampered over to where Ruvie was searching her cupboards for a pot.

Reeve followed the cat into the kitchen and watched as he hopped up onto the counter to reach for the cabinet door. "Don't worry about me, Cait dear," Ruvie scolded. "I've got it." As she reached up, Reeve watched the collar of her pink cardigan lift a little on her chest, and that was when he spotted the evidence she had been trying to hide. Reaching out, he gently took hold of his mother's hand.

"Reeve?" Ruvie gave him an odd look. as the younger man gently pushed aside the cardigan, revealing a bandage wrapped around her chest under the white blouse she was wearing. The two looked at each other for a moment, Reeve's expression wide with worry, while Ruvie's was hard and challenging.

"The Stigma," he said, trying to hide the shock in his voice. He let go of her, letting his hands fall to his sides. "When did you first notice it?"

Ruvie turned away from him. "Almost two weeks ago," she said. "I did see a doctor, but there was nothin' they could do."

Reeve looked away, the guilt clenching at his heart like a vice. All this time, he'd been off helping to fight a war against the company for whom he had helped to build this city, while without him even knowing, his own mother, whom he had left behind without a word, was becoming a casualty to another threat that the people of Gaia had no means of fighting. And yet, the guilt was made all the worse, because he knew that had she not contracted the disease when she did, she might have been murdered along with all those other people in her neighborhood who weren't sick. He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked back to see Ruvie looking up at him. "It's all right," Ruvie said. "I know you are an important man. I wasn't goin' to get in your way if I could help it."

"But you're not in my way, you're my mother," Reeve said. "And I'm not going to abandon you. As soon as I'm done with my meeting, I'm taking you back to Kalm with me. We have a physician there who has been working on a cure. We don't have one yet, but if I have my way, you won't be going back to the Planet for a bit longer yet."

"And what about everyone else?" Ruvie asked, her expression critical. "I'm not the only one."

"That's what we're working on," Reeve said, "But if there is any chance we can keep it from progressing in the meantime..."

Ruvie looked out the window at her barren flower box, thinking for a moment. "Will there be flowers there?" she asked at last.

"I know a young woman who can make them bloom anywhere," Reeve promised.

Ruvie looked up at him in surprise. "Now that is someone I would like to meet."

* * *

><p>About an hour later, Reeve stood on a street leading to a different neighborhood when a tall and heavy-set middle-aged man with a long beard walked up to him. The foreman, a man by the name of Gaskin had been working tirelessly the last few days to assist in bringing relief supplies into the city, though right now, he was helping to oversee cleanup at a location where a bomb had leveled a power station in the area. While everyone in their allied force had taken pains to avoid civilian areas, it hadn't been easy to avoid all casualties, since a significant amount of the city planning had been built with convenient access to such locations. Reeve was sad to admit, that had been partly his own fault.<p>

"Welcome!" The man waved in greeting as he approached and Reeve nodded in reply. He had left Cait Sith with Ruvie until he could return.

"How are things progressing around here?" he asked.

"Well enough," Gaskin answered. "We managed to get most of rubble away from most of the relays and we're checking to see if there are any technicians who might have been unaccounted for during the assault. It's fortunate most of the civilians took shelter in the slums, but there were still a few who didn't leave."

Reeve nodded again as he listened. "What's the status on the generators?"

"They're running at full capacity. The emergency facilities have remained operational thank goodness," Gaskin confirmed as he began walking along the street towards what was clearly a crater opening into the upper plate sewers below. The plumbing system in this area has obviously seen its share of damage, but it's nothing we can't repair."

Reeve looked down the hole at the workmen who were shoveling debris out of the waterways. "Have there been any issues with seepage down into the slums?"

Gaskin sighed. "There was a little bit, but we took care of it as soon as we could redirect the water out of the affected area." The foreman turned away from Reeve to lean against a nearby wall, and Reeve noticed the man was gripping his side.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

"N-never better," the foreman said. "Just rubbed my shirt on some grease near the work site." He wiped his hand on a handkerchief, and Reeve saw evidence of a black stain on the cloth. He'd never seen grease that looked like that.

Gaskin ignored his concerned expression. "No time to worry about things when there's people who need our help, and the refugees are already starting to come back. No doubt about it, Midgar will be back on its feet in no time."

They spent a little longer looking over the site before Reeve stopped at the tent where relief supplies were being distributed, and then, his business concluded, he walked back towards the car, planning to go back to his mother's house. He hoped she would still be willing to come with him.

He was about halfway back to the car when nearby, he could hear two men who were clearly on break from the repair work arguing nearby. "I'm telling you, with damage like this, GUARDIAN's about as dangerous." The first man, a rather middle-aged fellow with a short beard was talking to his companion his tone clearly indicating how strongly he felt on the matter. "If they really cared, they wouldn't have tried to destroy our reactors just to get Deepground. They wanted us to be defenseless too. It's no secret General Fair had no love for Shinra."

"And why wouldn't he? Besides there wasn't much choice. The Deepground soldiers needed the Mako and now that we know the truth about it…" his friend, a younger fellow with a cleanshaven face argued back.

"Of course there was a choice. And not only that, but I'm not sure there is proof Mako is dangerous. I only hear rumors. Besides, Fair's into oil now. It's the perfect excuse to make people buy what GUARDIAN's selling since Mako's not in favor anymore…"

Reeve walked a little closer to listen, when the younger man spotted him. "Well if you have such a problem with it, then why don't you ask them yourselves. Mr. Tuesti's right here."

The older man looked behind him and only slightly raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Don't know how much you heard, but don't think I'm too scared to look you in the eye and say it. I've been a company man for thirty years, I don't plan on deserting it now."

Reeve nodded in understanding. "I'm not here to judge. If anything, I'm here to listen. I can see why you find our motives suspect, since we have been at war with Shinra for several months. But truly, none of us anticipated Deepground. What comes afterward, will come, but for now, we need to work on what we truly agree is the problem. And that is picking up the pieces now that they've been neutralized. And a cure for the Stigma needs to be found. For now, you have my word, we are paying attention to your concerns."

The man looked back at him, suspicion evident on his face. "If the public good was so important to you, then why did you leave us for them?" He asked.

"Because I'm hoping that what I do will not just help Midgar," Reeve said. "We really do want to change things for the better, believe it or not."

The man looked at him with narrowed eyes. "I suppose. But what do you think is truly best for Midgar, Mr. Tuesti?"

"First, we clean up the mess, and ensure everyone is safe. Once that's been taken care of, we can discuss what comes next and come to an agreement. I truly think this is what those who have left us would want," Reeve said. With that, he bid them good day and walked back to the car. As the engine started and the car started back towards Ruvie Tuesti's house, he reached for his PHS and dialed Zack's number.

"_Hello?"_ Zack answered.

"Zack, when we spoke earlier today, it gave me some food for thought. What would you think if we acted on it?"

"_What, you mean a new group to work as a go-between?" _Zack asked.

"Precisely. I think once we've finished cleaning up the debris, I can proceed on setting things in motion very quickly."

There was quiet on the other end of the line, and then Zack spoke again, and Reeve could almost taste the relief in the man's voice. _"I can't think of a better man for the job Reeve, just let me know what you'll need when the time comes, and from our end at least, you'll have it."_

Reeve smiled. "Excellent. I think I might even have the perfect name for it."

* * *

><p><em>On a side note, and probably fitting since a couple of these characters featured in The Case of Denzel, in the original timeline, Cloud would have found Denzel at Aerith's Church the day before, on June 29th, based on the date on his cell phone in Advent Children.<em>

_I hope it wasn't too much that I gave Ruvie Cait Sith's accent, but it's suggested in a few sources that he got the inspiration for a lot of Cait Sith's mannerisms from his parents, so I thought it made sense._

_I would also like to offer another note of appreciation for Irish-Brigid. Without our discussion of Reeve's Inspire ability, I doubt his roomba would have existed, and it turned out so cute! ^^_

_Next week, we'll be checking in with Nanaki again. See ya soon!_


	73. Gilligan

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spin-offs That honor goes to Square-Enix.

A note of appreciation is in order for Xcomp over on the Lifestream for his/her wonderful translation of "On the Way to a Smile: Case of Nanaki." Check it out sometime along with the rest of the On the Way to a Smile novellas if you have the time.

General Kant and General Nietzsche are original characters.

**Does Our Future Still Lead to a Smile? (Interlude)**

* * *

><p>Chapter 73, Gilligan (Case of Nanaki Phase 2)<p>

**August 7****th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008**

It was early in the afternoon as Nanaki was racing across the the grasslands towards Rocket Town, he caught the scent of a pair of chocobos off in the distance. He slowed to a halt and sniffed the air to get a better idea of their direction when he also caught a few other familiar scents. Cloud… Tifa… and the kids. He was certain now of the identity of the two chocobos he smelled. It seemed the group from Mideel had brought Cloud's birds with them. He ran to the crest of a hill, and upon reaching the summit, he let out a loud roar, heralding his approach before running in the direction of the scent.

As he raced forward, he heard a couple of voices answer the roar with a much less threatening and much more enthusiastic rallying cry. It seemed Zack, Freya, Barret, and Cid had heard him from where they were over in the center of Rocket Town. He picked up the pace, the grass flying by under his paws as he galloped across the plains. Almost in response to the rallying cries of his friends, he felt Gilligan slink back into the darkness. It was only a temporary departure, he knew, but for now, he was simply pleased for the void's absence. It had periodically been rearing its ugly head throughout the last couple of months, whenever it thought Nanaki was at his weakest. The fact that it refused to be satisfied permanently had been a source of no small amount of concern.

As he reached the crest of the next hill he could see Cloud, riding Rudy with Denzel in front of him, while Tifa had Robin and was letting Marlene play with her reins nearby. They were only a short ways out from Rocket Town, and Nanaki could see a small airship was docked near where the Highwind used to make berth. This was the Gainsborough, initially built during the war with Shinra, it was the first airship to run completely on non-mako fuel. Cid had left it with GUARDIAN's main forces in Mideel shortly after its completion, sometime last month. Next to it, still on the ground, and surrounded by cranes and various other equipment, lay the husk of another ship he didn't recognize. There was very little he understood about Cid's fascination with flight and technology, but perhaps the captain would explain himself during their time here. Probably not before the celebration though.

He finally reached Cloud and his entourage as the swordsman led the chocobos towards a small improvised paddock that had been set up near the Gainsborough. Once they were inside, he hopped off of Rudy and reached out to help Denzel off the bird while Tifa did the same with Marlene.

"Cloud, it is good to see you!" Nanaki called out to the man.

Cloud looked up and nodded in greeting. "Are things all right in the canyon?"

"I have not actually been there since after the war ended," Nanaki said. "Over the last two months, I have been traveling."

"I see," Cloud answered.

"There he is!" Nanaki looked up to see a few other people approaching, though he could already tell by their scent that it was Zack and probably Barret. As he had guessed, the two men soon strode into sight around the corner of one of the buildings, the darker-skinned man already wearing a suit, with his usual gunarm temporarily being replaced by a more normal looking hand.

Almost immediately, Marlene walked over to him. "Wow Daddy! You look really nice!"

Barret gave his daughter a proud smile and lifted her up on his shoulder. "Thanks Marlene. How were the chocobos?"

"They run really fast!" Marlene said. "And Tifa let me take the reins for a little just now!"

Barret smiled and then said "Don' ya'll take too long now, the ceremony's gonna be in a couple'a hours, and they'll need their flower girl."

"He's right," Zack said. "It wouldn't do for Cid to be missing part of his wedding party."

Marlene nodded solemnly. "Okay, we'll get ready." Barret let her down and she scampered back to Tifa, who took her by the hand and led her back to the ship.

At that point, Zack knelt down so Nanaki wouldn't have to look up at him. "How was the trip?" he asked.

"It went as well as could be expected," Nanaki replied. "I've seen a lot of things since the war ended."

Zack nodded as Cloud walked over, having finished securing his birds. "I'll be wanting to hear all about it, but for now, why don't we head back towards the launch pad where everyone else is. I know they'll want to see you."

Nanaki nodded. "Certainly."

* * *

><p>Cid and Shera's wedding ceremony had been quite impressive. Freya had been nominated to be their maid of honor while Barret had been the best man. They held the ceremony itself on the launch pad, where Shinra No. 26 once stood. Further, as they left the launchpad, several of GUARDIAN's airmen had taken it upon themselves to fly a few of the jets overhead. Right now, everyone was gathered near the Tiny Bronco behind the home of the two newlyweds and Nanaki was walking among the guests, occasionally speaking, but for the most part, content to observe. He was walking across the back yard, when he saw Freya talking to Tanjuu near the table with the drinks, supplied by Tifa no doubt.<p>

"Why didn't you tell me?" Freya was asking urgently. "Didn't you think I'd want to know about this?"

The gunman looked back at his old partner with a tired expression. "I only just found out what it was myself. But they say it shouldn't spread as long as I stay in shape and don't let it get to me." He rubbed a spot on his lower leg absently. "I'm actually more worried about you getting it. As much exposure to mako as you've had…"

"It's not an option," Freya said. "Too many people have caught it already, but I still don't believe it." It was at that point when she had spotted Kunsel approaching with a couple of slices of the wedding cake and so she let out her frustration in a breath. "We'll discuss this later…"

Nanaki continued onward, deciding it best to give the Turks their privacy. Cid and Shera were not that far off and he was hoping to speak to them, though he could feel Gilligan stirring again as he walked. The two of them were standing by the old familiar plane, talking to a couple of the pilots they'd invited over from the airfield. "I tell ya, when we get that baby fixed up it'll be faster than the rest o' GUARDIAN's fleet, no question about it!" Cid was bragging.

"How is that even possible when you found it in a cave?" one of the pilots asked.

Cid grinned. "I have no idea how it got there, but it's got some tech no one's ever seen before. If we can reverse engineer it, we may even have a better way of gettin' into space than ol' Number 26. Now wouldn' that be somethin'?"

The other pilot, a younger man with a military-style haircut nodded. "That would be. We might even be able to make it to the moon if it works."

Cid beamed at that. "I like your style kid, don't lose sight'a that. We'll do it one day. We made it into space, after all!" He looked up at that point to see Nanaki approaching. "Hey there Red! Glad you could make it!"

"It was no trouble," Nanaki seated himself on the ground. "I have been traveling anyway, and it is good to see some familiar faces. I am glad it's for such a happy occasion, though frankly I'm surprised you ever took a mate."

Cid grinned widely and placed an arm around his new bride. "And she's just as cantankerous as I am, isn't that right Shera?"

Shera laughed, bringing a gloved hand to her face to hide a blush. "I don't know about that," she said, "But I'll find some way to civilize you yet." Everyone shared a chuckle at that.

Suddenly, they all heard something that sounded suspiciously like someone clattering to the ground behind the Tiny Bronco. Cid looked up as did the other guests and then walked around the plane to investigate, followed by Zack, who had been talking with Aerith and Marlene a short distance away. Nanaki followed after them and soon came across Yuffie, sitting in a heap by one of the wheels.

Cid shook his head. "Damn it Yuffie, you're a ninja, you oughta know better'n to lose yer balance like that. You could have scratched my plane!"

Yuffie tried to glare at him, but was also struggling not to laugh. "I was just trying to sneak up on you, old man, guess it didn't work." She looked up at Zack. "So, when are we going to go hunt for that materia that cures Geostigma? It's getting too quiet around here."

"As soon as Reeve doesn't need us in Midgar anymore, like I told you," Zack said patiently, reaching out and pulling the ninja to her feet. "We're only here for a short time before we have to get back to work, all right?"

"All right…" Yuffie said with a sigh and Nanaki turned his attention away as he noticed someone else watching in the shadow of the house. Vincent was leaning against one of the walls, observing the goings on with his usual calm disinterest. Seeing that Yuffie's situation did not require any further attention, he padded over to sit next to the man in the red cloak. "How are things with you?" he asked.

Vincent simply shrugged. "I have been spending a lot of time running errands for Reeve. This World Regenesis Organization of his has proven very ambitious."

Nanaki considered that. "I can imagine. Though I expect Zack is quite glad that GUARDIAN no longer has to work directly with Shinra anymore."

"He seems happier about the situation," Vincent said. "There is no further need for GUARDIAN to be at war, and Rocket Oil Industries stands on its own now. I understand they still own significant stock in the company though."

Nanaki grunted in acknowledgement. "I'm sure Barret and Cid will do fine managing the company on their own." The two of them remained quiet for a little while as they watched the goings on around them. There were a lot of thoughts going through Nanaki's mind. One day, each of these people would be gone, he realized. For all that they had given to the world, they would all no longer exist long before he even reached the prime of his own long life. Some of the older members of the group might not even make it to the year when Deneh would awaken from her slumber. At that thought, Giligan made its presence known again.

"Vincent," he said at last. "Do you ever feel afraid?"

"Of what?" A pair of red eyes looked directly at him.

"Of loss, perhaps…" Nanaki guessed, flicking his tail in slight agitation.

Vincent considered before answering curtly "No."

At that point, their conversation was interrupted when over by the table they saw that Shera was sitting down, apparently in pain. Cid was next to her and as they both watched, Nanaki distinctly heard him say "It's all right Shera, don't overdo it." The woman nodded and he saw her grimace as she gripped her right hand. That was when Nanaki noticed that she looked a little paler than normal and that Cid was gently working to pull back her glove to reveal that underneath it was wrapped in a bandage with black residue on it.

* * *

><p><strong>September 25<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008**

As the summer drew to a close, Nanaki had been traveling a long time. He had occasionally hitched a ride on the GUARDIAN transports going back and forth between Mideel and Rocket Town or the ships that were plying the seas between Costa Del Sol and Junon. Mostly, he had just observed, preferring to watch as the world got back on its feet around him, though it was still highly unsteady. He'd seen Reeve a time or two when he'd come close to Kalm, and occasionally he'd see the others, but for the most part, he simply traveled. Midgar, it seemed had started having more and more cases of the Stigma, enough so that many people had started leaving it for other towns, due to the belief that mako exposure was the cause. Some of them had started a settlement near the edge of the city.

Other changes had occurred too. Tifa was building another floor onto Seventh Heaven that she intended to use for living space, and several of GUARDIAN's other leaders were no longer actively involved in relief efforts, instead helping Reeve with security matters where his own volunteers were insufficient, and taking missions to deal with monster problems or assist travelers. He'd already encountered Kunsel out near the Northern Crater with a team of the younger troopers and SOLDIERs, apparently on a mission to help deal with some local trouble on behalf of Icicle Inn.

Today though, he had been wandering along the edge of the swamp when he'd happened along the trail of what seemed to be a particularly large Midgar Zolom. He had continued a little farther along the trail when he encountered Zack, leaning against the side of the corpse of the beast in question, the Buster Sword in his hand. He didn't seem hurt, but he did look relieved that he was no longer facing it. "Zack?" he called out, hurrying closer.

The swordsman looked up at his approaching friend and dropped to a sitting position wiping some sweat off his face as he did so. "Hey Nanaki. Where have you been?" he asked with his usual grin.

"Around," Nanaki replied. "I did not realize you were out this way."

"Well, a village to the north reported having trouble with this big guy here and I decided to take the job," Zack gestured to the Zolom he was leaning against, "I considered asking Cloud to come with me, but he was busy, and I didn't think it'd be that big a deal."

"What's he doing?" Nanaki asked curiously.

"Well, you know that joke we have about Strife Delivery Service?" Zack began. "Turns out he actually enjoyed the travel and I told him if he wanted to go into business for himself, he didn't need my permission. The couriers in Widblain aren't that reliable anyway." He grinned. "I'm glad, to be honest. He needed to get out and do some things on his own for a change. Live a little, you know?" He reached for his water canteen and took a drink from it, before replacing the container at his hip.

"And you don't worry that he might disappear one day?" Nanaki asked curiously, taking a seat next to him.

"Well, I'm not terribly worried. Every single time he's gone wandering, in the Lifestream or out, he's always come back." He looked up at the clear blue sky thoughtfully and then back at his red-furred companion. "Or… is that not what you meant?"

Nanaki rested his head on his paws as he contemplated how he was going to answer the question. "Sometimes…" he began. "I think I find myself worrying about loss."

Zack's expression turned curious. "What kind of loss? You mean like death? I guess we all think about it at some point."

Nanaki sighed through his nose. "Sometimes it occurs to me that if I live out my normal lifespan, most of you humans will be long gone before I even come close to returning to the planet."

Zack gave him a rather perplexed look. "Well, won't there be other people you'll be able to make friends with?" He frowned, considering for a moment before speaking again. "This is really bothering you, isn't it?"

Nanaki nodded. "This fear is a conundrum I haven't really found a solution for."

Zack stood up, lifting the Buster Sword from where he'd thrust it into the ground. "I'm not sure if this'll help, after all, even I know that one day, something will have to happen. We'll get old, or there'll be something that comes up, but…" he swung the sword around in a circle one handed before securing it on his back, "Bugenhagen said when we first met him that when our energy leaves us, it goes back into the Lifestream to become part of something else living on the Planet. If you think about it that way, have we ever really left? What we shared as friends still happened right? As long as you keep those thoughts and feelings close, our memories haven't truly died, have they?"

Nanaki considered his thoughts. Gilligan seemed to still lie at the edge of his consciousness. "I suppose it is something to consider."

Zack shrugged. "Don't know if it's the answer you wanted or not, but if you think about it, doesn't the possibility of losing it make those memories and feelings even more precious?"

* * *

><p><strong>October 10<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008**

"And you call it Gilligan?" The question was curious and yet humorous at the same time.

"I thought that if I gave it a name I could confront it," Nanaki admitted. He and Vincent stood on a plateau in the Nibel Mountains where they had encountered each other a short time ago.

"You've given it a name, you think you've identified what it is, and yet it still terrifies you," the red cloaked gunman was cleaning Cerberus as he spoke. "That loneliness you feel. Instead of worrying about it, try to imagine that you'll have children one day."

Nanaki considered this as he looked down at Nibelheim in the valley below. "I don't know if I can imagine that, even when Deneh awakens."

"Then how about this," Vincent said. "Visit the hotspring near the lodge once a year, and I will be there to listen to what you have seen, even if I have no interest in it."

Nanaki considered this proposal and, instead of Gilligan's open maw, he saw Vincent's grim face.

"You seem to have relaxed," Vincent observed.

"Even one day though, won't you leave too?"

"I can't," Vincent said. "As long as Chaos's duty is unfulfilled I am immortal. Whether that is fortunate, or unfortunate for me." Nanaki considered this for a while. In a way, it seemed Vincent had decided to live in loneliness. Maybe that was why he didn't fear it, and even though he had mellowed somewhat following his ordeal with Deepground, it still seemed terribly sad to him. Certainly, Nanaki would outlive the others, but when compared to Vincent's fate, he wasn't sure he knew how that would end.

"Then, while I'm still alive, make sure we can meet every so often to talk,' he said.

Vincent turned to look at him. "Just once a year. Though please pardon me if you want to meet more often than that." He looked away and Nanaki suddenly noticed he was shaking, at which point he heard soft laughter. "Gilligan," he chuckled. "Of all the things to name it."

After a moment, Nanaki joined him, their laughter ringing out over the mountains.

* * *

><p>The Case of…?: Fragmented File #4<p>

**October 11****th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008**

It was late in the evening when the small infiltration unit reached the building in which the Junon military prison block was housed. The lead man walked cautiously towards one of the rear doors, a rifle grasped in his hands. If the intel they had was correct, then this should be the right one. He reached into his pocket, retrieving the carefully forged keycard they had paid a fortune to acquire and slid it through the card-reader. After a moment, the door clicked open, and the man motioned that his fellow conspirators follow him inside.

They crept along the hallway, until they reached the cell block and that was when they encountered their first guard. The trooper was patrolling along the hallway, his rifle at his side, and as he rounded the corner, the leader of the infiltration team raised his gun and fired. The man dropped, and soon the team was hurrying faster. They had to get to the cell they were aiming for before the rest of the guards caught on to the emergency. Shortly after this, they encountered three more guards, and dealt with them in a similar fashion, before continuing up some stairs and dispatching two more. At long last, the unit reached a pair of cells side by side, and the leader of the team tapped on the bars of the first cell. Out of the shadows came a woman, her hair rather disheveled from prison life in a rumpled jumpsuit. "Who are you?" she asked.

"Miss Scarlet," the man said. "We are here on behalf of Generals Kant and Nietzsche. Rufus has gone too soft for our tastes."

"Is that so?" another voice called out from the adjacent cell and a rotund man with a dark beard came into view. "And what's in it for us?"

"The chance to build a new company, even greater than Shinra, and more powerful," one of the other soldiers said.

"Kya-ha-ha…" Scarlet laughed her trademark laugh. "Sounds like things are getting interesting again."

"In that case," the trooper said. "The two of you might want to back away from the cell doors. We've got explosives at the ready."

Heidegger let loose a laugh of his own. "Gya-ha-ha… excellent."

* * *

><p><em>It's been a crazy couple of weeks. Week before last, I was traveling and this week I'm traveling again. Not only that but I've had a bit of a big life-changing event this week, since my boyfriend has asked me to marry him. Of course I said yes, which means he is now my fiance, but this has created no small amount of distractions on top of being on a family vacation. Welcome distractions for me, but not necessarily to those who want to read my fic. I'm sure we all want the rest of the fic to be really good, so I hope you understand that I need the extra time. Sorry for the wait. ^^;<em>

_Though due to having had less time to write this week than I had anticipated, I am going to call another catch-up week for next week. Chapters will resume midnight Thursday September 19th/Friday September 20th._

_Next time, we'll be checking in with Rufus and the Turks in 'Case of Shinra, Phase 2'_

_See you in a couple of weeks!_


	74. Going Into Exile

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spin-offs That honor goes to Square-Enix.

**Does Our Future Still Lead to a Smile? (Interlude)**

* * *

><p>Chapter 74, Going Into Exile (Case of Shinra Phase 2)<p>

**October 15****th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008**

Rufus looked down the long balance sheets, calculating the company's earnings and much larger column of losses for the last few months and reached for the cup of tea his secretary had brought him, drinking the contents meditatively. Even with the loss of mako power, the other functions the company served, such as making high quality vehicles, and the building of infrastructure and appliances, had kept them afloat, thank goodness, but as things stood, he doubted it would be long before he'd have to sell off another part of their expanded assets to ensure the longevity of the overall corporation.

It wouldn't be this way forever, he knew. He was a survivor. The company would bounce back eventually, and if he played his cards right, human apathy might even allow them their rightful place at the top of the world once again, but for now, he would settle for keeping things running. Not even the defection of many of their remaining SOLDIERs could stop them. He didn't care how many of them had found a new sense of purpose in Zack Fair's siren's song of working for freedom and peace. There were still a significant number who knew better than to be so idealistic.

There was another worrisome trend though. In spite of the recovery effort having been largely resolved, the population was not increasing in the city. Instead, after the census that was taken to see who remained, those that had not been taken by Deepground had at first started moving out in a slow but steady trickle. Now, with growing concern over mako exposure, and the increase in Stigma cases, the population, many of whom, in the slums at least, had been living in the former cities that now composed Midgar's underbelly were retreating from the affected areas as water flowed from a sieve. "Who would desire your Promised Land now, Father?" he wondered aloud. "Aside from Sephiroth, maybe…"

The Turks had spent a good deal of time attempting to decrypt the data they had mined from the computer Shelke had used, attempting to extract the information she had gleaned from Vincent on the Black Materia's hiding place, but thus far, it had proven quite difficult when their own computers were not designed to understand the net-to-Lifestream interface. It was technology that had been limited to Deepground, and most of the scientists who had worked down there had been murdered by their own specimens when GUARDIAN had freed them from Hojo. There was Shelke herself, but her location and safety were managed by GUARDIAN, and while it was very likely she and her older sister were in Mideel somewhere, capturing her again, with all of GUARDIAN to contend with was asking for an incident he simply did not need at this time. He was ambitious, not stupid. But that simply meant they would need to continue on their own to crack the code.

His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door to his Junon Office. "Enter," he said.

Tseng walked into the room. "Commissioner Tuesti and Zack Fair are here to see you sir."

"What is it this time?" Rufus asked calmly, though he was beyond irritated. Didn't these fools know he was a busy man?

"It's about Scarlet and Heidegger," Tseng replied.

"Tell them we don't have them. Even if we showed all of the WRO every single one of our cell blocks, I doubt that would satisfy them anyway," the young president replied at last. Tseng went back outside and he heard the Turk give the Commissioner his answer.

That was when he heard Reeve's voice on the other side of the door. "I must insist. We need an explanation. It was already agreed that Scarlet and Heidegger would be transferred to WRO custody..."

At that point the door opened, and it wasn't by Tseng but by Zack himself, and Reeve followed after him, as Kunsel blocked Tseng's attempt to stop them.

"What is the meaning of this intrusion?" he asked calmly.

"Rufus," Reeve began. "We can't have any more stalling from you on this. What happened?"

"Perhaps you should ask the insurgents who broke into my prison," Rufus said, only letting the tone of his voice betray how annoyed he was. "It isn't as though that is a stunt that hasn't been tried before." His eyes were on Zack at this remark.

"What reason would GUARDIAN have to screw this up though?" Zack asked, glaring at him. "Don't you know how much we're putting behind making this work?"

Rufus shrugged as though the question were a fly buzzing around his shoulder. He couldn't let these people see his own concern about the matter. It would make him seem vulnerable, and that was something he absolutely could not allow. "Considering what GUARDIAN spent the first half of this year attempting to do, it wouldn't surprise me in the least. However, we are doing everything we can to find them." He reached into a drawer at his left and produced a copy of a disk Tseng had given him. "When the Turks locate them, I'll notify you immediately, but here are the recordings from the security cameras around the cell block where they were being held in the meantime. There's not much more I have for you I'm afraid. Now if you would please excuse me, I have a company to run."

Several minutes later, when the room had finally cleared, he turned his attention to a report from Midgar that had been added to the expense report. It seemed that a number of thefts in relation to the city's infrastructure had been reported. He would have to ask the Shinra guards to double their rounds in order to mitigate the issue.

* * *

><p><strong>November 22<strong>**nd**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008**

It was a dark and cloudy day outside as Rufus looked out his window over both of the two oceans that lay before him. The one, with raging waves of water out in the Junon Bay, and the other, the sea of people directly in front of the Shinra Company's office. The angry mob was not something he could have predicted. Through most of his life, both before and after his taking charge of the company, the people had blindly accepted that the company would forever control their lives through the power of money. That was how it would always be. There was no way around it. And yet now, here they were.

The final confirmation that mako exposure had a lot to do with the Stigma had come in a few days ago. It had been Rufus's hope that GUARDIAN would at least take some of the blame, simply because it had been their strategy to take out the reactors which had exacerbated the proliferation of the disease, but it seemed, people still remembered that cases of the disease had been popping up even before that time. The fact that the Shinra company had marketed mako as a safe energy source for so many years was the thing that stuck in the people's minds, and so, they had brought their complaints directly to the current president's doorstep.

A certain ex-infantry soldier by the name of Mutton Kylegate who had styled himself the mayor of the so-called city of 'Edge' had not helped the situation either. He spent a lot of time quite happily reminding the people at every opportunity that Shinra was a wonderful scapegoat for every single thing that had ever gone wrong on the planet. If he wasn't interested in keeping at minimum a lukewarm relationship with the WRO, he would gladly take a leaf out of his father's book and have this trouble-maker removed, but Reeve was trying to do things more even-handedly and even if none of the rest GUARDIAN's leadership liked the man either, they were apparently of the opinion that in this case, assassination was not a viable political tactic.

It only slightly made him feel better about the situation that because of the public safety issue, the recently commissioned WRO troops and GUARDIAN members were actively assisting with security, if only because of the necessity of preventing a riot. His thoughts were interrupted when the door behind him opened and Tseng entered the room. "Sir, we have reason to believe you may not be safe here any longer. The protesters have broken several windows along the south side of the building and while the WRO has the entrances guarded they have been having difficulty securing the area on the outside."

Rufus continued to stand by the window. "And what of our own troops?" he asked.

"They are standing guard on the inside of the building but by the time our SOLDIER detachment arrives, it is highly probable that on numbers alone, this office may be overrun, if we consider the SOLDIERs who threw their lot in with Mayor Kylegate." Rufus considered that fact. There had indeed been a few who had done so, and while the SOLDIERs that remained were on their way, things were quickly going from bad to worse.

He suddenly caught the sound of an approaching helicopter, and looking out the window he spotted it flying closer to the building. Based on the markings, it was one of their own vehicles. It pulled out of view and he heard the weight of it connect with the roof. Shortly afterward, Rude walked into the office, most likely about to say who had just landed on their roof, but Elena suddenly raced in after him, and cut in before Rude could even open his mouth "Tseng, we've got more trouble."

Tseng looked in her direction, his expression questioning and the young Turk continued, her tone dead serious. "We've found a bomb in the parking lot. Reno's helping keep things secure until the bomb squad can get in, but it looks like it might be one of Deepground's weapons."

Tseng nodded and then turned his attention to Rude. "An evacuation chopper has arrived sir," the bald Turk reported. Rufus glared down at the people below resentfully. It would serve those ungrateful masses right if that bomb went off in their faces, but it wouldn't. The Turks would see to it.

"Very well," Rufus said. "We will withdraw for now, issue a warning to all the surrounding areas that they must be cleared."

"Yes sir," Tseng said. He nodded to Elena who walked to the door. As she reached it he said "Once the job is done, report to Cliff Resort in the Northern Mountains."

"Sir," Elena responded, and then continued towards the door.

* * *

><p>Elena walked down the stairs, her body tense. How could she not be? There was a bomb in the building. How had they failed to notice this? She glared moodily at the glass door as she reached the exit to the main part of the building before roughly pushing it open and walking across the parking lot. Across the way, she saw signs that a truck with WRO lettering was pulling in through the entrance and it rolled past her. She followed the vehicle down the ramp into the lower lot and soon discovered it had parked near the location where the bomb had been located. Reno stood, tapping his foot on the floor impatiently as the driver stepped out of the cab, followed by someone in WRO coveralls in the passenger seat and a couple of others from the rear truck bed. Reno's eyes lit up as he looked over the new arrivals that then he gave them a look of surprise. "Where have you guys been?"<p>

"Around," came a gruff voice. "We were in the neighborhood." Elena finally looked up at the sound of the voice. She knew it.

"Legend?" she asked as she came into earshot.

The man looked in her direction and grinned. "Elena! It's been a while. Hey Lou! Look who's here!" One of the people who had jumped out of the back looked over and she could see it was indeed her sister, clad in a simple grey suit.

"So you've been working with the WRO?" Elena asked.

"Veld has had us covering areas where they've fallen short on occasion." Legend said. "For instance, they needed a demolitions expert and I was here to catch a boat back towards Costa Del Sol, so you know how that goes." He looked over at the package that sat against the far wall. "So I guess that's it, right there?"

Reno nodded and the demolitionist got down on his knees to examine the device. "This is a piece of work. Looks like it's got mako in it, but it seems to have a timer and a simple detonater. Get back behind the truck, I'll have this in a jiffy."

"Be careful," Lou called after him as the other three Turks moved to the safety of the other side of the vehicle.

From the other side of the Truck, Elena watched as Legend knelt in front of the bomb, pulling out a set of tools and carefully lifting the lid of the box in which it sat. "It has been a while, hasn't it?" A voice interrupted her thoughts and she glanced to her left to see Lou approaching, having just conferred with the WRO soldiers that had come with them. Now that they were spreading out to create a perimeter, the Turks and their renegade comrades were left alone.

"It has," Elena said stiffly. Last time they had talked, it had been before the Deepground Incident had even happened. In that dingy bar in Sector 3. "I see you've been keeping busy."

Lou smiled. "I can tell you have too. I'm glad to see you're okay."

Elena nodded and for the first time in a long time, she smiled genuinely at her sister. Watching the Turks embed in Midgar, and run the risk of getting snatched for being healthy had been pretty trying, but in the end, the mission had been completed, and she'd been happy to learn that thanks to Lou's quick thinking, their dad had also been missed by the soldiers. "I'm glad you made it out too." She then remembered herself and turned away, trying to hide the embarrassment on her face.

Lou reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Well, because of the choice you and Tseng made not to arrest us, we were able to make that mission a success. I think you're doing fine. Better than me, actually."

Elena looked back, startled. "Really?"

"Don't let it go to your head, little miss 'I Helped Kill Sephiroth'," Lou said, checking on Legend's progress over the front of the truck. "I can still beat you any day of the week."

"In your dreams!" Elena said. The two shared a nervous chuckle as Legend stood, giving the signal that things were all clear.

* * *

><p><strong>November 23<strong>**rd**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008**

Cliff Resort stood on a rise near a series of waterfalls high up in the north Junon Mountains, somewhat southeast of the budding settlement of Edge. It had proven a safe vantage point from which Rufus could direct his affairs and after a scientist by the name of Kilmister had made himself known, a special portion of the resort had been set aside to fund his research into finding a cure for Geostigma. The race was on. With Dr. Rayleigh and Aerith Fair already having had a head start on the process, there was a lot of pressure to work with haste, since if Shinra found the cure first, it would mean one more aspect of the world in which they could have some amount of control. Rufus had arrived here yesterday evening, and was now in the process of overseeing the furnishing of the room that would be his new office.

The sun filtered in through the trees outside as the gentle roar of waterfalls could be heard nearby. It was a delicate and yet powerful sound. Not unlike the Shinra company now, he thought. Injured, but not beaten. Across the room, one of the resort staff, moved his desk into place in front of the largest picture window in the room and as the man finished and left to fetch an executive desk chair from storage, Tseng and Rude were already hard at work, setting up the necessary computer equipment with which the President could run his company. An hour or so later, as requested, Reno brought in a small case, swathed in yellow tape, and placed it carefully in a storage container that had been placed in a nearby closet. Until they could find a facility that was not under the WRO or GUARDIAN's watch where they could hide it more securely, this would have to do.

The staff member returned with the chair and put it in place, before leaving the room so that Rufus could acquaint himself with his new workspace undisturbed. Tseng waited nearby patiently alert for any sign that Rufus had duties to which he wanted the Turk to attend. The young president made his way to the chair, and sat down, his eyes going over the computer on his desk critically. Someone had left a report on the various thefts that had occurred in Midgar on the screen for his perusal. As more people were leaving, the looting was gaining further prevalence. Kylegate was getting more and more brazen with each passing day. Surely there was some way this could be mitigated.

His eyes landed on another paper that sat slightly to the right of the screen. It looked like a formal letter from Reeve. It appeared to be a request for construction materials in order to build WRO headquarters, with a budget for ordering. Reeve had always been quite skilled at such things, it was a shame he had left. Rufus considered the request before writing down an invoice and setting it a side. He could fill in the costs later, once he was certain he could work them to his advantage. In the meantime…

"Tseng," Rufus said at last.

"Yes sir?" The dark haired Turk looked up.

"Instruct the guards that any further looters will be shot. However, if possible, I'd like to extend an offer to Mayor Kylegate for purchasing Midgar salvage legally."

"It's as good as done," Tseng said.

"Oh yes, and one more thing," Rufus said, looking through another paper at his desk. "I would like to donate a percentage of our funding to the WRO."

Tseng didn't question the order, but continued out the door ready to carry it out.

Rufus sighed and looked out the window at the view beyond it. It was a good plan, he thought. Invest money in the new city and the world's self-styled protectors, and eventually, he could ensnare them when they needed funding. It would be harder with GUARDIAN also a backer with considerable weight, but if he could make it so that the WRO knew what side its bread was buttered upon, it would only be a temporary hindrance. He nodded to his reflection in the window with satisfaction. This was a good plan. He knew it.

* * *

><p><strong>December 30<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0008**

Tseng stood in the midst of a throng of workers, who were laying flagstones in what would be the new city plaza in Mutton Kylegate's settlement. Edge had been growing considerably since the last of the stragglers had left Midgar, unwilling to place themselves at risk of the Stigma any longer. However, the object of his observations was not the stone slabs being placed, nor the storefronts that were being erected in the wake of the buildings that would house them. No. What had his attention was the monument at the center of the activity. It had been approved by the city council with the help of some very convincing advocates. Shinra's story was that it wished to commemorate those who had died in the defense of their city and place a memorial for the Deepground Incident so that no one would forget the mistakes that had been made in the past.

Upon completion, it would be surrounded by a visual rendering of the Lifestream in aged copper to simulate the green appearance of the Planet's life force, symbolizing the lives of those who had been murdered, with Midgar standing at the center. On the one side, stood an effigy of Weiss the Immaculate, while on the other, Rufus Shinra stood, staring down his adversary over his right shoulder as Zack Fair stood next to him, the Buster Sword in the process of being pulled from his back. It was supposed to be symbolic of the fact that Shinra and GUARDIAN had put aside their differences in the face of a major threat, but for Tseng, it was something of an odd thing to see.

On the one hand, he found himself in complete agreement with Rufus. This monument, put in place by Shinra, and holding up the heroes of the Incident in their proper place of prominence solidified the company's ownership of Edge, and put forth the image to the world that the company was seeking to remake itself, but on the other hand he found himself slightly skeptical. When he'd first seen Zack after the decision on the design had been accepted, he'd seemed uncomfortable with it. Not that it was any business of Tseng's, nor should it matter. His comfort had nothing to do with why Shinra was putting it here.

The truth was, he had made his decision about his own destiny long before any of this. To act in the interests of the company. This was in the interests of the company, and in Rufus's. This was the duty of the Turks after all. To finish the mission, no matter what. He watched as one of the aged copper pieces was being lowered to its rightful place, observing the workers with a careful eye. The dedication ceremony would be tomorrow at midnight. Appropriate, that it would be at the beginning of a new year.

* * *

><p><em>Feels like it's been far too long, yet it's only been a couple of weeks.<em>

_Another rather nice milestone has been reached, in that the story has so far been favorited by over 300 people now. Many thanks to all of you! ^^_

_Next week we'll be checking in with Aerith, so can't wait to see you there!_


	75. Seeking an End to Sorrow

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spin-offs That honor goes to Square-Enix.

SOLDIER 3rd Class Alistor and Mat are original characters.

**Does Our Future Still Lead to a Smile? (Interlude)**

* * *

><p>Chapter 75, Seeking an End to Sorrow (Case of Aerith)<p>

**February 11****th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0009**

A light breeze flowed through the yellow flowers as Aerith worked through them on her hands and knees, checking for weeds and the dampness of the soil. One of the most wonderful things about living in the Planet's southern hemisphere was how lush the seasons were around here. But on the other hand, the local weeds could be quite persistent if she wasn't mindful of them. Even so, she reveled in it. Being out here was truly wonderful, and her flowers seemed to love it just as much as she did. They bloomed vibrantly under the open skies and it made her heart soar.

Upon finishing with her task, she selected a few of the flowers to place in a basket and, dusting off the dirt from the green skirt and older yellow blouse she wore, she gathered it up along with her gardening tools and started up the path back to the lodge. Moving through the woods, she could hear the sounds of birds chirping around her, and she smiled. Since the Deepground Incident and the end of the reconstruction period, even though GUARDIAN had been doing their best to help however they could with the Stigma, there had also been some opportunity for things to slow down a little, and for people to do a little living of their own. Cloud and Tifa had moved in together over Seventh Heaven, and Zack and Kunsel were continuing to assist the world in their own ways. Zack had been investing a lot of their oil revenues into Rayleigh's research, though he had kept enough for them to help keep the lodge in order. Even so, in spite of the fact that many of those who had taken part in the mission to the Northern Crater were off doing other things, those who were around visited often, and the place still felt like a home. If anything, it reminded her of the first few months before the Zirconiaide incident, when they had first been remodeling the lodge.

The smell of Elmyra's cooking wafted through the back yard as she stepped out of the trees, and she continued onward, placing her tools in a storage shed Zack and Kunsel had just recently built onto the side of the lodge before walking up the steps to the back porch and through the door. Upon entering, she spotted the two SOLDIERs in the living room, talking to Freya. It seemed she'd just walked in as the lady Turk was getting to the end of a story about her time as a Turk, which had both the guys laughing. "…And poor Allen, he was trying so hard to carry that file box and balance that package from Scarlet on top of it so he wouldn't have to go back to see her again _and_ see where he was going at the same time, but what's the first thing that happens after he carried it all the way up those twenty odd flights of stairs? He slams directly into Veld and all the papers go flying. We were all in the office at the time and we were so sure he was going to get a reprimand but instead, Veld just looked down at where he had fallen in a heap and told him he was never to take the stairs ever again, like he knew what had happened."

"He probably did," Kunsel commented.

"Probably," Freya agreed. "But that was about the time Al started lifting weights. Right Tanjuu?"

Aerith had placed her flower basket on the kitchen table, and that was when she noticed Tanjuu, Freya's partner, in a slick grey suit, a stark contrast to Freya's light blue summer blouse and jeans. The former gangster must be visiting on business from Veld. The other renegade was leaning against the far wall, cool and tough as ever. Aerith offered everyone a smile and Zack stood to join her. "So how are the flowers today?" he asked.

"They're doing great," she said, gesturing to the basket and its contents. "I was going to bring a few of them over to the clinic when I go to help Dr. Rayleigh."

Zack nodded. "We'll walk over that way with you after lunch, Kunsel and I have another monster job near this town west of Cosmo Canyon and the Gainsborough's being prepped for us."

Aerith rearranged the flowers in the basket before nodding in agreement. "All right." She knew Zack didn't have to go if he didn't want to, but helping people on the ground level was something he had always enjoyed. Now that GUARDIAN was no longer in the business of large-scale warfare, it had shrunken somewhat into a more specialized fighting force. It was true, they were more in the business of mercenary work, but for the most part, Zack had done his best to pull his organization out of politics once the WRO had been more firmly situated. He made sure to talk to Reeve all the time, and keep up to date on what the organization was doing, and their movements towards having the town try to form an interim government that he hoped would get that creep Mutton Kylegate out of power, but for the most part, he kept his business to assisting townships with monster troubles. There was the occasional Deepground holdout, but those had started to become more scarce. Kunsel was the one who had wryly dubbed it 'Zack's hero business.'

* * *

><p>As Aerith and her escort reached the end of the path leading into Widblain, she felt Zack reach out and take her hand affectionately. It still amazed her just how much the little fishing village had grown in the last few months. First from the incoming troops during the war with Shinra, and then with the refugees and Stigma patients hoping against hope that they'd gotten closer to finding a cure. She could see Seventh Heaven, down the dusty street, about halfway between them and the town square. It didn't look like Cloud was home though. The garage he had built for Fenrir seemed to be locked. She could see Tifa's silhouette working inside though. They were at the door when Zack spoke. "I'll see you when we get back. With any luck, we'll be home in time to walk you back tomorrow afternoon."<p>

Aerith smiled. "Be careful you two."

Zack planted a small kiss on her forehead. "Of course we will. You too. I know what you're doing is important, but Geostigma isn't anything to play with."

"I'm a big girl. I can handle myself," Aerith teased in mock reproach.

Zack nodded. "I know." Aerith noticed that Kunsel had discreetly taken a couple of steps towards the airship dock where the Gainsborough sat at the ready as Zack leaned in and whispered a farewell "I love you."

They exchanged their goodbyes and Aerith waited at the doorstep for a few moments, giving the guys a final wave before adjusting the flower basket on her arm and pushing open the door to Rayleigh's clinic. It was essentially hers now, seeing as she was one of the leading experts on the Stigma. They had yet to come up with a fully functioning cure yet, but the Doctor had absolutely refused to give up, and Aerith didn't intend to either. She walked past the receptionist who gave her a nod of welcome and pushed past the door into the now familiar hallway. She passed the door leading to one of the inner waiting areas and heard the sound of a boy laughing. She stopped and opened the door into a common area that was set up with a couch and several chairs. On the couch, sat Alistor, the SOLDIER Barret had escorted to Widblain from Rocket Town during the war, and the boy, Mat, was sitting at his feet, a comic book in his hands.

"Well you seem happy today," Aerith commented, walking into the room. She had been planning to come in here anyway after speaking to Rayleigh but it wouldn't matter if she switched those two events.

"Al found this for me at the book store, it's really cool!" the boy answered, holding up the comic book for her to see. It was just recently published. A story about a super-hero of some kind.

"It does look really interesting," she said, approvingly before walking over to a cabinet and retrieving a small flower vase. "Maybe when Denzel comes in later you can show it to him. He'll probably like it a lot." After going through a door into a utility room and filling it with water from the sink, she returned and placed the vase on one of the tables next to the couch, arranging a few of the flowers.

"Denzel's coming today?" Mat asked, his face lighting up. In spite of being slightly younger, the two of them had become fast friends since Cloud had brought Denzel back from Midgar, in hopes that Rayleigh would be able to help him. "Great!" the boy said. "Maybe we can play with those action figures Cissnei brought from Junon."

The two of them had been staying in a small house near the clinic since the end of the war. At first, there had been some debate as to what should be done with Alistor, since as an enemy combatant the assumption should have been that he would pose something of a threat, but the SOLDIER hadn't done anything except keep an eye on Mat, and once he'd openly volunteered to help Rayleigh with her research on the Stigma, Zack had made the judgment call that he was all right. The village had grumbled, and then they'd gone on with their lives, but since then, the man had turned out to be a very helpful asset, occasionally offering advice to other Stigma victims about how to keep their spirits up and helping around the clinic when Rayleigh needed an extra pair of hands. It was about that time that she noticed the fresh bandage peeking out from under the man's sleeveless shirt. "More samples today?" she asked.

Alistor nodded. "Blood and a couple of other things."

Aerith nodded. "Well you two, I need to go see Rayleigh, so I'll talk to you later, all right?"

"Okay Miss Aerith," Mat said. She smiled and walked out the door, another vase in her hands. She listened to the gentle hum of the Planet under her feet as she walked. There was something… a little more tense about it she supposed, but otherwise it didn't seem too terribly out of the ordinary. The echoes of pain from far to the north had always been there, as were the healthier veins of the Lifestream near Banora, but for the most part, she normally just felt the planet moving along as it always did. Nowadays though… through the intangible threads of thoughts and feelings she could occasionally hear, was there… a greater since of urgency? She couldn't be sure, but it worried her. After pausing to place the vase in the treatment room, she walked to the back where the doctor's office was located and knocked on the door. It was only afterward that she heard Reeve's voice saying "Is someone there?"

"Come in!" she heard the doctor call. Pushing the door open, she eased inside and saw that Reeve was indeed standing inside with his mother seated in a chair next to him.

Rayleigh looked up from her desk. "Ah, there you are. You brought flowers?" Aerith nodded and placed the basket on the desk. "I think if we put a few over on the window sill there, it'll look a lot nicer in here."

Ruvie looked up at her with a gentle, but tired smile. She hadn't quite believed it when Reeve had told her about the flowers, but the older woman had quickly taken a liking to Aerith's garden by the hot spring, and sometimes walked out to visit from the small house where Reeve had set her up in the village. Aerith returned the gesture and then turned her attention back to the doctor. "Has there been any results?" she asked.

Rayleigh shook her head. "I'm afraid not. You can see for yourself, if you like."

Aerith nodded and walked out the hall towards a small office that Rayleigh had set up for their work, but as she walked out of Rayleigh's door, she heard Reeve ask Rayleigh "How is it doctor?"

"The good news is that with the care regimen we have adopted, Ruvie's case hasn't advanced very much. I'd say the envrions around here have done a world of good in that regard, but…" Aerith paused just before she went out of earshot. "The truth is until we have a cure…"

"It's all right," Ruvie cut in.

"No it isn't," Reeve said insistently. "There are so many people counting on us. We can't let this sit."

"That isn't what I mean dear," Ruvie said. "What I mean is I've already lived a long life, I can't be holding you back…"

"But you aren't," Rayleigh insisted. "Everything that we do here will bring us one step closer to finding a cure. Don't lose hope. If you do, the Stigma will definitely spread…"

Aerith's hand balled into a fist at her side as she stepped up her pace. The doctor was right, they couldn't lose hope now. Walking to the other office door, she pushed it open and walked in. On the other side of the door, she could see a number of microscopes, tanks, beakers, and test tubes situated around the room. In her youth, deep down at the back of her mind, she hadn't been able to help but have a fear of such things. They meant pain. They meant Hojo. They meant barely remembered images of horrors best left in the past.

She understood their use, for it was Rayleigh's work that had allowed Zack and Cloud to understand what had happened to them, and even she had to admit such places did create some incredible miracles, but even now, she didn't quite like laboratories. This was different however. Over the last few days, they'd been looking into limit channeling. Before that, Rayleigh's research had been strictly kept to the medical side of things, but that was before the accident that had happened about a week ago.

Denzel and Mat had been playing near the lodge near some rocks that had been eroded out of an embankment during a storm. Aerith had been watching them at the time, but hadn't been able to move in time to prevent Mat from getting a nasty cut from a fall. In a flash, she had channeled her Healing Wind limit, and it had worked, but Rayleigh had noticed a small change in the way the Stigma infection sites on his body had reacted to her limit. They hadn't closed or even improved per se, but the flesh around Mat's wound sites had seemed slightly less inflamed. Curious as to the cause of this phenomenon, they had been attempting to trigger the limit as well as the one she called Pulse of Life which was much more powerful on several samples both of Lifestream and infected patients and then taking samples to see if any change had occurred. Sadly, it hadn't seemed to do much more than what they had already observed, but it was better than nothing, right?

She walked over to the samples in Petri dishes that Rayleigh had set out for her to look at on the counter, along with a series of notes. At first they had been hard for her to understand, since she herself wasn't a scientist, but under the doctor's tutelage, some of them had begun to make sense.

The attempt to use her limit break to purify the Lifestream sample and the mako sample had both been total failures. There was no question of that. The tissue samples had shown little to no definitive improvement, though there did seem to be a lower occurrence of infected tissue around the abscesses that Geostigma inflicted in the samples from victims she had subjected to her Pulse of Life limit. That was both promising and not so promising. At the very least, it meant they might be on to something.

Rayleigh had also put out a call to everyone they knew of who had healing limits to see if similar results could occur when they were used, and next to the dishes whose samples that had been exposed to her own limit, she saw a similar set of petri dishes which Rayleigh had labeled for herself. Odd. Aerith hadn't been aware of what the doctor's limit breaks could do, but if they could heal, then perhaps it was worth pursuing. She was about to go back to the doctor's office when something in the small vial of Lifestream from her own sample set caught her attention. It seemed to be glowing slightly. Curious, she returned to it and after reaching for a glove and putting it on (she had been around long enough to at least know the importance of avoiding adding contaminants into the samples) she reached out and lifted the small vial with curiosity.

At first nothing happened. But then, she suddenly felt the presence of someone terribly familiar and nearly dropped the vial. A flash of a familiar cruel smile on a man who stood in front of her and tried to take two of her best friends away from her and destroy the very planet on which she stood. Laughter echoed through her thoughts. It was all she could do to set the glass container back onto its stand before allowing herself to drop to the floor. At that moment, Rayleigh hurried into the room. "Aerith, are you all right?" she asked.

The Cetra looked up at her, her eyes wide with worry. "It can't be…" she murmured, pulling herself to her feet. "I think… I saw Sephiroth just now." She listened hard for the Planet's pulse, trying to find out where this feeling had come from, but for the moment, the area around her had gone deathly silent, as though frozen in terror.

* * *

><p><strong>March 7<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0009**

Aerith stood at the guardrail on the Gainsborough's upper deck as it pulled into position over the ledge where, over a year ago, the Highwind had anchored to launch a rescue expedition into the Northern Crater. Zack had certainly taken her seriously when she'd told him what she'd seen in that vial of infected Lifestream, but due to everyone having been very busy over the following weeks, it was only now that they had come up to the Crater to follow up on it.

Zack stood next to her while Kunsel conferred with Doctor Rayleigh, Freya, and a few researchers from Cosmo Canyon a few feet away. When he spoke, his tone was definitely worried. "Are you sure you'll be all right for this?" he asked.

"I'll be fine," she said. "I know you'll be needed down in the crater, and I'll have Cissnei right here, along with Rayleigh if anything happens."

"Still, if what you saw back there was real… I guess I just don't like the idea of you running into him alone."

"I don't either," Aerith said, "But if there's a chance we can find a cure from this, we have to try, right?"

"I know," Zack said, finally relenting. They had already had this argument so many times. But it was all right. It was only because he cared.

"Zack? We've got the climbing gear prepped," Freya called over to them. "Are you all set?"

The ex-SOLDIER nodded as he walked over. "Yeah, let's get moving. The sooner we can get this over with the better." With that, they began the process of lowering the equipment down to the snow-covered glacier surrounding the crater itself, and before too long, Aerith was watching Kunsel, Zack, and the lady Turk walking off into the distance, towards the hole through which they had rappelled into the caves below. They were accompanied by a couple of other explorers too. A detective by the name of Evan Townsend had recently contacted the WRO for information on the whereabouts of a SOLDIER whom, according to existing records, had been in Nibelheim up until they had taken control of the area. At that point the man had fled with many of the other actor/inhabitants of the place, to settle in Costa Del Sol. That detail had led Mr. Townsend to a lead on the whereabouts of his mother, for which, he had contacted GUARDIAN, hoping to take part in this expedition to learn more. The man, along with a young female friend of his, were headed down into the snows after the renegade Turk and the two SOLDIERs, leaving the rest of the party alone at the summit of the glacier.

Now standing with a heavy, fur-lined cloak wrapped around her, Aerith walked about the area for a moment as the others watched, trying to get a bead on the best place for what she was planning. She too had a part in this expedition. As Doctor Rayleigh prepared to take a series of notes on what the results of this experiment would be, Cissnei watched with curiosity while she felt around with her sense for the place where the Planet's cries were the loudest and most painful. There were veins of Lifestream flowing all through this area for miles. Finding a place to call on it shouldn't be too difficult… There.

She planted the staff she had been carrying since the Temple of the Ancients into the snow with a decisive motion. "I think this will do," she said to the others.

"All right then," Rayleigh said, coming closer, a clipboard under one arm and an odd piece of equipment in the other. She knew it to be a device built to track the purity of Lifestream in the surrounding area. "Zack made me promise if the level of infected Lifestream in the area became too high, we would pull you out immediately."

Aerith nodded, and as Cissnei took up a guard position nearby, she closed her eyes and concentrated, even as she could feel snow begin to fall around her. This wasn't the same as trying to connect with someone else, but it was the same basic principle, utilized to connect with the Lifestream itself. Focusing on her own inner space, she called on her own energies, centering her consciousness…

_As she opened her eyes to the now familiar field of flowers, she almost immediately noticed that something about the place was different. Looking around, as the light breeze blew through the area, she spotted the familiar pond off in the distance, but upon coming closer, she noticed the area dim somewhat to a comfortable twilight. There was nothing dangerous about it. In fact, it felt just as much a part of herself as any other portion of this place, but she found herself a bit surprised to see what seemed like a collection of green fireflies hovering over the pond that hadn't been there before. Curiously, she came closer. They were really pretty things, she thought. Though oddly enough, they seemed to have a touch of the Lifestream itself in them, if she didn't know better._

_As she approached, they seemed to coalesce into a thicker cloud, but otherwise didn't seem to react. She didn't mind. After taking a moment to puzzle over this new development, she turned her attention to the dirt road that led out of this place, noticing that this time, it held more evidence of a rocky path, eventually becoming covered in snow. There was no sense dallying around here, so she started along the path, eyes alert for any signs of danger. She didn't notice until a short time after she had started walking, but it seemed a lone firefly had followed after her. She didn't mind the company though, even if it was only another part of herself._

_She continued further up the darkened path until she reached the snow, her boots crunching underneath her. Looking around, she could now tell she was getting closer towards the greater flow of the Lifestream, she could feel its pulse, the currents ebbing and flowing deep in the ground below her physical body, as she saw it manifest in front of her in her dreamscape as a vast flowing green river, rolling across the path she now followed, threatening to swallow anyone who went too far in. The information contained within it was immense and mostly unintelligible, almost drowned out by the painful wails in response to the injury Jenova had wrought at the place where she stood in reality. When she reached the river with its energies flowing through the snow covered rocks, the firefly hovered, seemingly uncertain nearby. Aerith mentally pushed it back, before getting down on her knees to examine the flowing substance before her._

_In her mind's eye she could see it was definitely tainted. Her own energies were the only thing that was keeping it from corrupting her inner space. Working to shield herself, she finally reached out, dipping a single finger into the current. Ripples and eddies formed around her hand and the echoes became louder. She tried to interpret them in such a way that she might be able to understand, but there was no coherence here. Just pain…_

_A flash, brighter than the most powerful Bolt spell she'd ever seen crossed her vision, and then the riverbank faded. Instead she stood in the depths of the crater, where they had found Cloud facing down Sephiroth, and where that monster had tried to take both him and Zack away from her. The man in question stood across from her, the Masamune drawn threateningly. "You certainly are brazen little one, to come to me by yourself."_

"_Sephiroth," she whispered. She suddenly noticed the little firefly had taken shelter under her cloak. Squaring her shoulders and glaring in the man's direction as she held the Princess Guard defensively in front of her, she demanded "Is the Stigma your doing?!"_

_He chuckled, his voice echoing with malevolence. "And what if it is? You'll never stop me."_

"_Aerith?" A voice echoed through her consciousness, "Corruption levels are rising, is everything all right?"_

_Aerith didn't answer, but instead watched the man in front of her carefully. "What are you planning?"_

"_It doesn't matter," Sephiroth said. "These fireworks are not yours to spoil, and it's already too late."_

_The center of the crater dissolved into a dark tunnel, and she distinctly heard the sound of something bubbling nearby. "Hey Zack, do you see anything over there?" Kunsel's voice echoed off the walls as a flashlight beam reflected through various mako crystals._

"_Not really," barely a few feet away from where she stood, she could see her husband, searching near a pool of what looked to be water. "Hey Freya, is that device Rayleigh gave you doing anything?"_

"_Yeah," came the reply from the lady Turk's darkened silhouette across the room. "Corruption readings are off the charts."_

"_I have a bad feeling about this," Kunsel muttered._

_Sephiroth smiled in anticipation across the scene, invisible to the three people who stood between them as Aerith watched, nearly transfixed. It was then that it happened. The pool of water near Zack's feet suddenly began to ripple with greater intensity, and Aerith had a terrible feeling wash over her. "Zack!" she cried, "Get away! Run!"_

"_He can't hear you, Ancient," Sephiroth said._

_She didn't care. That was when Freya spotted it. "What's that?!"_

_Almost as if that was the signal, the water welled up in a wave and Zack finally saw it racing for the dark silhouette of Mr. Townsend. "Get out of here!" he called to the others, already in the process of casting a Wall spell even as he was literally throwing the other man ahead of him, though she wasn't sure if he could get away from the black water in time._

"_Nothing you say will change anything," Sephiroth said. "This is just one more step towards cementing my revenge." With that, he swept forward, sword drawn and Aerith had the impression that he was held aloft by a single black wing as he flew across the room, straight through the images of her husband and friends. She never would have been able to block, but seeing this, she felt a powerful energy channel deep within herself like a limit break, and its power enveloped her in a torrent of cool water, washing everything away…_

She dropped to the ground, and Cissnei moved forward to check on her, but before the renegade Turk could ask her anything, she cried out "Zack! He's in trouble! We need to find him!"

"Are you sure?" Rayleigh asked.

Aerith was adamant as she pulled herself up. "There's no time!" she said, and was already hurrying down the slope towards the hole into the caves, even as Cissnei tried to stop her.

* * *

><p>A few hours later, Aerith was sitting in the cabin she and Zack shared while her husband rested on their bunk nearby. He had definitely been exposed to the water, but they hadn't been able to figure out whether or not he'd been infected. There was so much she didn't know. Had that really been Sephiroth? Or just a shadow? She could make a few educated guesses, certainly, but without a clear idea what was going on, she had nothing definitive. There had been something that had come of this though. According to the doctor, they had felt the limit channel, and then the snow around them had briefly become rain. It wasn't an answer, but… could it be another step in the right direction?<p>

She hated the term 'experiment', but in this case, perhaps they could do a few more of them and see what they could find. She tried not to think too much about how similar that sounded to Hojo's line of thinking. This wasn't for science or cruelty or anything else that Hojo might quest for. This was to help people.

She watched Zack sleep nearby, worn out after the party's sprint back towards their entry point. Sephiroth had definitely targeted him, she was sure. But just what was he planning? And when whatever it was seemed to be happening within the Lifestream itself, could they stop it this time? It was a question for which she didn't have an answer.

* * *

><p>(The Case of…?: Fragmented File #5)<p>

**March 8****th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0009**

A short time after midnight, a man in dark leather clothes walked through the caves at the Northern Crater to a pool filled with dark water and waited patiently. Sephiroth had bid him to wait much further in for the better part of the day, but now, something had called him here. Mother perhaps? What he did know was that one of their big brothers had come to pay them a visit.

The double bladed katana shone in the twilight that filtered down through one of the many holes above, reflecting onto a head of shoulder-length silver hair as the man waited. He hoped it wouldn't be for too much longer. His younger brothers had been sleeping long enough.

Finally, after about half an hour, the water began to ripple again, this time with the sources at two points. After the passing of a few more moments, the ripples became more persistent, until at last, two figures slowly rose out of the water's depths, until the first man could make out the features of the other two. One was short with long hair the color of his own while the other was rather big and brawny with incredibly short hair of the same shade. After a moment, the two of them blinked. "Kadaj?" one of them asked.

"Yes," the first man replied.

As the two newcomers stepped from the water, it flowed around them like Lifestream, until leather clothes covered their skin, and they were both outfitted with a specialized weapon. Once they were ready, Kadaj nodded approvingly before gesturing that they follow him out of the caves. "Yazoo. Loz. Let's go."

* * *

><p><em>Two more chapters to go before Part IV begins. I hope we're excited! I know I certainly am.<em>

_In the meantime, in case anyone wonders, even though they haven't gotten any speaking roles, I've pulled a couple more characters from obscure sources._

_ Mutton Kylegate, whom I forgot to comment on last time was a self-appointed town boss who kept Rufus prisoner for a time during the original Case of Shinra. It's a shame he actually ended up being Mayor of Edge, but that's just the way things went this time. Kilmister whom I also forgot to mention, was also a Shinra scientist who featured in CoS. Turns out, he was supposed to be the one to rescue Rufus from Mutton Kylegate, and then tried to blackmail him into providing him funding for a cure. On top of that, he ended up being murdered by one of his own patients. In the interest of not getting too sidetracked, let's just say that happens about a week from now and call it a day._

_As to Evan Townsend, he and his unnamed friend, who by the way is actually named Kyrie Canaan, were protagonists from the as of yet untranslated "Turks Lateral Biography: The Kids are All Right." In the original timeline, they came to Icicle Inn and the Northern Crater to find Evan's mother Annette Townsend, who was an employee in Nibelheim up until a short time later and had left there to follow a few of the Sephiroth Clones (some of the ones that were unaccounted for I suppose). In the original timeline, they would have found Annette's body along with some of these unidentified clones in a cave under the crater along with a piece of Jenova. Let's hope that thing remains unfound, shall we?_

_That's it from me for now. See ya next week!_


	76. Secrets of the Deep

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spin-offs That honor goes to Square-Enix.

**Does Our Future Still Lead to a Smile? (Interlude)**

* * *

><p>Chapter 76, Secrets of the Deep (Case of Freya)<p>

**March 11****th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0009**

Freya sat on the back porch of the lodge, cleaning her shotgun as she felt the warm breeze wafting across her face. Autumn in the lower hemisphere would be coming soon, and while she and Kunsel had a job coming up that Reeve had asked them to look into, she was frankly quite glad things had been quiet since their return to the lodge. After their recent expedition into the Northern Crater, they had all needed a little time to get over the heart attack.

She could still remember how Zack had risked himself to throw Mr. Townsend out of the room, only to get thoroughly doused by the stuff the other man had just barely missed being covered in. Upon returning to the Gainsborough he had spent plenty of time getting it all off, but it remained to be seen if there would be fallout from that. The doctor was checking in with him daily, and all they could do was wait with baited breath, and hope he wouldn't contract the disease.

She finished cleaning the wood finish on the stock of the gun before putting her tools away in their case, and took a moment to place it in her room before walking out to the path leading back to town, the summer leaves were still green and she took in the ambient sounds of the animals in the area. Most of the place had been cleared of monsters when they had first moved in over a year ago now, but she could catch the sound of smaller insects and her trained ear could catch the sound of the smaller much less threatening forest fauna moving about in the brush.

She took a moment to kneel by the path and examine a set of tracks on the side of the trail about halfway through. They looked like they belonged to a normal dog. Nothing to worry about.

Once she was certain of the origin of the tracks she continued on her way, passing out of the trees and into the village proper. As she neared Seventh Heaven, she noticed with some disappointment that the garage where Cloud usually kept Fenrir was closed again. She knew he couldn't be busy all the time, and yet somehow, he always seemed to have reasons to not be around as of late. Around the time of their mission, he'd been on some long delivery to some place on the Western Continent. Corel if she recalled correctly. A considerable trip, even with GUARDIAN's airlifting stations along the way.

She offered Tifa a grin and a wave as she walked past the window and pushed in the door, immediately spotting Marlene and Denzel drawing at a booth to the side of the room. Though she was a little surprised to see Cissnei seated at the bar, as though she and Tifa had been sharing a quiet talk. The martial artist was cleaning glasses behind the counter and preparing for the evening rush. There would be a moderately sized crowd tonight, since it was the middle of the week, but it was best to be prepared.

Cissnei looked up from the clear glass in front of her. "Hi," she said.

"Don't tell me your starting early today," Freya said, taking a seat at the bar next to her fellow renegade.

"Not really," she said, indicating the clear liquid in her glass. "It's just water."

"Ah," Freya looked over the bottles of alcohol arranged on the back wall meditatively. Back when the bar had just been started, the local brews and the Corel Wine Cloud had brought them had been the only things they had on the shelves. Now, she could see that thanks to his deliveries Tifa had access to more varieties than she could name, and having been to more than her share of fancy parties in her youth, she could name quite a few. Her mother had probably insisted on it to try and tame the woods out of her. Game hunting, it seemed, was not a hobby that was becoming of a socialite's daughter. Not that she cared. Her father had loved having her as his protégé, and it had led to a promising career, so what was not to like?

"So where's Cloud been the last couple of days?" she asked after a moment.

"He's delivering a package to a village near the mines on the northernmost island," Tifa explained, and she noticed critically that there was something off about the way the martial artist said it. The truth was, it didn't take a genius to notice Cloud was busy a lot. Aerith and Zack had noticed too, and it made sense. He was still in the process of getting his business off the ground, but, being a Turk and having been trained to gain meaning from such responses she caught the unhappiness in Tifa's voice. "I take it there's something about that you don't like?" she asked.

"I just wish he would slow down sometimes," Tifa replied. "He was around a couple of weeks ago, and he said he'd be back tonight to see Zack, but it would be nice if he could be home more often. The last time I saw him, he seemed really tired."

"Zack worked pretty hard like that too, at Shinra," Cissnei commented. "He knew when it was time to stop though."

Freya nodded. In practice, someone with SOLDIER enhancements could carry on for a while after most normal people got fatigued, but even they had their threshold. It took hell of a lot of effort to get to that point but it was doable. She'd seen no reason why Cloud would push himself to that limit, but then, with his medical history, she doubted anything would surprise her anymore where that man was concerned. "I guess you were following him around for a good while, weren't you," she said, trying to keep her tone neutral. She didn't want Cissnei to think she was doing anything more than talk. It was no secret the Turk had been carrying a torch for Zack for a while. Up until they'd found him in Midgar at least, though she had the distinct impression something had happened since then to change that.

"Yeah," Cissnei said, with a small smile. "He had me worried a few times though. There was this one time he was doing this mission out in the Mithril mines and I was sure he was going to get mauled by a monster. He pulled through though."

"Men," Freya said, with a small grin. "If they can't drive you crazy worrying about you, they'll do it by making you worry about them."

"And speaking of men who won't slow down," Tifa said, apparently tiring of Cloud and Zack being critiqued. "How's our other SOLDIER doing?"

"Kunsel?" Freya clarified. "He's been pretty worried about Zack, and on top of that, Reeve's been asking him to help train troops for the WRO and he's asked us to inspect the Junon airfield and the Shinra submarine docks for him in a few days, but I was thinking we might head to the town of Mideel in a couple of days, see if I can't get his mind off things, you know?"

* * *

><p><strong>March 13<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0009**

Mideel looked very different from when the earthquake had gone through. Most of the wooden buildings had been rebuilt a mile or so east for the original location, due to the proximity to the veins of Lifestream, and much of the rifts that had opened through town had been filled in with earth. Even so, being a much larger town than Widblain, even now, Mideel still had a bit more to offer in the way of distractions. That, and it was close to her parents' estate.

Freya looked down the sight of her shotgun tracking the clay pigeon as it was jettisoned into space before firing. Her father and Kunsel watched from a safe distance away, waiting their turn while her mother brought drinks to a table for everyone a few yards away. The pigeon exploded in midair and her father nodded in approval. "I can tell your skills haven't dulled since the last time you were here."

She looked over at him and grinned. "Well, where would the fun be if I didn't give you a challenge, Dad?" Her father just laughed at that. He was a somewhat heavier man than her mother, from whom she had inherited her slender build, but she could still see the familiar strands of copper whiskers in his beard. He walked forward with his own weapon and took position.

Everyone waited in silence until he gave the signal and his pigeon flew into the air. He fired, hitting it dead on. He returned to where they stood. "Although I have to admit I'm a little surprised you brought a friend with you this time. When you were working with Shinra, you only ever used to come alone…" she couldn't help but catch the hopefulness in his words.

"Well, I guess things change," she said, watching Kunsel walk over to the range with a shotgun he'd borrowed for the occasion. "Besides, we've both been working really hard lately."

"So I hear," her mother said, taking a seat at the picnic table with a glass in hand. Freya walked over to take a sip from the glass with her own drink. "With all this WRO business, your friend Reeve Tuesti has been causing quite a stir."

Kunsel fired and Freya looked up to see his pigeon too had been hit. She smiled with approval. "Nice one," she said.

Kunsel walked over to join them, drawn into the conversation by his advanced hearing. "Thanks," he turned his attention to Freya's mother. "I would hope he's causing a stir, it takes a lot to get an emergency force and an interim government functioning."

The older woman nodded. "It takes a lot of work," she gave him a kind smile. "It's good to see that you are taking time out for yourselves too. Life is short, after all."

* * *

><p><strong>March 14<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0009**

It was afternoon in Junon when the Gainsborough docked at the airport. The various airport lights flashed from the runway for the planes. It was a cloudy day, and it looked like it was threatening to rain and make the last of the Winter winds even colder. Freya pulled her trench coat close as she and Kunsel walked down the stairs from the airship dock to the tarmac to see that Reeve was waiting for them, and to their surprise, Reno.

"Well this is a surprise," Kunsel said.

"Don't get excited yo," Reno replied. "I'm just here to make sure nothing in there bites you."

"Don't tell me no one ever moved Hojo's specimens out of there," Freya gave him an exasperated look.

"No, they're gone," Reno said. "We made sure they were all destroyed. Everything on the manifest is accounted for."

"That's a relief," Freya said. "I think I've about had it up to here with Hojo's projects."

Reeve cleared his throat. "Well then, shall we go?" They walked across the tarmac towards the large hangar where the Gelnika was being kept, the wind buffeting them with frigid air and a low roar. "I trust your flight was uneventful?" Reeve asked loudly.

"Pretty much," Kunsel said.

"That's good, I won't be able to inspect the aircraft and the submarines with you, since I have another meeting at the city hall that I need to attend. To be honest, I was only able to come out to meet you because the airport was on my way but if you need anything, you know how to reach me."

Freya nodded. "That's fine, go do what you have to do, we've got you covered."

Once they reached the hanger, she spotted a WRO van which Reeve subsequently entered. As soon as it rolled away, Reno cleared his throat impatiently. "All right, can we get this over with?"

"Yes, let's," Kunsel replied. With that, the three of them walked up the loading ramp into the plane. Almost immediately Freya found herself having to pause as her eyes adjusted to the dimmer light inside the fuselage.

"So where do you want to start?" Reno asked.

"How about up near the front, that way we can work our way back and finish here," Freya suggested.

Reno produced a clipboard and gestured that they follow him up a set of stairs and into the upper level of the plane. Soon, they were walking along a hallway even darker than the cargo bay. "All right, " the Turk commented, "Do you want to start with the cockpit or should we just get the part we're all dreading over with and go to the research room first?"

The lady Turk and the ex-SOLDIER looked at each other for a moment and then Kunsel responded. "Research room."

* * *

><p>Thankfully, all of the specimens that had been stored in the various cages in the research room had been accounted for long before the inspection. The research room, while certainly not devoid of many other things that someone could find disturbing, at least had that going for it. The cockpit was also in order. The same had mostly been true for the cargo hold so far. While Freya had been walking between the two B1-Alphas that were neatly parked in the hold, Kunsel had taken the time to climb into one of them while Reno watched from the stairs.<p>

Apart from a couple of interesting weapons they hadn't found much that the WRO was particularly interested in. She was almost done when she caught sight of something red glinting out of the corner of her eye at the foot of the ramp leading out. Walking a little closer, she realized it was a summon materia, and went to pick it up.

"Whatcha got there?" Reno asked, spotting her movement.

"It feels like… Hades," she said after a moment, showing him the little orb.

"Hades…" Reno checked the manifest for a moment. "I don't see anything about materia on the list."

"Well, if that's the case," Freya pocketed it. "We might want to ask if anyone's missing a materia."

Once Kunsel reappeared he produced their copy of the manifest for the plane. "Looks like everything checks out. Now all that's left is to look over the submarine dock."

Reno nodded. "All right," he reached for his PHS and dialed a number. "Reno here, the inspection of the plane went off fine, one thing though, anyone missing a materia?"

He waited for a moment and upon hearing the response, nodded. "Okay, just send over the van and we'll be out of your hair yo." Upon hanging up he turned his attention back to Freya. "Doesn't look like anyone's claiming it. It's possible it formed out of that mako tube that used to be in there and got kicked free when it was moved."

"In that case," Freya said. "Do you care if we take it?"

"No."

She turned her attention to Kunsel. "Do you need a summon?"

He shook his head. "You can keep it, I've already got Phoenix."

"Can we get going?" Reno demanded, already headed towards the spot where the van was supposed to pick them up. "I'd like us to get the rest of this inspection done sometime today."

"All right, we're coming!" Freya called after him as she and Kunsel moved to follow.

* * *

><p>A couple of hours later found them walking down the old glass tunnel from Junon's underground reactor. It had been a fairly uneventful trip, and the submarines themselves were in order, so Reno, glad that his work was done, had walked on ahead of them to get back to the surface. Since they had needed to leave directly from Mideel to get here, it was the first time they'd been truly alone together since leaving Freya's parents at the Mideel airport. Kunsel let out a sigh and looked out at the desolate scenery outside the glass.<p>

"Tired?" Freya asked.

"Not really," he said. "Just thinking." The two of them watched a shark swim overhead casting a shadow through the plexiglass. After a moment, he asked "Was your mom trying to tell us something while we were back at her place?"

"Probably," Freya admitted. "She was hoping I'd settle down and have a family eventually. Well, you can imagine my thoughts on that. I wanted to test my limits to their utmost. If I let her have her way, she would have had my life all planned out for me before I got to live it."

"Is that why you joined the Turks?" Kunsel asked.

"No, that was because they offered me the job. But the reason I got the offer was because every time someone put an obstacle in my way, I refused to let it stop me." She smiled at the thought. It was affirmation in her own mind. That was when she caught sight of something moving out of the corner of her eye and leaned closer to the glass, instinctively gripping her shotgun as she peered into the water. "Hey… do you see something out there?"

Kunsel came closer and looked where she was indicating before both of their mouths dropped in surprise. "What is that?" Kunsel asked, squinting to make out the approaching object.

"Is it some kind of… ship?" Freya asked. The two of them backed away from the glass, as the thing approached and soon she was quite certain that was exactly what it was, though with a very disturbing appearance. There seemed to be a skeleton carrying an oar mounted on the front like a figurehead. Even more worrisome was the fact that it floated through the glass as though it were nothing.

"We can't both be hallucinating," Kunsel murmured.

"Combat?" Freya asked.

"Combat," Kunsel agreed, at which point they both readied their weapons, as Freya also prepped an ice spell. The skeleton looked in their direction and raised its oar like it was about to attack, roaring threateningly.

She could already see electricity moving along Kunsel's blade as he skidded underneath the ship and drove his sword deep into its underbelly. The skeleton's eyesocket's glowed menacingly and it attempted to turn around to get a better shot at attacking the SOLDIER with its oar.

Freya fired the ice spell, making sure to aim higher up on their target to avoid hitting her companion with friendly fire. She shouldn't have worried. The SOLDIER rolled out from under the monster and parried an attack with the oar. A blue flame shot out of the tip and he backed away. Fortunately, the flame only seemed to have slightly singed him.

She cast Ice one final time. The light went out of the skeleton's eyes and then he dissolved into nothing. Kunsel returned his gunblade to his back and walked back to where she stood. "You all right?" she asked.

"It was no trouble," Kunsel replied, looking around.

"Well, that's a relief," Freya said. They took a moment to check the area for any other unwanted surprises. There didn't seem to be any. "Nice job," she said at last, once they were sure they were alone once again.

"You too," Kunsel started. He paused looking out at the ocean and she took a moment to examine the glass on her side. The fish and the sharks were swimming around as though there hadn't just been a ghost ship invading the area just a few minutes ago. Had that been nothing? "Something wrong? Usually you'd be crowing over your victory right about now," she heard the swordsman ask.

She shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I've just had a lot on my mind lately."

"You aren't the only one," Kunsel agreed. "We still don't know if Zack's okay, Cloud's gone far too much of the time, and way too many people are sick, and we lost a lot of people trying to retake Midgar, even though we abandoned it. But at the same time…" he said, thoughtfully. "That doesn't mean a lot of good things haven't happened too. What's that thing you always say?"

Freya spoke the words as though they were a meditation. "We're here now, and there's definitely going to be something waiting for us over that horizon…" she paused before continuing. "I don't know what that is yet, but I refuse to let things fall apart." She didn't realize it until just now, but as she had been looking out at the ocean, Kunsel had actually taken a couple of steps closer to her and was now standing behind her.

"Then we'll just have to do what we can, right?" he asked. That was when she actually felt his chest against her back as he tentatively offered her a hug.

Last time she'd made an advance like this, she had been gently rebuffed, but this time, he was the one making the advances. That could only mean… She nodded in answer to his question and leaned back, allowing him to put his arms around her. Curiously she looked over her shoulder at him, her faintly glowing copper eyes looking up at his hazel ones through the rippling gloom inside the plexiglass tunnel. "Right…" she breathed after a moment, and that was when he leaned in and her eyes closed when their lips came together.

A few moments later when she came up for air she asked "You won't regret this will you?"

"Of course not," he said.

"Good, because you know what I think about regrets," she turned around in his embrace and kissed him again, pulling him as close as she possibly could. For all of several moments, their surroundings didn't matter. This place was just for them, their own private sanctuary. No matter what happened out in the real world, as people suffered, fought, died of disease or carried out missions for one faction or another, as the tides of the world outside ebbed and flowed, this time was truly theirs. And she savored it like the richest of chocolates, or the sweetest wine she'd ever tasted. It was only then when she noticed the sound of footsteps coming closer from the direction of the elevator that she realized their time was up and they quickly put some space between them to compose themselves. By the time Reno arrived, both of them looked like absolutely nothing had happened… she hoped.

"What's keeping you two?" Reno demanded. "I thought you guys were supposed to be meeting up with Reeve in a few minutes."

"Right," Freya said. "We're coming, did you know there's some kind of ghost ship that flies around here?"

"You saw it?" Reno asked looking a little surprised.

"Yeah, it tried to attack us," Kunsel confirmed.

"Huh. Hope you at least kicked its ass." Reno gave her a look that clearly indicated that if they had run away he would have been severely disappointed.

Freya laughed. "You wound me Reno, who do you think we are?"

* * *

><p><em>Not a lot of the main characters this chapter, though a couple of homage's and a little bit of love in the air, or under the sea, as the case may be. Hope no one minds too much, but I couldn't resist the urge to explore Freya's motivations a little more. The Player Turks have so much potential for their origins to be played with it's hard to leave them alone. ^^<em>

_One more chapter left before Part IV. Next week we'll be checking in with Tifa. See ya there!_


	77. Continental Drift

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spin-offs That honor goes to Square-Enix.

A note of appreciation is in order for Xcomp and Danna over on the Lifestream for their wonderful translation of "On the Way to a Smile: Case of Tifa." Check it out sometime along with the rest of the On the Way to a Smile novellas if you have the time.

Mat is an original character.

**Does Our Future Still Lead to a Smile? (Interlude)**

* * *

><p>Chapter 77, Continental Drift (Case of Tifa, Phase 2)<p>

**March 28****th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0009**

Tifa was working her way through the dirty dishes after the last of her customers had left for the day. The weather had finally started to cool as the Mideel was heading fast towards mid-autumn, and there had been plenty of customers seeking some of the heavier import brews from towns near Nibelheim, Rocket Town, and Icicle Inn.

There had been slightly fewer customers this year, thanks to that persistent rumor about Geostigma being contagious, but as closely as they had been following Doctor Rayleigh's research on the matter in this town, most people knew better. It helped that the town, for all the growing it had done was still small.

Marlene walked downstairs and Tifa saw she looked rather serious, though with Denzel's condition, that wasn't so unusual these days. "Is Denzel all right?" she asked.

The little girl walked over to her. "He was hurting a little."

"You could have come to get me," Tifa said.

"He didn't want me to. He said he didn't want to bother you, so I stayed until he went to sleep."

"Oh…" She looked up at the clock. It was getting a little late. "You should probably go to bed too."

Marlene nodded solemnly. "Okay… when is Cloud going to come back?"

After a moment, Tifa reached out and gave her a hug. "Soon, I hope."

"Me too," the little girl turned and went back upstairs, taking one last look back before disappearing to the second floor.

Tifa leaned against the counter, unable to shake an intense sadness and unease. When had things changed? Wait, that was a silly question, of course things had changed. Everywhere. And a lot. With the Battle with Sephiroth, the Shinra War, and then the Battle of Midgar and all that had happened after that, but for the most part they should have been good changes… right?

* * *

><p><em>Cloud had moved into the bar in early January, shortly after the living space had been built on the second floor. He had been very hesitant about it, asking in his usual quiet way whether or not it would be all right if he set up his office for his delivery service over the garage, almost as if he had been afraid she would say no, and that it might be some kind of trespass on her boundaries to even broach the subject. <em>

_As if there had been any question. He already kept Fenrir there anyway. The footpath leading between the village and the lodge had grown a bit larger as fortifications and other installations had been put in place, but Seventh Heaven had been the most convenient place to put the giant motorbike. Marlene was overjoyed, and had immediately suggested letting Denzel share her room, since up until then, he had been sharing a room with Cloud at the lodge. Jessie too, had been excited. _

"_It's about time!" she'd said with a laugh, after the blonde swordsman had left to make preparations once he was certain Tifa's answer had been in the affirmative. The move had occurred with much fanfare. Zack hadn't been busy at the time so he'd gladly volunteered to help move things and that evening Marlene had insisted that they have a welcoming party, and it had indeed been wonderful. Almost enough to let her forget everyone who had died when their bombing run on Mako Reactor 1 went off. To forget Biggs and Wedge, who had died storming the Shinra building trying to save them._

_It wasn't until everyone else went home, and she wandered upstairs to find Cloud setting up a desk by the small bed they had set up for him that she noticed he was smiling. "What is it?" she asked._

"_It just feels like a new beginning," he said placing a photo on his desk. It was a picture Marlene had given him when they were all still living at the lodge. She had insisted on taking it outside the bar one day while they had been building the upstairs, and as a result, the wooden frame atop the bar stood out in contrast against the sky. Zack, Kunsel, and Cloud stood in the back while Denzel was standing in front of his hero with Tifa, Aerith, Jessie, and Marlene. "It's a little exciting," Cloud murmured._

_She returned the smile. "Yeah, I guess it is."_

* * *

><p>The next month or so, things had been going well for the most part. Whenever Zack could, he and Aerith would come over and visit and bring news about how their research pursuits were going. Occasionally, when Cloud made deliveries, he'd come back with various things for Tifa to add to her collection. At first, this was comprised exclusively of types of alcohol, with the odd variety of fruit juice for Marlene and Denzel. It wasn't until she realized that he knew nothing about cooking, outside of what Zack had taught him in regards to foraging, that she started instructing him on various vegetables and spices one was supposed to use.<p>

Once that had begun, little by little, he began to bring back other things as well. A few sticks of cinnamon, or garlic cloves, and once, (much to Marlene's distaste) chili powder. Of course, even if this permitted the bar to expand its offerings, nothing they served ever went on the menu unless the kids explicitly approved it.

Overall, theirs had been a pleasant existence, with various members of GUARDIAN dropping in to visit every now and then. Marlene liked to keep the tables in order, and though Cloud was often gone a lot of the time except in the mornings and late evenings, the kids always tried to stay up to wait for him and talk to him while she prepared a quick plate for him.

He would set himself up in one of the booths in a corner with them, and let them help organize his manifests and receipts. It looked to Tifa very much like the image of a young father with his children, and sometimes, she would attempt to join them. The kids would talk a little bit about what they had learned at the school house that had just been built, and Tifa would sometimes make small talk about how things at the bar had been during the day. Occasionally when sorting through the manifests, Marlene would come across a word she couldn't read, and then Denzel would tell her how it was supposed be read. But then, sometimes there were words he didn't know either, and then they would turn to Cloud. He would patiently hand them a pencil and paper, and tell them how to read it before telling them that if they couldn't write it, they probably wouldn't remember it.

The children would be sure to do this with the utmost seriousness, as though he were handing down an important life lesson, though she could definitely see he was perplexed by this, even if at the same time in his own quiet way, he was glad they were taking it to heart. Sometimes the kids would also ask about the different places on the slips of paper, and what they were like, and Cloud, being Cloud, would give simple answers, such as "Lots of people," or "Not a lot of people," or "Lots of monsters there, better to take the north route, it's safer." They were the kind of descriptions that might leave the average person asking "Is that all?" but the children were usually happy with them.

There were some things that had bothered her a little. Oftentimes during the days when Denzel was feeling better than usual, he would ask her things about Cloud. Everything he did, the boy thought was incredible, and so he wanted to know everything about where his hero had come from. Sometimes he'd ask about Zack too, but not nearly as much. Tifa had jokingly said that she was the one cooking his meals every day, leaving the question unspoken as to why he had no interest in anyone besides the guys, but Denzel had apparently not noticed, instead pointing out that he helped Marlene keep the bar clean. Upon asking where he had learned how to clean, she didn't receive an answer, and it was only later that she learned from Cloud that the boy had told him.

She didn't complain about it much, though at one point she had let something slip in front of Ruvie Tuesti while the two of them were watching the children play one afternoon. The older woman had just laughed. "That's how boys are," she said with a smile. "You have nothin' to worry about love. He's a good boy. Most families have their share of growing pains, but it's the sort'o thing you'll laugh about in the end." Perhaps it was their shared circumstances that had caused Ruvie to take a liking to Denzel. They were both from Midgar, even if Ruvie wasn't born there and both had lost family or friends in the attack on the city, and while a gap of many years separated them, it was not uncommon to see her talking to him and Mat about plants while helping Aerith with her garden. Tifa didn't understand why Ruvie had given the advice she had, but she had definitely been relieved to hear the older woman's opinion, and so she had put it aside.

Those weren't the only changes that had occurred though.

* * *

><p><em>The first thing she'd noticed was a few nights after Zack had taken Kunsel, Aerith, and several others to the Northern Crater. Cloud had come back to check on him, since they still weren't sure if he had been infected or not. That night she had found him sitting at the bar with a bottle of alcohol next to him. Curiously, she'd asked if he wanted to talk.<em>

"_No," he said bluntly._

_She'd been a little hurt by that but hadn't said anything, instead walking off to do the dishes as though nothing was wrong, even though she had wanted to say some unkind things. After that, she noticed he was spending longer and longer periods of time away from the bar. He was coming home later and later. Some nights, he wasn't coming home at all. The manifests didn't add up either. He couldn't have been doing enough work to support the traveling he did._

_Then, one night after he'd been gone for several days, she'd noticed several dirty mako crystals that had fallen from his boots. "You went to the Crater?"_

_He nodded._

_She already knew why._

"_You don't think he's gone?" she asked._

"_Nibelheim didn't stop him the first time," he replied._

"_Then why not get the others to help?"_

"_When I know for sure," he'd offered. "Once I've found him."_

"_But what if he gets to you? What if something happens?"_

"_It won't. I'll be careful."_

* * *

><p>For a while, she had left it alone, but the next week, he was gone almost the entire time, without calling at all. The next time she saw him, he was sporting a black sleeve on his left arm, along with the black dust apron he'd acquired to protect his clothes while on the road. He didn't bother explaining the sleeve, and instead, had barely spoken to her before leaving again. It had been another week since then, and now, she was really getting worried. What was going on?<p>

"Why don't you just give him a call again?" Jessie pressed.

"Hmm?" Tifa realized she had been standing at the sink for a while without doing anything.

"I can tell you're worried about him," the former terrorist pointed out. "We all are."

"Yeah," Tifa agreed. It was probably about time. She took some time to drain the water out of the sink before walking up the stairs to her room, reaching for her PHS as she did so.

* * *

><p><em>Somewhere in another lifetime, back when they were still at the Lodge, just after Zack and Aerith had left on their honeymoon, Tifa and Cloud had been sitting on the porch looking up at the stars. "Are you happy?" she'd asked.<em>

_He didn't answer for a moment, as though weighing every possible answer he might be about to use. Finally he said "Yes." All that deliberation for one simple word. She considered joking about how he'd needed so much time to give the answer, but she decided to let it slide. She had simply leaned against him, enjoying the evening air._

"_What about you?" he'd asked after a moment._

"_I doubt I could be any happier if I tried," she said._

_He offered her one of his rare, tentative smiles. "I'm glad."_

* * *

><p>She sat down on her bed as the PHS rang, and rang, and rang, without being picked up. Finally, it went to voicemail. "It's me, I just wanted to know how you've been. Call me when you get the chance, okay?" Hanging up, she put the PHS in her pocket, and then walked back down the stairs.<p>

She was almost to the bar when she heard a knock at the door. Jessie went to the door to see who it was and after a moment she could hear a familiar voice. "Hey, hope it's not too late, but I wanted to talk to you guys about something and since I happened to be in the neighborhood…"

She walked to the door and looked over Jessie's shoulder. "Zack?" The man himself stood at the door, wearing a dark jacket with a GUARDIAN patch on one of the front pockets.

"What are you saying?!" Jessie exclaimed. "Of course you can come in!" they let him into the bar and he took a seat on one of the stools while they hurried to pour some drinks.

The spent the next few moments in an uncomfortable silence as Zack looked around at the familiar surroundings before starting into what was on his mind. "Everything all right over here? I know you haven't heard from Cloud recently, and I've tried calling his PHS but he won't pick up."

"Even you?" Tifa asked.

"Yeah…" Zack said. She noticed he was moving his right arm rather gingerly. He hadn't done that in a while. But then again, sometimes the damaged nerves from his last encounter with Sephiroth did flare up at odd moments. It seemed rather inconsequential right now when…

She turned her attention back to the conversation and saw him looking right back at her. "Hey, I know you're worried. I am a little bit too. But sit tight, I've got this idea that I think'll help us figure out what's wrong."

* * *

><p>(The Case of…?: Fragmented File #6)<p>

**April 5****th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0009**

The old AVALANCHE hideout was a small townhouse on one of the lower Junon plates. Outside, Scarlet could see the Sister Ray, in all its splendor. She had built that cannon. It was hers by rights. And this would be the position from which she would get it back, and much, much more. Soon, all of Nietzsche and Kant's rebel forces would be in place, and once she had finished building her ultimate weapon, then they could work to take back Junon, and then go beyond.

Eventually, they would do what Rufus had failed to do, and not only extricate the WRO from its position of power, but kill Mutton Kylegate, retake all that remained of Midgar, and fly directly into the heart of GUARDIAN's headquarters and bomb Zack Fair and his entire interloping insurgency into oblivion, requisition Rocket Oil, and bring everything to its rightful place. Under her stiletto heel.

"Gya-hahaha," Heidegger was laughing at something nearby and she glared at his back. Of course, she would have to deal with her partner for the time being. After all, even if this blockhead was terrible for their morale and an idiot of the highest order, he had been politically savvy enough to keep a couple of the Shinra generals loyal, even if it was only by fear. But sometimes she wondered if it was truly worth it. Perhaps she could win them over with her feminine charms and then do away with him? No, that would have to wait. At least until they were securely in control of Junon.

She turned her attention back to the blueprints for her old Shinra building tech lab in Midgar. It wasn't in a safe zone, so their infiltrators would have to have some means of protection from the corrupted Mako in the area, but with any luck, they could requisition the parts she needed. "Where are those operatives?" she called out irritably. The meeting was supposed to begin exactly two minutes ago.

"They're on their way," Heidegger growled. As he spoke, four regular soldiers wearing altered Shinra trooper uniforms appeared in front of her.

"Sorry for the delay ma'am," one of them said. "our equipment was not in the room it was supposed to be."

"Never mind," Scarlet said. She walked over to the wall and tacked the blueprint there. "Let's begin. We don't have a lot of time."

She was about to indicate their place of entry with a pointer when suddenly one of their other officers ran into the room. "Sorry to bother you General. Ms. Scarlet, but there's been a breach in our security."

"A breach?" Heidegger demanded.

"What kind?" Scarlet's voice was low and dangerous.

The soldier quailed under their wrath. "Three young men with white hair. They're demanding to see the head of this outfit or they'll kill every single last one of us. The first man that stood in their way was gutted like a fish, and the next three are hanging from the rafters in our garage… in pieces… ma'am."

"What do they want?" Scarlet asked.

There was a noise down the hall to the man's left and he leapt out of the way with a terrified squeak. As he had described them, three men appeared in the dooyway and entered the room. Immediately, the one with a double-bladed katana looked in her direction. "Aha, perhaps here might be someone who can help," he said.

"With what?" Heidegger asked.

She could see his hand reaching into his pocket for the pistol he kept there, but the biggest of the three was behind him in mere moments, securing him in a tight hold as the one with shoulder-length hair and a double bladed katana, who seemed to be the leader, approached her. "We're just some lost boys who are looking for their mother," he said.

"Well then I'm afraid you're looking in the wrong place," Scarlet drawled, "The only woman here is me. Unless that small one is also a woman." She indicated the man with the longest hair of the three.

"Stop it you," the man raised his gun, apparently insulted, "I will do it!" for a moment, Scarlet felt real fear. Was this the end?

"You can have a temper tantrum later, Yazoo," the largest man with the shortest hair soothed. "We can kill everyone after we find mother."

That was when Scarlet got an idea. "You certainly seem well up to the task at any rate. Perhaps you could tell me who she is. We might even be able to help you."

The leader stood directly in front of her, and moved to take her chin in his hand, but she raised her own hand to slap it away. He coolly caught it before she could draw it back. "I would have thought a smart lady like you would know. Our mother, Jenova is being hidden from us somewhere. You were a Shinra director, on the board itself. Do you know where they are keeping her?"

She did not relax her arm. "No, I do not," she said calmly. "But I know of some people who might." Several of them in fact. And these men could provide her an excellent distraction to prevent those same people from getting in her way and might even do her the favor of removing them from the picture. She allowed a small smirk to spread across her lips. "First of all, you might start with Rufus Shinra."

**To Be Continued in Part IV...**

* * *

><p><em>Hey guys. It's hard to believe next chapter is going to start of the last part of this series, but somehow, here we are. We are also less than twenty chapters from the end. My projected cut-off is planned to be 93, pending anything unforeseen.<em>

_In the meantime there's been a lot of speculation about what's going to happen with the Geostigma epidemic. As such, it is only appropriate that this final installment would be titled "Stigma." Once again, thanks for hanging around, and see you next week!_


	78. Vacation at Icicle Inn? Begin part IV

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spin-offs That honor goes to Square-Enix.

**Part IV: ****Stigma**

* * *

><p>Chapter 78, Vacation at Icicle Inn?<p>

**April 7****th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0009**

Allen stood at a street corner on one of the Junon upper plates with a set of earphones plugged into his ears. A casual observer would think they were hooked to a portable music player, but actually half of it was connected to a recorder and receiver synched with a special recording device he had planted in the warehouse he was watching a few streets down. He had long ago mastered the art of appearing like a disinterested young waif, occasionally nodding his head as though in rhythm with a beat no one else heard. There was supposed to be a meeting today. Someone from the group that had commandeered this warehouse would be meeting a contact, and he was here to ascertain who that was.

"_You all set Allen?"_ Valerie asked through the other half of his headphones, plugged into his PHS.

"I read you loud and clear, ready to commence upon first sign of the targets," he said. The top button on his shirt was a cleverly disguised microphone. An innovation of Kemp's that he'd borrowed. He checked his watch. They should be here any time now. The meeting had been set for fourteen-hundred hours. He observed the seconds tick closer until he spotted movement nearby and adjusted the cap hiding his short blond hair as he perused a nearby newsstand for a magazine. It looked like the stock market had been favorable today, he noted. With a practiced motion, he picked up the paper and sat down on a nearby bench, looking like he was reading, but occasionally bringing his gaze up to observe the world around him.

Not long after that, he saw a car pull into the garage, the windows opaque to hide its occupants. Almost at the same time, three motorcycles had just been parked at the entrance, and as he observed, three men in leather outfits, each carrying a unique weapon made their way through the front door. The guard at the front was definitely very wary of them. He could see it in the stiffness of the man's posture.

Once they were in, it hardly took a moment for the hidden microphone to crackle to life.

"_You got back quickly. I would have thought it would take you a few day to find the young President." _Scarlet. What luck! Maybe the WRO could get them into custody after all!

A different, alto voice answered the former head of Weapons Development in a smooth drawl. _"Unfortunately, he didn't have what we were looking for. He suggested that perhaps we should seek out our big brothers. But it doesn't seem like they're at home."_

Someone else let out an impatient growl. "_Well you can't possibly expect us to know where they are." _Heidegger, apparently.

"_No, but you do have other uses. Such as giving us a boat," _the unfamiliar voice said.

"_And just why would we do that?"_ Heidegger demanded.

"_Whether you do or not doesn't matter,"_ a deeper voice responded. "_We will take it anyway. Or have you already forgotten what we did to your men the other day?"_

Heidegger sounded like he was about ready to get violent but Scarlet quickly intercepted him. "_Of course not! You can find one of our best at dock #42, Lower Junon. You can't miss it."_

"_Glad to know one of you has some sense," _the first voice said before apparently turning to its owner's companions. "_Come on, we're going."_

Not long after, the three men returned to their bikes, and the car pulled out of the garage again. Allen hit the button on his PHS. "Did you get all that?" he asked.

"_Loud and clear," _Valerie answered. "_I've sent the recording straight to Veld, and he says you're to follow the car."_

"What about those guys on the bikes?" Allen asked, as he stood, nonchalantly folding his newspaper.

_I'll be going to Dock 42 myself to see if we can't figure out where they're going. I don't know who their brothers are, but it might be important."_

"Val," Allen said softly. "I think there's something you ought to know before you go after them."

"_What's that?"_

"Maybe it's just me, but all three of them look an awful lot like Sephiroth."

* * *

><p>Cloud sat in a cave filled with moss, watching Genesis walk around the other side, reciting poetry in a low whisper as the crackling of a forge-fire could be heard in the next chamber. He wouldn't be here long, he hoped. The man's recitations were the last thing he wanted to hear right now.<p>

"Infinite in mystery is the gift of the Goddess, we seek it thus and take to the sky, ripples form on the water's surface, the wandering soul knows no rest…"

Tiring of watching the man in the red coat, he stood and walked out to where the hole opened the cave up to the night sky. The Autumn air blustered coolly onto his face as he looked up at the stars, wondering why he still even bothered. The tendrils of Lifestream filtered up into the night air, mocking him until, perhaps looking for something to do, he at last turned his attention to his PHS. He probably shouldn't have been surprised that it looked like it was blinking. He'd had it on silent for a while now, so he hadn't noticed when the messages had appeared. After a moment, he opened it and hitting the button for voice mail, he brought it to his ear.

"_Hey Cloud, it's Zack, just wondering how you're doing. I haven't heard from you since you came to see me. Where've you been?" _He let out a breath and waited for the next one.

"_Cloud, I know where you said you were going, but I just wanted to check in. Call me, okay?" _Tifa. He swallowed and waited for the next one.

"_Hi, it's me, Yuffie! I'm going to be in the area in about a week and I was wondering what was for dinner. Call me when you get the chance, got it?" _The date on that one was from about eight days ago.

"_Hey, Zack says you've been off moonlightin' to look for that guy. Listen, if ya need a ride… I got the Shera ready to go…" _Cid had mellowed out just a little since the wedding it seemed. He waited for the next message.

"_Hey Cloud, it's Zack again. You need to learn to answer your phone. Listen, I had this idea. If you can manage to meet us up at Icicle Inn on the 10__th__, I'd really like to see you up there. I'll be headed over to your place in a bit to talk to Tifa about it, but just let me know, all right?"_

"_It's me, I just wanted to know how you've been. Call me when you get the chance, okay?" _Tifa again. Though to his concern, she actually sounded more worried than the last time.

"_Cloud? What's happening? I-I had a dream about you last night. You looked like something was hurting you. Please let us know where you are." _That wasAerith. The date and time on that message was five days ago. He'd had a particularly bad night the night before.

"_Cloud? Tifa's really worried. Where are you? Hope you'll at least be up at Icicle Inn when we head up there." _Kunsel had called four days ago.

"_Hey Spikey! Just wanted to check in. Me an' Cid've been workin' the oil fields like nobody's business and another shipment's gonna go out soon. But I can hardly wait to see you guys up at Icicle Inn. You and Tifa had better be takin' good care of Marlene for me, you got that?" _It was good to know things had been going well for Barret at least.

"_Hey Cloud, Tifa told me what you said you were doing. You know, you could have asked us to help. Is everything all right? If someone doesn't hear from you before the end of next week, I'll come after you myself and drag you back if I have to." _Freya. He was slightly relieved to see that the date on her message was three days ago. He still had time.

He hung up the PHS. Well, maybe he still had a little bit of time… he was about to close it when suddenly, it whirred to life and he nearly dropped it, but on instinct, he caught it firmly in his left hand. Pain shot up his arm and he realized in horror that the spasm had caused him to hit the call button.

"_Cloud?" _It was Zack's voice on the other end. "_Are you there? This isn't funny, answer me!"_

Realizing he could no longer hide, he slowly brought his PHS to his ear. "Zack?"

"_Where the hell have you been?"_ Zack demanded.

"I've been searching for Sephiroth," Cloud answered, hoping that would be enough of an answer.

"_Why do you think we've been wondering where you are? The least you could have done was check in with us every now and then!" _His friend let out a sigh on the other end of the line. "_So did you get my other messages?"_

"Yeah…"

"_Great, now I'm going to want to see you at Icicle Inn on the 10__th__. I'm not taking no for an answer, you got that?"_

Cloud tried to search through his own bleak outlook for some of the warmth that Zack usually inspired. "Okay," he said at last, "I'll be there." Best to let him think he'd just been out of contact.

"_Great, I'll let everyone know! Though it probably wouldn't hurt to give Tifa a call…"_

He was quiet for a moment and then answered "All right, I'll try to get a'hold of her."

"_Good man. She's been worried sick about you, you know?"_

At that point, he felt a presence behind him and looked over his shoulder. Genesis had followed him out, and he seemed to want to tell him something. "I've got to go," he said.

"_Okay, but we'll see you up north. No exceptions, right?"_

"Right…" At that point, he hung up and closed the PHS. He should have realized Zack wouldn't let him off the hook so easily. What was he going to do…? If he didn't go they really would know something was wrong, and the fact that more than one of them would come looking for him with the proficiency of trained guard hounds if he didn't show, certainly wouldn't help his situation…

"Ahem…" Genesis cleared his throat imperiously, "I hope you'll pardon my intrusion on your pity party, but the lady has finished with your sword."

Cloud glared at Genesis' departing figure as the WEAPON returned into the gloom. Perhaps he had a point, but that didn't make Cloud resent it any less. He wouldn't even be here if not for the fact that the First Sword had been damaged while fighting one of the more powerful monsters up at the crater. His left bicep spasmed again, diseased nerves and muscles contracting and he gritted his teeth. The pain didn't do much to improve his mood. He was certain with everything that was going on back home, that this was the last thing anyone else needed to know. And spending all that time in close proximity to everyone would make it more likely that they'd find out.

He walked back through the caves, contemplating his problems until at last he reached the forge that Argento had built. The woman had dispensed with her commander's uniform and forehead protector in favor of a loose tank top and the pants and combat boots from a salvaged trooper uniform. Though her single uncovered eye still glowed silver in the reflected light of the hot coals from which she had protected her hair by tying it back in a high ponytail. Here, she could work unhindered by her Mako addiction thanks to a ready supply of the Lifestream being nearby at all times. The woman held the First Sword in her hand, even as she gave him a look of disapproval.

"I have repaired the damage, and have attempted to reinforce the blade to a point, however…" she said, "I fail to see the wisdom of your actions."

"Does it matter?" he asked.

She didn't answer him for a moment, and then went to her sword which hung on a stand in the corner. She fiddled with it for a moment before retrieving a materia from one of the slots. Upon her return, he could see that it was a summon.

"It only matters if in focusing on the dragon in the distance, you refuse to acknowledge the precipice at your feet," she said. She placed the materia in his hand and he realized it was Neo-Bahamut.

"What's this for?" he asked.

"I had forgotten to get rid of it when we left Midgar. My days on the front lines are over and I have no need of it," she said. "Throw it away if you wish, or use it. I don't care one way or the other." With that, she walked back to her forge, and set to work on cleaning up the materials she had prepared. Apparently, in her mind, the interview was over. He turned around and walked back towards the mouth of the cave.

As he passed Genesis he noticed that the man seemed to be listening to a voice he couldn't hear, before he wandered off towards the chamber where the goddess's statue once stood. As Cloud wandered out, he could hear the man reciting Loveless, like a Wutaian Mantra. "My friend, do you fly away now? To a world that abhors you and I? All that awaits you is a somber morrow, No matter where the winds may blow…"

It was only when he'd climbed up onto the lip of the chasm and reached Fenrir at the clearing which was lit up by the stars and the flowing tendrils of Lifestream that he remembered he had promised Zack he would call Tifa. He reached for his PHS and dialed. The call rang for a couple of minutes and then someone picked up. _"Hello?"_

"Tifa?" he asked.

"_Thank Gaia, where are you?"_

"Nowhere…" he said.

"_But you're not hurt or anything, right?"_

"…No," he lied.

"_Can you come home tonight? We'll be leaving tomorrow."_

"I'll be at Icicle Inn," he said.

Tifa was quiet for a moment before continuing. "_When I see you, we're going to have a long talk."_

He mulled over how to answer that when he heard something on the other end of the line. _"Yes, all right, I'll have it out in a minute…"_ She turned her attention back to the call, _"I have to go, but we're not done with this, got it?"_

"I understand," he said. He was already dreading it to the bottom of his heart. After ending the call, he pocketed the PHS again and cranked the motorcycle, driving towards the nearest village. He would need to catch the first boat to the Eastern Continent in order to reach an airfield. Though he wondered which would be worse? Zack discovering the truth, or Tifa? His left arm continued to ache.

* * *

><p><strong>April 10<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0009**

It was afternoon in Icicle Inn when the Gainsborough arrived at the small airfield a short distance off from the main part of town. Aerith pulled her cloak tighter around her as she and Tifa disembarked. Marlene ran ahead, looking around in wonder at the snow, which had never been particularly common anywhere she had lived before. Below-plate in Midgar certainly didn't have it, and while Mideel had seen flurries during their time there, it had never stayed long enough to do anything thing more than glisten on the grass for a few hours before melting away. "Wow!" she exclaimed. "We'll be able to build a real snowman, won't we Denzel?"

The boy looked over from where he was helping Zack and Kunsel with a couple of suitcases and his face lit up at the idea. "Yeah!"

The two older men chuckled at his enthusiasm. "We can do that in a little bit once we've got everything squared away at the inn," Zack suggested.

"Okay," Denzel said. The small group trudged through the snow and were almost to the inn when Aerith spotted the Shera approaching fast. This was good. Cid, Barret and their entourage would be joining them soon. They passed out of the bitter cold and into the warm interior of the inn as Zack walked up to the counter to take care of check-in arrangements, and that was when Aerith spotted Reeve sitting in the reception area, Cait Sith next to him.

Upon spotting them he stood to greet them. "There you are," he said.

"You haven't been waiting for us, have you?" Tifa asked.

"Not at all. My transportation simply got here early so I went ahead and checked in and went for a walk around the town. I just returned actually," he indicated a pair of snow covered boots drying by the fire.

"Have you seen the slopes?" Kunsel asked.

"I'm afraid I haven't, though there do seem to be a significant number of people headed in that direction," Reeve reported.

"Great!" Freya said, having just walked in with Cissnei behind her in time to overhear the question. "As soon as we're all checked in, I'm for breaking out the snowboards and meeting up with Liz. She knows all the best places to go!"

Tifa took a moment to rest a bag she was carrying on the floor. "Has Cloud gotten in yet?" she asked.

Reeve shook his head. "I'm pretty sure I'm the first."

At that point Zack walked over with several room keys in his hand. "Okay, we're all set," he said.

* * *

><p>A short while later, after everyone had settled into their rooms, most of GUARDIAN had dispersed in order to seek out whatever pastime they most desired. Freya, Kunsel and Cid had all gone out to find Liz on the slopes. Tifa, Barret, Jessie and Nanaki watched the two kids play in the snow while Yuffie seemed to be trying to instigate a snowball fight, and Reeve contented himself with a cup of tea by the fire along with Cissnei. It was a shame Vincent had declined to come, Aerith thought, but at the very least, he had promised he would make some time to travel to Mideel within the next few weeks. For now, Zack seemed determined that no one was allowed to worry on this trip, at least until Cloud showed up.<p>

Aerith had been standing outside the inn watching Tifa show Marlene and Denzel how to make snow angels when Zack walked up behind her. He was wearing his GUARDIAN jacket again, she saw. Not that most SOLDIERs weren't perfectly fine under these conditions without extra clothes, but at the very least it didn't seem out of place here, and as he came up behind her, he said "Hey, I was wondering, would you like to walk around a bit before Cloud gets here? The innkeeper said the view was really nice down that way," he indicated the road headed towards the slopes.

Aerith smiled and adjusted her cloak around her shoulders, drawing the hood over her brunette tresses. "Sure, let's go." She was certain Tifa wouldn't let their wayward friend escape if he showed up while they were away, and with the sunlight glistening on the mountains to the north of them, it probably would be a nice day to take in the sights. After taking a moment to let Tifa know where they were going, the two of them walked off down the main thoroughfare, taking in the rustic style of the buildings with snow covering their roofs like icing covers a cake. Smoke puffed out of the various chimneys, and several groups of people passed two and fro between the village and the ski slopes, their footfalls muffled by the fresh powder that had just been dusted across the village this morning.

Zack walked a little ahead of her, occasionally waiting as she caught up since her stride was not nearly as long as his own, and it reminded her a little of the times back in Midgar when they would explore the slums together. In some ways, nothing could change her husband, she reflected with a smile.

They reached an overlook that gave them a view of the mountains around them and Gaia's Cliffs, marking the Northern Crater off in the distance, and even with the site of their enemy's citadel off in the distance, it was nothing if not breathtaking. "That is beautiful…" she murmured and then looked up at him. "You sure know how to pick vacation spots, don't you."

Zack smiled as he basked in her praise. "What can I say? I know what I'm doing. We all needed to kick back for a bit."

"I suppose. Though I hope Rayleigh will be all right without us for a few days," Aerith said.

"I'm sure she'll be fine, and besides, this is important." Zack leaned against the railing as he looked out over the white hills below them.

Aerih nodded in agreement. She knew very well how stubborn Cloud could be, and while she seriously doubted getting the truth out in the open would be the end of the matter, making him more aware of the actual effect it was having should at least put an end to his attempts to hide from them. She knew very well why, thanks to the Planet. By removing himself from the picture he was hoping that his own suffering wouldn't be noticed. He could be a little frustrating that way. It was almost exactly what he'd done the last time, in a less physical sense, and he should have known better.

"I'm sure we can get him to see reason once he knows what he's missed," Aerith said.

"I hope so," Zack agreed, "Because I know I'm not the only one who doesn't want to lose him again."

"Excuse me…" A voice said from behind them.

Aerith and Zack turned to find themselves looking at an older woman, perhaps about Elmyra's age, with her hair pulled up in a tight bun. "Oh, I'm sorry", she said, "I thought you looked like someone I knew. Or used to know at any rate… I suppose I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up…"

"It's fine," Aerith said, taking in the warm but simple clothes the woman was wearing and the expression of disappointment on her face. "We're actually just here for a visit, but does this person live around here? If we see her we might be able to tell her you're looking for her."

The woman shook her head. "Thank you dear, but I'm afraid that wouldn't be possible. She was taken from here a long time ago by the Shinra company… You do look a lot like her though…" an idea seemed to hit her at that moment. "Would you mind telling me your name?"

"Not at all," she said. "I'm Aerith, and this is my husband Zack…"

"That explains it then!" The woman said. "You're Ifalna's daughter!"

"You knew my mother?" Aerith asked.

"That was her name?" Zack asked, looking a bit confused.

"You're her husband and you don't know?" the woman seemed surprised.

"Well, I haven't talked about it much. I had already been adopted when he met me," Aerith explained. "How do you know my mother?"

"We were neighbors," the woman adjusted her skirt. "She and Professor Gast used to live here, just a few houses down from the Inn in fact. Do you know what happened to her? After those hoodlums came and took her away with you we never heard from her again… The poor Professor. When they found his body…" she shook her head sadly.

"This house," Aerith asked curiously. "Does anyone live there now?"

"No, it's been abandoned for the last twenty three years."

Aerith gave that some thought before asking her next question. "Is there a chance we could take a look inside?"

"I doubt that would be a problem. It's the third house down from the Inn. We're such a small town here, I doubt it's even locked. If it is, you can ask the Innkeeper if he has a key. He's also the mayor you know."

* * *

><p>On a rise overlooking the main road several miles south of Icicle Inn, three men balanced on their motorcycles, eyes trained on the road bound for the town. Finally one of them spoke. "Hey Kadaj, is that where our brothers are?"<p>

"That's what the President said," Kadaj murmured.

"Do you think they'll be glad to see us?" The first one asked.

Kadaj laughed derisively. "Not a chance."

The biggest of the three spoke in a mocking tone. "Don't cry Yazoo."

"But they might have mother," Yazoo said quietly.

"Maybe not," Kadaj said.

Seeing the troubled look on the bigger man's face, Yazoo said back "Don't cry Loz."

Kadaj looked across the vast empty expanse of snow for a few moments, when suddenly he heard the sound of a motorcycle. After a moment, a figure appeared from the south, headed towards the town. "Hold on. One of them's coming." As if a signal had been given, the two younger remnants cranked the gas on their vehicles, and sped down the hill to cross the snowy plains after their quarry.

* * *

><p>A few minutes after talking to the mayor, Aerith pushed in the door to an old cabin that looked rather the worse for wear. Apparently in the absence of its owners, no one had bothered to keep it up. However, it was a sturdy structure, built of strong timber and designed to weather the elements, so it had that going for it. It was hard to believe. Had this truly been the place where she had been born? Had this really once been her home as well. Zack waited behind her as the door creaked open, revealing a modest workroom, flanked by a chair and desk and what appeared to be recording equipment. However, compared to the more modern equipment the Shinra company, and more recently other smaller companies, proffered today, it looked like it was definitely very old, and had seen better days.<p>

Perhaps the most disturbing thing about it were the bullet-holes that riddled the floor. Aerith took a step into the darkened room, ignoring the signs of age and decay, and started looking around, taking in the sights with a sense of immense disquiet. The Planet's whispers seemed muted here, but even so, she could get the sense that something incredibly sad had happened in this building, though at the same time, there had been moments of great joy here before too.

Zack followed her in, also taking in the state of the room.

"It looks like there's a set of stairs over here going down. I'm going to take a look," she said. She walked around the railing and began to descend. Below seemed a lot more welcoming, being furnished by a small double bed and warmer rugs. Another door seemed to lead off to what used to be a kitchen and a small living area, but in a corner sat something else that caught her attention, a cradle, lovingly hand-made, but definitely simple, as though the crafting of it had been done by someone who didn't do such things normally.

She was about to head upstairs again when she heard Zack calling her. "Hey Aerith, come back up here! I think I've found something!" Hurrying back up the stairs she saw him standing in front of what looked to be a computer, which he had apparently turned on. However, it was the labels on a series of video files that caught her attention.

"'The Original Crisis', 'What is "WEAPON"?'… These sound like they might be related to the Northern Crater," she said.

Zack moved out of the way as she reached out to select the first file. Almost immediately the room darkened and a holoprojector opened in the ceiling, showing two people standing in the room. A man in his early thirties with a neat lab coat and sporting a bushy brown mustache, and a woman who was slightly younger. Zack let out a gasp of surprise. "No wonder that old lady got confused, she looks just like you," he murmured.

It was true that now she saw her again, her facial features were definitely similar. And it was hard for Aerith not to recognize her. She'd only been seven when her mother had died, but her memory was something she had never wanted to erase. As they watched, the man finished fiddling with the cameras and then approached her. _"Camera's ready!" he said after a moment and then, taking a breath as though preparing for a stage performance, he turned to the woman. "Now, Ifalna, please tell us about the Cetra."_

Ifalna nodded in the hologram and began to speak _"Two thousand years ago, our ancestors, the Cetra, heard the cries of the Planet. The first ones to discover the Planet's wound were the Cetra at the Knowlespole."_

The man nodded. _"Tell us Ifalna… Where is the land called 'Knowlespole'?"_

Ifalna gestured to indicate their surroundings. _"Knowlespole refers to this area. The Cetra then began a Planet-reading."_

The man asked his next question. _"Ifalna, what exactly does a Planet-reading entail?"_

Her mother frowned as she considered the question. _"…I can't explain it very well, but it's like having a conversation with the Planet… It said something fell from the sky making a large wound. Thousands of Cetra pulled together, trying to heal the Planet… But due to the severity of the wound, it was only able to heal itself over many years. "_

"_Do the Ancients, rather, the Cetra, have special powers to heal the Planet?"_ The man stumbled over the question slightly but quickly corrected himself.

Ifalna shook her head, and walked a few steps away from him, thinking through how she would answer. _"No, it's not that kind of power. The life force of all living things on this Planet becomes the energy. The Cetra tried desperately to cultivate the land so as not to diminish the needed energy…"_

The man appeared thoughtful at that_. "Hmm, even here, so close to the North Cave, the snow never melts. Is that because the planet's energy is gathered here to heal its injury?"_

Her mother nodded. _"Yes, the energy that was needed to heal the Planet withered away the land… then the Planet…"_ she paused, her expression troubled. _"The Planet tried to persuade the Cetra to leave the Knowlespole, but…"_

Seeing her distress, the man interrupted _"Ifalna… Let's take a break."_

Her mother shook her head. _"I'm all right… When the Cetra… were preparing to part with the land they loved… That's when it appeared! It looked like… our… our dead mother …and our dead brothers. Showing us specters of their past."_

The man looked surprised at that. _"Who is the person that appeared at the North Cave? I haven't any idea."_

"_That's when the one who injured the Planet… or the 'crisis from the sky', as we call him, came. He first approached as a friend, deceived them, and finally… gave them the virus."_ Ifalna was becoming more upset almost as though she was watching the information unfold before her eyes and as Aerith watched, her mother sank to the ground, gripping her hands together to stop them from shaking. _"The Cetra were attacked by the virus and went mad… transforming into monsters. Then, just as he had at the Knowlespole, he approached the other Cetra clans… infecting them with… the virus…"_

The man approached the woman and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. _"You don't look well… Let's call it a day."_ After giving her shoulder an encouraging squeeze, he went over to turn the machine off leaving the room once again silent.

"Was that Professor Gast who was talking to your mom?" Zack asked, "Like that older lady said?"

"I don't know," Aerith said. "It might have been. There haven't been any messages from the others have there?"

Zack checked his PHS. "Nothing yet. We might have time for a couple of the others."

"Then let's look some more. It seems a lot of this has to do with Jenova, maybe we can find something Doctor Rayleigh can use," Aerith suggested before activating the file labeled "What is 'WEAPON'?"

Immediately the holo-projector came to life again with Gast and Ifalna standing in the same room. Gast seemed to be preparing for another recording session. Once he was finished he turned to Ifalna. _"Ifalna, can you comment on the thing called 'WEAPON'?"_

"_Yes, Professor,"_ Ifalna confirmed. _"The one the Professor mistook for a Cetra… was named Jenova. That is the 'crisis from the sky'. The Planet knew it had to destroy the 'crisis from the sky'… You see, as long as Jenova exists, the Planet will never be able to fully heal itself."_

Gast looked thoughtful again. _"Back then, WEAPON was a weapon the Planet produced of its own will?"_

"_Yes, but… There is no record of WEAPON ever being used,"_ Ifalna explained. _"A small number of the surviving Cetra defeated Jenova, and confined it. The Planet produced WEAPON… But it was no longer necessary to use it."_

Gast looked a bit confused by that. _"So, WEAPON no longer exists on this Planet?"_

Ifalna shook her head, coming a bit closer. _"WEAPON cannot vanish. …It remains asleep somewhere on the Planet. Even though Jenova is confined, it could come back to life at some time… The Planet has not fully healed itself yet. It is still, watching Jenova."_

"_Where is WEAPON?"_ Gast asked.

Ifalna paused as though listening for the Planet's whispers but at last shook her head_. "I don't know… I can't hear the voice of the Planet well… Times… have changed. The Planet… is probably watching the situation closely."_

She seemed a lot more tired now, and Gast, sensing her fatigue relented. _"…Thank you, Ifalna, that will be all for today…"_

Once again the room emptied as the holo-projector stopped. "Hey," Zack said, getting an idea. "You don't think the Planet's changed its plans do you? This was definitely made a long time before I even knew about Genesis and it didn't make him into a WEAPON until a couple of years ago…"

Aerith tried to listen to the Planet's whispers again, curious at the thought. After a moment she shook her head, the interference seemed too great right now. "It's not saying anything I can really pick up that well. Though I almost wonder if the confusion is getting worse. When I first walked in here, there was a sense of disquiet, and I thought it came from here, but now I'm not so sure…" she turned her attention back to the question. "It's very possible that it might have realized the WEAPONs it had created before weren't intelligent enough to deal with the threat. After what it's seen in the last twenty or so years, it's hard to say. Perhaps even Hojo or that other scientist gave it some ideas after watching them and SOLDIER for so long, as scary as that is."

Zack visibly shivered and it had nothing to do with the cold. "I'd almost rather not consider it, if there wasn't a possibility it could be true."

"I know what you mean," Aerith said. After a moment she turned her attention back to the files on the computer. "Confidential… I wonder what this is…" She activated the file and it came up with two entries. "Daughter's record: 10 days after birth," she read aloud. "And then, '20 days after…'" She hit the first entry. To her surprise there was no visual, instead, it was all audio.

"_What are you doing Profess… I mean, honey?"_

"_Oh, I'm thinking of taping it on video, but the video's not working right…" _Gast's voice sounded a little frustrated.

"_What are you going to tape? Is there still something I haven't mentioned?" _Her mother sounded curious.

"_No, that's not it. I'm going to record my beautiful daughter. And when she's sleeping, her face …looks like an angel." _

Ifalna laughed. "_First, we have to figure out her name. We can take the video later!" _she chided.

"_I've already decided!"_ Gast insisted. _"She's a girl, so it'll be Aerith. That's that!_"

"_You are SO selfish!" _Ifalna said in mock offence, before her voice softened in approval. _"But Aerith is a good name!" _She giggled. "_Hee hee… it's a good name, considering it came out of that forgetful head of yours!"_

"_Right!? Oh, the video tape…"_ There was the sound of scrambling as Gast, her father, hurried to turn it off.

Zack didn't say anything, for once, seemingly unable to think of anything to say as she automatically, and almost hungrily reached for the button to start the next video. This one did have a visual output and she saw her mother walking towards her father looking rather bemused._ "Video again? You just got through taping!" _

Gast gave her a look of mock hurt. "_…Please don't say it that way. It's our lovely daughter, both yours… and mine! Don't you want to capture her childhood on videotape."_

Ifalna seemed worried. _"If you keep doting on her like that, she won't grow up to be strong… Aerith is different from other children. I wonder what dangers await her…?"_

What dangers indeed. They were probably everything her mother had imagined and worse, Aerith reflected. Her father looked decidedly upset. _"Never say that! I will protect you and Aerith no matter what! You and Aerith are my only treasures. I'll never let you go!"_

Ifalna smiled at his words. _"I feel so much better now, darling. If I hadn't met you, I…"_

Her words were cut off as Gast took her in his arms and they seemed about to kiss, when there was the sound of someone banging on the door. _"Who could that—I was just about to…"_ Her father seemed to be trying to get his thoughts together in his annoyance. _"Damn! " _He turned back to her mother with a frustrated look. "_How dare they intrude on our private time together!"_

Her mother sighed, apparently equally disappointed at their interruption. _"I'll send them away." _She walked to the door to see who it was.

"_Yes," _Gast said, apparently still hopeful they would be able to continue. _"At once! Who the devil…"_

However, his question was cut off as Ifalna's voice suddenly sounded terrified. _"It, it's them!"_

Suddenly, a man appeared whom Aerith had hoped she would never have to see again, and judging by the way Zack suddenly gripped her shoulder, he clearly hadn't wanted to either. "_Heh, heh, heh… I've been searching for you, Ifalna… or should I say, Cetra!"_ Hojo. Her face hardened as she watched her mother shelter behind her father as the troopers marched into the house, followed by the man himself. _"Long time no see, Professor Gast!"_

Her father glared at him angrily and did not budge from his spot between the other scientist and her mother. "_Hojo… How did you know?"_

Hojo's expression was smug as he looked them over. "_Believe me, I had to turn over a stone of two to find you. Two years I waited… That's how much I wanted this new sample… Ha, ha, ha."_

Ifalna curled away from him in terror and Gast's angry stare changed to a mixture of shock, disgust, and disbelief. "_…New sample? You don't mean Aerith!?"_

"_Hmmm, Aerith? What a nice name…Ha, ha, ha." _Hojo's cackles echoed through the room even in the recording, and Aerith reached for the hand Zack had extended to her.

"_That's it!" _Gast growled. "_I'm severing all ties with Shinra. Hojo, please leave." _As polite as the request had been, she could still tell it was a desperate plea.

At that point her mother finally stepped in front of him, getting down on her knees, begging in spite of her husband's cry of surprise. "_Please, Aerith has nothing to do with it! All you want is me, right?"_

Hojo was unmoved. _"I'll need all of you for my experiment." _ He turned to her father. "_You understand don't you, Professor Gast? We can change the future of the Planet!"_

Gast's expression did not change. Instead, he knelt down to his wife and said quietly "_Don't worry Ifalna, I'll take care of this!"_

Hojo rolled his eyes. "_Please don't put up a fight," _he said condescendingly, _"I don't want any harm coming to my precious sample." _And that was when he looked straight up at them. _"Mmm? What a funny looking camera. Guard! Destroy it!"_

One of the troopers turned around and then the visual was gone. That didn't stop them from hearing what happened next. _"Be careful with her! Ha, ha, ha…" _

Hojo's laughter stopped as Ifalna suddenly cried out "_Wh…what are you doing, Professor!?"_

"_Ifalna! Take Aerith and run!"_

The recording suddenly reported a hail of gunfire and then Ifalna shrieked. "_Darling…!"_

Hojo completely ignored the woman's cries and simply said as an afterthought "_Oh, and uh… don't forget the child!"_ There was the sound of footsteps and then he spoke again. "_Hmm, a video? The Ancients… WEAPON!? Heh, heh, heh… a mountain of treasure! Thank you Professor…Ha, ha, ha…" _As the recording stopped Aerith looked behind her at Zack.

"Aerith?" he asked.

She shook her head sadly. "Don't worry about me, I'm all right… though I think…" She didn't bother to finish the sentence, but simply moved closer to him and let him pull her into a hug. "Let's get this computer onto the Gainsborough so we can see if Doctor Rayleigh can find something useful on it. We can worry about it later after we've talked to Cloud."

Zack nodded and the two of them got to work trying to figure out how to unhook the equipment. It wasn't until they were almost to the door with the first items that Zack's PHS rang. He put down what he was carrying to answer. "Tifa? What's up?" he listened for a moment and then his brow furrowed in concern and confusion. "I… think you'll need to run that by me again. Cloud's being chased by what?"

* * *

><p>Cloud was riding through the frozen wasteland, focusing his thoughts on the unwanted conversation that he would probably be having when he got there as he watched the white hills around him through a pair of heavy-duty sunglasses. What should he tell them? That he'd been distracted because of his search for Sephiroth? That was mostly the truth. Maybe that would get him off the hook and then he could get back to staying out of everyone's hair. His problems were the last thing they needed to deal with. He'd already been muddling over them far too long on the plane ride to Bone Village, and then the rest of the trip up into the snow fields via the western road. As he got closer to his destination, he allowed his mind to fade into a thoughtless blur as he focused on the task of driving. It was something of a relief not to have to think…<p>

That is until out of nowhere, several shadows flew past him, materializing into several strange monsters he'd never seen before. They appeared to run on four legs and very much resembled wolves or dogs, but with strange bony ridges on their faces and bodies that looked very much like armor. As they approached, clearly with hostile intent, he went for the First Sword from one of Fenrir's compartments and held it aloft, striking at the first monster that came too close. It was sliced neatly in half but left him to contend with the next two that were coming his way. The snow blew out from behind his rear tire in a steady stream, fogging the frigid air as he flew across the hills, but as he approached nearer to the town, someone appeared next to him on another motorcycle to his left.

This stranger, who had short white hair and was sporting a strange bashing weapon that reminded him of some of the claws Tifa sometimes trained with shouted over the sound of their vehicles "Where's mother!"

He dodged out of the way, bringing the bike into a controlled spin as the man tried to get him in the face with his weapon. Only to find as he was coming out of it and moving forward again that a second man, this time with long hair and a weapon that looked like a hybrid between a short sword and a gun had appeared to his right. "We know you hid her brother!"

Not that he would have told them if he did know, but this was a non-issue at the moment, as he was forced to deflect a gunshot with his blade as they drew closer to the town. Seeing that it wouldn't do to try and fight them in a populated area, he throttled the gas and after passing the Inn, where he was sure he spotted Tifa standing in the front yard with the kids, he made a point of turning down one of the roads he knew from traveling would be the least inhabited, and navigated the streets in such a way as to draw them towards the mountain slope. He passed several houses, relieved to see that the monsters and the motorcyclists only seemed interested in him before reaching the edge of the ski slope and hitting the gas again. Fenrir leapt from the hill and into the air before coming to land on the incline below him with a resounding thump, just in time for him to turn in his seat and see the two other motorcyclists flying after him. He only spared a moment before continuing to control his careening bike as it continued down the slopes. He hoped to the Planet no one was in the line of their descent.

* * *

><p><em>Well, I hope we've gotten Part IV off to an exciting enough start. Don't have much else to say. Hope to see ya next week!<em>


	79. A Spar for Old Time's Sake

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spin-offs That honor goes to Square-Enix.

**Part IV: ****Stigma**

* * *

><p>Chapter 79, A Spar for Old Time's Sake<p>

**April 10****th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0009**

Kadaj was quickly becoming furious. He knew perfectly well the man he was speaking to on his PHS was quite the unshakable fellow and it was driving him off the wall as he had nearly zero means of fazing him. "You tell me, you're the one who who's leading us on. 'Cause I do think you have mother there."

"_What leads you to believe we would have come anywhere close to finding the sample again when the only persons foolhardy enough to search for it afterward were GUARDIAN?" _The calm one asked.

"Stop deflecting!" Kadaj thundered, "Put the President on!"

His demand was met with a click. That man with the tilak on his forehead had some nerve. He would enjoy teaching him a lesson, just like he would that woman who had knocked him back into the Lifestream.

* * *

><p>Kunsel watched as Cid tossed the materia he'd just picked up lazily in the air. Alexander, or so he said. They had just found it after dispatching a monster whom they had at first come upon bearing the disguise of a young woman, but because he had stopped to check the temperature difference at the hot spring where Liz had left them to make a report to Veld, the infuriated creature had suddenly revealed its true colors and attacked. The fight had not lasted long, in fact, Cid had barely thrown a stick of dynamite before it had collapsed in on itself. He looked very pleased with the outcome. "How about that ya snow-$!#%&amp;!" he crowed. "You'll need to get up earlier to get the drop on Cid Highwind!"<p>

Kunsel chuckled at that when he noticed that Freya had gone back out of the snow cave and onto the fields at the base of the ski slopes. He walked out after her curiously. "Something up?" he asked.

She shrugged. "I just thought I heard something off in the distance. Like a motor?"

Kunsel frowned as he listened for the noise. "Come to think of it, yeah. Fenrir, maybe?"

"Maybe," she said. "Though I think it's more than one…"

"I wonder why that would be," Kunsel said. "Maybe we should head back and see what's up."

"Good idea," Freya agreed. She looked over her shoulder. "Cid? I think we're ready to go back in, you coming?"

"Be right behind ya!" Cid said. Having heard his confirmation, the swordsman and the huntress started back towards the hills readying themselves for the climb back to town.

"I wonder if the kids got around to building the snow man they were talking about on the way in," Freya said.

"Who do you think they'd model it after?" Kunsel returned.

"Maybe Cloud, or Zack. They could use icicles for the spikes," Freya said with a grin.

The two of them laughed. After a moment or two, Kunsel spoke again, thinking to ask her something he'd been meaning to for a while. "Hey, Freya?"

"Yeah?"

He was about to ask his question when something else more pertinent to their current environment came to his attention. "Is it just me or are those engine noises getting louder?"

* * *

><p>Cloud was flying forward at breakneck speed down the slope of the mountain, moving to get as far away from his attackers as possible. Luckily, he'd encountered no snowboarders or skiers so far, but that could change at any time. He could clearly see the more slender of the two men fly over him as he had just hit a ski jump. The motorcycle landed with a heavy thump in front of him as the man leaned one arm back to aim his gun. Cloud once again lifted the First Sword to block, but this motion spun him on the mountainside, and snow obscured his vision as it was momentarily sprayed into the air before he had to duck close to the handlebars to evade the larger of the two men and that extendable piston-claw thing of his.<p>

Fighting for control he turned Fenrir's front wheel, forcing the bike out of the spin with his left hand as he moved to slice at the heavier man with the First Sword. White hot fire shot through his arm and he grit his teeth in agony, but through sheer force of will he barely managed to avoid losing control. Then he looked up just in time to see the lighter man aiming his gun.

There was no time to dodge.

The bullet hit squarely in the corner of his sunglasses, shattering them off into the snow behind him, but was thankfully deflected from doing any more damage, and the ambient lighting became temporarily painful before his eyes could adjust. As he shot farther down the slope he suddenly hit a point where the incline leveled out, and the next thing he saw when he opened his eyes was a swarm of those four-legged monsters about to close in on him in a wave.

He was about to swing his sword at them, hoping to minimize at least some of the damage he was expecting them to do when he was instead buffeted by a wave of black smoke as the monsters vanished into nothing.

Curiously, he looked around him to see that his pursuers were gone. But as a drop of blood from his brow trickled past his left eye, he saw a third person off in the distance looking back at him before driving off on another motorcycle.

"Cloud!?"

He looked over and saw Kunsel running up with Freya right behind him and Cid bringing up the rear. "What was that?" Freya demanded.

"I don't know," he said.

* * *

><p>Up on the overlook Zack was holding a pair of binoculars he'd pulled out of his pack. He'd managed to leave Aerith's parents' house fast enough to catch the end of the fight, but only just. It had been enough for him to watch the last moments, when his friend had nearly spun out of control. Under normal circumstances, Cloud should have been able to pull out of it easily, and yet even from this distance, he'd been able to tell it was giving the blond swordsman trouble. He frowned, considering the implications. Right now though, they apparently had an even bigger problem to worry about.<p>

Who were these people and why were they chasing Cloud?

"Zack?" Aerith asked, having only just caught up. "What's going on?"

"That's what I'd like to know," he answered.

He saw Cissnei run up after her. "Tifa and the kids are at the Inn with Nanaki, but they told me Cloud was in trouble. What happened?" she asked as she stopped next to his wife.

"You're not gonna believe this," Zack began. "Two guys in leather suits were chasing Cloud through town and then were fighting him on their bikes. I didn't see much of them but there was another guy I spotted on a nearby ridge who seemed to be watching."

Cissnei looked troubled for a moment as though remembering something but after a moment turned her attention back to the situation. "I'll give Veld a call; see if there's anything from the others."

Zack nodded. "Good idea."

Ten minutes later, everyone was gathered at the Inn when Zack saw Cloud park Fenrir up front and enter the main building followed by Kunsel and the rest of the party that had gone out to the snow fields. As his friend came in out of the snow, he noted the dried blood on the side of his face, but the thing that drew his attention the most was the black sleeve that obscured his left arm. There would be plenty of time to discuss it after the crisis was over though, he decided. "Who were those guys?" he asked.

Cloud looked concerned as he answered. "I don't know. But… they asked about mother…"

"Mother?" Zack considered for a moment. "You don't mean like… Sephiroth… do you?"

"I hope not," Tifa said.

"So we all say," Kunsel said, from where he had stopped to melt the snow off his boots near the fire, "But considering everything that's happened so far in the last couple of months…"

"Like at the Northern Crater?" Zack rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably with his left hand. "Yeah, that could have gone a lot better, and then those extra cases that have been coming in at the clinic."

"I have to admit, with what I saw in the Lifestream, it's hard to think it could be anything else," Aerith added.

"But that's bull$#!%, ain't it?" Cid interjected. "We killed him… didn't we?"

"Cloud killed him," Freya replied, "Twice."

"Didn't stop him the first time," Cloud murmured grimly.

"What is he then?" Barret asked. He was sitting on the couch in front of the fire with the kids nearby.

"Don't know," Zack said. "But we're getting off track here. We have to figure out who these new guys are."

"They couldn't be Sephiroth clones, could they?" Tifa wondered.

"Maybe…" Zack began.

It was then when Cissnei returned from making her call to Veld. "We've got a lead," she said. "Apparently persons matching the descriptions of those three men on motorcycles made contact at a meeting place of a resistance group in Junon."

"They're rebels?" Kunsel asked.

"Maybe. It seems this particular group formed shortly after Rufus lost track of Scarlet and Heidegger. They've pulled in a few Deepgrounders, a few rebel SOLDIERs, but mostly troopers from the Mechanized and and Infantry divisions. Kant and Nietzche it seems were self-proclaimed loyalists to those two." Cissnei reported.

Barret made a face, "Who the hell would follow them?"

"Kant and Nietzche, apparently," Fry answered in a deadpan. At that point, Reeve's PHS rang and he stood to answer it in the corner.

"It gets juicier," Cissnei added. "Seems, right before they were talking to Scarlet and Heidegger, they were talking to Rufus."

"What would he have to do with them?" Zack asked.

"Well, according to their discussion with Scarlet and Heidegger, he was the one who told them to seek out their 'brothers.' We didn't know what that meant at first. For all we know they could have been anyone."

"Rufus, hmm?" Cloud mused. "Maybe I'll just go ask him what it's about myself…"

He was already headed towards the door when Zack walked up to him, grabbing his shoulder to stop him. "Whoa, Cloud, hang on, you can go in a minute, first there's something I need to…"

He was interrupted when Reeve spoke up. "Speak of the devil, that was actually Tseng on behalf of Rufus just now. He said that Rufus wants Cloud to come to Cliff Resort immediately, as there is something he wants to talk to him about. He was very determined to get hold of you. Apparently he'd already called Seventh Heaven and WRO headquarters trying to locate you."

"It can wait, can't it…?" Tifa asked.

"But if I go now, we may be able to get some answers," Cloud said impatiently.

Zack gave him a frustrated look as he realized that now was not the time. He had hoped to broach the subject of Cloud's absence at a moment when it was just the two of them at first, and he couldn't do that while everyone was watching.

"All right…" he said at last. "But I want you to come back to Widblain as soon as possible, okay? We'll be headed back there since it's easier to defend, but the more people we have, the easier it'll be until we know what's going on."

That definitely got Cloud's attention. He still looked troubled, but he nodded, and then walked out the door. He was almost gone when Zack called after him "And make sure you take your PHS off of silent too! Just in case anything happens!" He sighed as the door creaked shut and he heard Tifa come up behind him as the others were already headed upstairs to see about packing again.

"Why did you let him go?" Tifa asked.

"Because what he said made sense," Zack said quietly so the others wouldn't hear. "Rufus doesn't just give opportunities like this, and I'm sure he's up to something, but if we don't play ball we might not find out what it is. Cloud also knows that if he doesn't show up or keep in contact while all this is happening, we will assume he's in trouble and come looking. So in a way, he has no choice but to come home." Tifa still looked worried, so he offered her an encouraging pat on the shoulder. "Hey, we'll get this sorted out, but right now, we have to get moving, okay?"

Tifa nodded, and with that, they turned back to the rest of the group so they could start talking about relocating. Still, even as Zack got down to the business of making sure everyone was ready to move out, he really wished he could have gone after his friend.

* * *

><p><strong>April 11<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0009**

The mountain range east of Kalm was the source of the river that flowed by the mining town as well as the Mithril mines, but it also had a number of recreational locations dotted throughout. Cliff Resort was only one of them, but Cloud had made a few deliveries in this area from time to time. As a result, he had no trouble navigating the narrow roads that would take him up to the small villa on the resort's property where the man he was supposed to meet would be awaiting him.

Upon arriving at the address Reeve had forwarded to him en-route, he found himself looking up at a villa with an incredible view of the surrounding hills and the largest waterfall in the immediate vicinity, which tumbled down the rock face on the opposite side of the building from the road for hundreds of feet before roaring down into the ravine below.

He took his time walking up the steps to the residence. Sure he'd been in a hurry to leave Zack's presence, but he was in much less of a hurry to talk to the current leader of the company that had caused so much wrong in his life. His mind was on a lot of other things as he climbed each step towards the front door. Worrying about what Zack wanted to talk about. Wondering if Aerith had told him about the dream she'd had. Knowing he would go back anyway because the alternative of them coming to look for him was the exact opposite of what he wanted to happen. Finally, he reached the door, still mulling over his own concerns, and opened it without bothering to knock. Immediately he spotted Reno and Rude standing in the foyer.

"Cloud!" Reno called out. "Good to see ya?"

Cloud glared at him. GUARDIAN and the non-renegade Turks may have been on non-adversarial, perhaps even near friendly relations from time to time in the past year or so, and tensions may have died down a little, but that didn't mean he appreciated the familiarity.

Reno grinned at his silence. "You never were much for conversation I guess," he reached for his EMR rod.

Cloud parried before Reno even made it to the height of his swing and then stepped out of the way, sending Reno tumbling out the door before it shut behind him. Cloud turned his attention to Rude, silently asking if he intended to attack him too, his guard position equally as expressive as a warning of what the result would be if he did. Rude simply walked to the side of the room, adjusting his leather gloves, though his posture told Cloud everything he needed to know about what was going on behind the man's sunglasses. He was sizing him up. He noted Reno calling through the window, "Hey Rude! Lookin' sharp!" and rolled his eyes.

Rude turned to face him at that moment and drew another EMR rod, but the First Sword was already pointed in his face. Seeing that challenging him further under these circumstances would be a grave mistake, the Turk nodded politely to him and returned to the side of the room.

After a moment, he spotted Tseng and Elena enter through a nearby door to take guard positions in front of it and then he heard another familiar voice. "Good, you still fight like the SOLDIER Zack trained you to be." There were footsteps and then Rufus entered the room, looking as self-assured and arrogant as ever and he was clapping his hands slowly. "You haven't lost your touch."

Cloud's eyes narrowed. "Rufus," he said coldly.

The man clucked is tongue. "Now is that any way to greet a comrade?" he began. "I thought we were on better terms than that…"

"What do you want from me?" Cloud interrupted.

Rufus attempted to plow on as though he hadn't heard him. "Since the war, we've been short on good people, what with everyone's departure from Midgar, and other things…"

"Who were the guys that attacked me?" Cloud interrupted again, the tension mounting in his voice.

Rufus continued pretending to ignore him, apparently considering his speech far more important. "With all that's been happening, it seemed like now might be a good time to discuss…"

Cloud's patience was quickly running out. "I'm leaving!" he said, nearly shouting over the other man. Certainly he had come here to get information, but Rufus was spending far too much time beating around the bush, when he really needed him to just get the hell to the point already. He felt terrible thanks to the stigma mixed with jet lag, his life had taken a distinctly downward turn, _again_, these last few weeks, and he wanted nothing more than to disappear again. But no. First, Zack wouldn't let him, and now, Rufus had the nerve to call on him after apparently sending three crazy assassins directly to him. Whether he had intended them to kill him or not, Cloud felt perfectly justified in blaming him for it.

Apparently the threat had some affect. Rufus gave up on the longer speech and changed to a different tack, "We need your assistance, Cloud."

"Not interested," Cloud said.

Tseng spoke at that point. "It might behoove you to actually listen before turning down the offer."

Rufus nodded in agreement and continued. "At the very least, you should honor the request of the man who saved your life. Now, I understand my company bears a lot of the blame for the world's suffering, but that does not mean we cannot try to make amends. In fact, that should make it our responsibility to set things right. It's been nearly a year since the Battle of Midgar, so what poses the greatest threat now? That is a complicated question. Geostigma has been around since before the Battle, and yet many people blame Shinra for it because they believe our mako reactors caused it, or perhaps they even blame the Lifestream itself. A very misguided opinion, if you think about it. The Lifestream has always been part of the planet, and Mako has been part of our lives for over forty years, yet there has been no evidence of this disease before at any point in recorded history. And then there's Reeve and his WRO who are beset by insurgencies and small local lords battling it out for power. Without GUARDIAN and Shinra backing him, the world would descend into chaos. But perhaps the greatest danger is the one the populace has no reason to suspect. The return of Sephiroth. You know what I'm speaking of."

Cloud said nothing and Shinra's president kept going. "We have observed you at the Northern Crater several times in the last couple of weeks, since the expedition Zack led for Mr. Townsend. We were undertaking an expedition of our own that day."

At that point, Reno called in from outside "I'm still out here!"

Rufus ignored him. "Zack and the others found an accident, what do you think we found?"

Cloud's eyes widened and Rufus smirked. "Relax, we didn't find a thing. But we were just recently confronted by Kadaj and his gang."

"Kadaj?" Cloud asked.

"The chances are high that they'll be after you and Zack as well, if they haven't already found you," Rufus observed.

"Leave us out of this," Cloud was doing his best to keep his voice even as he continued to glare at the President.

"How? All three of them look disturbingly like Sephiroth, don't they?" Rufus supplied. "Yours and Zack's ties run as closely to Sephiroth as ours do Cloud, and there is a significant amount of evidence that they might be working with some old friends of ours to some unknown mutual benefit. If Kadaj's purpose is to prepare for the right moment, then collectively, we stand as his greatest threat."

"Moment?" Cloud watched as Rufus turned to face him in front of the window.

"Sephiroth, reborn," Rufus clarified.

Cloud's eyes narrowed further. "Are you done talking?"

Rufus was unperturbed. "Let's get to the matter at hand. If Kadaj's plan is to bring back Sephiroth, and he is working with or using Scarlet and Heidegger to do it, then not only do we need a person of your expertise, but since you are no longer with GUARDIAN, you will need information on what my former subordinates are doing. Will you join us, SOLDIER 1st Class, Cloud Strife?"

Cloud turned his back on Rufus in disgust. Clearly the man had thought that he and Zack had some sort of falling out, otherwise, he wouldn't be considering such an offer, by using what the Turks had no doubt dug up on him to give him what they thought he would want in exchange for his services. Had they not done enough? He scoffed at the possibility. "In your dreams," he growled. He was almost to the door when he looked back over his shoulder at the President. "What's this stuff about… mother?"

"Why?" Rufus asked, "Did Kadaj mention something?"

"Rufus, if you're hiding something…"

"I would never hide anything from a comrade," Rufus said, walking a little closer so that he stood in the center of the room. "With everything the young Mrs. Fair and the good doctor have been doing, you must want to learn everything you can about the stigma. Especially for those orphans you live with. Don't you want to see the smiles on their faces? All we want in the end, is to build our world, Cloud."

Cloud considered that, but hadn't said anything more. He certainly had no desire to betray Zack. Wouldn't that be what he'd be doing by accepting Rufus's help? At that point the door opened and Reno finally came back in. "Come on Cloud," Reno said. "Think about it. Together we could rebuild Shinra."

That ended it. Cloud turned around and brushed past him out the door, leaving only a "Not interested," for their trouble. As he was halfway down the stairs his SOLDIER hearing clearly detected half the people in the room exclaiming "Reno!" and Rufus sounded particularly exasperated.

Frankly, he didn't give a damn. What kind of idiot did they think he was anyway? Did they think his loyalty could be so easily bought? He continued to fume until he reached his motorcycle, and that was when he remembered how much he was dreading going home.

* * *

><p>It was late afternoon and Denzel was seated at one of the booths at Seventh Heaven while Tifa worked at the counter. He could see several WRO soldiers outside, as well as GUARDIAN volunteers who were patrolling the streets but that wasn't what he really wanted to see. He could also see Zack pacing the floor nearby. He'd been waiting here since they'd gotten back this morning, talking to Tifa every now and then, and apparently thinking. Aerith and the others had gone back home to the Lodge, but he'd insisted on staying. When Denzel had asked what was going on he'd just said there was something he wanted to talk to Cloud about, and that he didn't think he could talk to anyone else about it until he'd brought it up with him.<p>

He watched the dark haired man along with Marlene as he waited. The troubled look on his face was enough to indicate he was worried, and was it any wonder? Cloud had been attacked. What if they came after him again? Minutes passed, and then an hour, and then another, until as the last of the supper rush left the building, he heard the familiar sound of a motorcycle outside. He looked at Marlene and then the two of them ran to the door just in time to see Cloud park his vehicle in the garage. The two of them walked outside and Marlene ran right up to him as he shut the garage door. "Cloud! Those bad men didn't come after you again did they?"

He shook his head. "No, I'm all right," he said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

Marlene put her arms around his leg in a hug. "We've been waiting for you," she said seriously, "Where did you go?"

Cloud looked from her to Denzel and the boy couldn't miss the pained expression on his hero's face. "Nowhere special," he said at last. "The President wanted to talk." The autumn wind blew through the trees and he finally said "Let's go inside."

Marlene nodded and held the front door of the bar open for him while Denzel trailed behind at Cloud's side, searching his face for any sign of what might be wrong. Something had to be. Otherwise, why would Tifa be so worried all the time? The most he was able to guess was that Cloud was thinking about something, and he didn't seem happy about it. As they passed back into the warmth of the bar, Zack walked up to them. "Good to see you made it," he said.

* * *

><p>Most of dinner had occurred in an uneasy silence, Cloud had noted. Even the kids seemed to get that something serious was going on, but they had remained quiet, as Zack occasionally asked questions about what had happened at Rufus's place.<p>

"Seriously?" he said, taken aback when Cloud had explained to him what had transpired. "The nerve of that guy, trying to ask you to join him. I mean, when you left GUARDIAN it was because you wanted to cut your own path. You told me several times, it had nothing to do with anything I did."

Cloud nodded. "I did. But he thought he could buy me off. Boy was he wrong."

Zack chuckled and for a moment, the room seemed to be back to the way things had used to be, when they still shared a room at the lodge. "I wish I could have been there to see his face when you turned him down."

Cloud fought down the wry smile that was trying to play at his lips and he brought the conversation back to the subject matter. "He openly told me those guys had been there."

"You mean the ones who were chasing you?" Zack asked, once again turning serious.

Cloud nodded. "He said one of them called himself Kadaj, and he confirmed that they'd been in contact with Scarlet and Heidegger."

Zack finished the last bite on his plate and leaned back thoughtfully. "You don't think those idiots are planning something do you?"

"Probably," Cloud murmured.

"Man," Zack sighed. "Why can't things just stay quiet for a couple of years? I was really looking forward to some skiing." He stood, stretching is good arm, the GUARDIAN jacket he was wearing slightly lifting at the motion, and then he turned his attention to Tifa. "Hey Tifa? Excellent dinner, but do you mind if I borrow Cloud for a couple of minutes?"

Tifa nodded. "All right."

Before Cloud knew it, Zack had already walked to where he'd stashed the Buster Sword in the corner. "What's going on?" he asked.

Zack gave a lopsided shrug, his left arm the only one making the gesture. "I just thought it had been a while since we'd properly sparred. I was thinking, since it'd been so long, we could go one on one? Just for old time's sake?"

He secured the Buster Sword to his back. Cloud considered for a moment before relenting and going out to Fenrir to get the First Sword. Zack watched from the store front of the bar and then led the way to the edge of town. They were quiet for the few minutes' walk towards the clearing where the old military transport helicopter still sat. It had been a while since the two of them had ridden in it, but Freya and Cissnei and some of the others occasionally flew it when they needed to get somewhere close by. Zack took a moment to walk over to a fuse box that had been installed when the fortifications in the area had been built and hit a switch, lighting up the clearing by several lamp-posts that had been situated in the area.

"All right," he said, "You ready for this?" he asked.

Cloud simply drew the First Sword from his sword harness and prepared himself to endure the pain of the lightning quick movements he knew Zack would expect of him. After taking stance, he nodded.

On the cold damp grass, under the lamplight and the stars, the two swordsmen ran at each other, both clashing their swords together. Several times at practice speed, they withdrew, and struck again, making their way around the clearing, but then Cloud saw Zack's signal that he could go faster, so he did, and even though he was only using his left arm to support the strikes of his right, he could already tell it was starting to hurt. Zack seemed to be having no trouble. It stood to reason. He was used to fighting one-handed now. Strike after strike, parry after parry. Cloud spun into a defensive maneuver before dodging and rolling to avoid a strike that came too close for comfort. His arm burned hotter, but he refused to let himself yield, even as Zack came at him again, and once again signaled that they go faster.

He parried the blow, but felt the First Sword cleave into a nearby tree as they neared the edge of the woods. Zack was already moving and it took him a second to refocus his attack before blocking again, and again. Zack remained tense and focused as they moved further and further towards the other side until at last, Zack spoke, "You're slower than normal," he said. "What's wrong? Normally, you aren't breaking a sweat when we work at this speed."

Cloud didn't answer, but focused on trying to press another overhead strike, which Zack brought up the Buster Sword to block, using a clearly improvised maneuver where he knelt in order to let the ground absorb some of the blow before moving to kick Cloud's legs out from under him. Cloud hopped out of the way, and then suddenly, there his friend was, right in front of him. "Let me take a wild guess," he said, before his right hand flew out from his side. Pain shot through Cloud's left arm as Zack had used his free hand to grip it hard. They both stood there, Zack gritting his teeth from the effort of using his injured arm, and Cloud from the pain that was coursing through him from his own wound, until at last, Zack let go and backed off a step. "I thought so," he said at last. "After hearing what Tifa said about that sleeve, and Aerith having that dream, and then watching you at the Inn, I was pretty sure… but I guess I had to confirm it…" He gave him a serious look. "Cloud, you've got the stigma don't you." It wasn't a question.

Cloud tried to look away from him, not wanting to face him, but instead, he heard Zack thrust the Buster Sword into the ground and walk around him, forcing him to look him in the eyes. "Why didn't you say anything?" he asked.

"It wouldn't have helped anyone," Cloud said. "There isn't a cure…"

"It might have helped you!" Zack exclaimed, letting him go and backing off a couple of steps. "I mean, after everything we've been through Cloud. After everything we've faced, did you really just plan to throw it all away? Even though there are people who need you?" His tone was somewhere between anger and frustration.

"It would only hurt them more if I didn't…" Cloud murmured.

Zack let out an exasperated sigh. "Obviously, you don't get it. Back in town at that bar, there's a whole bunch of people who've been tearing their hair out over you for the past three weeks. Denzel and Marlene look up to you like a father, and Tifa depends on you to help keep things running. And they aren't the only ones. Besides…" he trailed off before taking a deep breath and continuing. "If you're going to go off and disappear, you're going to miss a few things."

Cloud heard the rustling of fabric and looked up to see Zack moving his right arm inside his jacket, with some difficulty, but not enough to stop him from pulling it out of the sleeve, which now hung behind him, contained by the harness for the Buster Sword. He had expected to see the familiar scar under the sleeveless shirt his friend usually sported. What he didn't expect to see was several bandages wrapped around where the scar was supposed to be with black residue starting to leak through them a little from the exertions the two of them had just undergone.

"What do you know?" Zack said humorlessly. "We match." He walked over to where the Buster Sword was, picking it up and returning it to his back. As Cloud returned the First Sword to his own sword harness Zack walked over to him and placed his left hand on his shoulder. "Now, where I'm standing, you have two choices. You can either disappear, and let the others keep worrying about you and spend the rest of their lives not knowing what happened to you and give up on them without even letting them try to help. Or you can come back to the lodge with me and let Aerith and the doctor patch us up, before we go talk this out with Tifa. I know we're going to find a cure for this. There's no way we won't, but if you give up before you even try, where does that get you?"

As Cloud considered his friend's words, for a few moments before returning Zack's question with one of his own. "What happens after that?"

"Good question," Zack said. "Although I guess trying to figure out who and what this guy Kadaj is might be a good start." With that, he turned and started walking towards the path leading to the lodge. "You coming or not?"

Cloud let out a sigh and finally relented, following his friend back into the trees.

* * *

><p><em>So yeah, it's confirmed now. The guys both got it. And the remnants are running around loose. What else could possibly go wrong?<em>

_Unfortunately, I'm going to have to call another break week next week. But be sure to tune in at the usual time, Thursday November 7th/Friday November 8th for the next chapter. See you then!_


	80. Ambush

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spin-offs That honor goes to Square-Enix.

Mat and Alistor are original characters.

**Part IV: ****Stigma**

* * *

><p>Chapter 80, Ambush<p>

**April 11****th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0009**

When Cloud followed Zack in through the front door of the lodge, the first thing he noticed was the sound of the TV in the living room. As they walked further in, he saw that Freya and Kunsel were sitting on the couch together, and Aerith was waiting in a chair by the door to the kitchen. On seeing Zack enter she stood and looked behind him. "Cloud?" she asked.

"You were right," Zack answered.

Without another word, Aerith walked into the kitchen and gestured that they follow. Upon entering, Cloud spotted Elmyra cleaning up the dishes with help from Doctor Rayleigh. It wasn't unusual for her to stop by for dinner on occasion, but he was having a lot of trouble believing that in this instance it hadn't been intentional. As he watched, Aerith walked over to a basin that had been sitting on the counter next to the sink and carried it to the table, gathering a couple of wash-cloths as she went. Rayleigh stopped drying dishes at that point and walked over. "You too, huh Cloud?" she asked, reaching for a pair of gloves she carried in her coat pocket. "Well, I guess we'll just have to take a look and see how bad it is."

While Aerith gathered her supplies Zack leaned the Buster Sword against the wall and took a seat at the kitchen table, before pulling off his shirt and working to unwrap his own bandages.

As Cloud set about undoing his own sword harness, since it wouldn't do to drag the First Sword around indoors, he saw Freya glance back at him, but she didn't say anything, opting instead to just observe.

He looked behind him to see that Zack had already taken one of the washcloths from Aerith and was gritting his teeth as he worked to wash away some of the black fluid that was oozing out of the wound. Aerith saw Cloud's attention had returned to them and gestured that he join them, pulling another chair over to the basin. "Come on Cloud, I promise, you'll feel a lot better."

He walked over a little closer and took a look in the basin. "It looks like ordinary water," he said.

Aerith shook her head. "It's a lot better than that. Trust me. It won't cure it, but it will stop it from spreading. We've at least been able to do that."

Cloud considered, but then he saw that Zack was already drying the edges around his own wound with a towel. It did look like it wasn't oozing as badly anymore. Reluctantly, he undid the fastening on his shoulder guard and placed it on the table, before removing the sleeve he had made to cover his arm to reveal the infected gash underneath. He was expecting everyone in the room to gasp, or perhaps even flinch, but no one did. Instead, Aerith gently guided him over to the empty chair and sat him down. Without even asking, she doused a washcloth in the basin and for a moment, he felt the cloth sting against his flesh before he realized that the area around the injury no longer burned with pain. Instead, it seemed to cool slightly. It still hurt, but it was as though the sensation had been dampened, and the skin around the wound felt much less inflamed. As Aerith continued cleaning the wound he looked up at her surprised. "What is it?" he asked.

"It's something I learned how to make in the Lifestream," she explained.

After she was done she backed away and he saw Rayleigh standing behind her, giving him an appraising look. "What are we going to do with you?" the doctor muttered softly, shaking her head. As Aerith backed away, she stepped in to examine the damage. "It doesn't look that advanced at least. It's a good thing you didn't wait any longer to tell someone though," she pointed out the edges of the wound indicating the inflamed flesh as the stigma threatened to encroach further along his skin. "It would have been a lot more painful than what it already is."

By then, Zack had begun rewrapping his own wound. "No kidding," he said, "Alistor's was really starting to creep further with how long he's had it. We were starting to worry if he'd make it past next year if it got any worse."

"It's true, " Rayleigh said turning to face him. "And you remember the concerns we had about Mat before Aerith learned this limit break of hers, don't you? He still feels light-headed from how much pain he's in without the medications I've got him on."

"And Denzel, and Ruvie, and Shera too, man, it feels like everyone has it these days," Zack said. He paused as he realized he was getting to the part where he had to secure the bandage around his chest to keep it from moving off his shoulder. A difficult action to perform on oneself even with both hands to do it. "We need to get busy finding a real solution." Noticing he was having problems, Aerith walked over to help him and he whispered a soft "Thanks" into her ear.

"I know," Rayleigh said. "But that's why it's been so wonderful that Aerith knows how to make that rain of hers. At the very least it's bought us some time." She reached for a roll of bandages and before Cloud could say anything, she set about wrapping his arm now that she was done inspecting it. "Still, at the very least," she said, "you won't get worse." Cloud watched as she tightened the bandage around his arm with expert precision before securing it and allowing him to replace the sleeve. He stood as he secured it to his shirt and once again donned the shoulder guard before walking back into the living room.

He found himself facing Freya who had stood up from the couch and had her arms folded in front of her. "So it's true," she said.

"Yeah…" Cloud looked out the window trying not to face her.

"You could have said something before, couldn't you?" she said. "Instead of making us worry…"

"That's exactly what I told him," Zack said, walking into the room.

"I thought so," Kunsel murmured, standing up to join them.

"But it's just such a dumb thing to do!" Freya said frustratedly. "What if it got worse than it already is?"

Cloud looked down at the ground, trying to hide his embarrassment but Kunsel put a hand on the lady Turk's shoulder. "Maybe," he said calmly, "But I think there's enough to worry about without getting mad at him." He turned to Zack. "Tifa doesn't know yet, does she?"

"She suspects it," Zack said. "But I think if anyone should break the news to everyone at Seventh Heaven it ought to be Cloud."

Cloud suddenly had an even greater desire to sink into the floor. What would Tifa say about all this? "I don't have a choice in this do I?" he asked, his voice carrying across the room in spite of its low volume.

"There's always a choice, but it would be the right thing to tell her," Zack said. "She deserves to know, Cloud. She's got to. What if something happens?"

"Cloud?" He looked up and saw that Aerith had joined them. The Cetra gave him a somber look. "You know you will always have us no matter what happens, and that applies to Tifa too. But if you don't give her that chance, then she definitely won't be there. Isn't it better to let us decide what we need to be protected from?"

The blond swordsman was quiet for a moment as he mulled that over. He had been so certain it would have been better for everyone if he just disappeared. It had seemed reasonable, after all, if he wasn't around for everyone to watch him suffer, there'd be much less pain to go around. But it seemed based on what the others were telling him that it had almost been the other way around. "Maybe…"

Zack looked at him grimly, before walking over to him and steering him towards the door as everyone watched. "All right, so now that's settled, we're going back to Seventh Heaven. The sooner we get this out in the open the better off everyone's going to be."

* * *

><p>Nanaki was out by the hot spring, having offered to assist with guard patrols in the area in case those strange men had followed them, when a strange scent caught in his nose, and a growl formed in his throat. He knew this smell. It was the smell of their enemy, the monster in the form of a man. He crouched down low, attempting to conceal himself in the bushes near Aerith's flower bed, willing his flaming tail to burn low so it wouldn't catch anyone's attention, as he could tell the owner of the scent was coming closer. It was quiet as a graveyard save for the bubbling of the mineral infused pool nearby and he watched as a figure stepped out of the trees.<p>

For a moment, Nanaki felt a moment of panic as he saw the long silver hair, but then he realized the person was shorter than their feared enemy, and his facial features were much smoother. Then he heard the young man speak. "Mother?" the man called. "That horrible Ancient isn't keeping you here, is she?"

He stood and padded out into the clearing. "No, she is not," he answered. "But I am afraid I will have to ask you to leave."

In the moonlight, he caught sight of the man's eyes, reptilian green and cat-like just before the man went for the gun at his hip. "The only one who's going to leave, is you!" He heard something crunch underneath the man's boot and realized he'd just stepped into her flower bed. The man's nose wrinkled at the sight of the lilies under his feet. "Disgusting," he said, "How can that woman tolerate working with these things all day?"

"Because she cares for them," he growled. "And she will be very upset that you stepped on them!" with that, he sprang.

* * *

><p>On the other side of town, Barret stood on the bridge of the Shera, watching as Cid worked at an open access panel under one of the computer stations. "So what your tellin' me is that Spikey's got the Stigma and that's why Zack wants only a few people at the house right now?"<p>

"I thought it was pretty obvious," Cid said, taking a flashlight out of tool box and positioning it so the light illuminated the darkened mass of circuit boards and cables. "Didn' you see that sleeve he's sporting?"

"Well, yeah…" Barret admitted. "But I jes though' it was some new look he was tryin'…"

Cid shook his head. "He was doing exactly what Zack was doing. 'Cept Zack just didn't want the whole world knowing he was sick. Only difference is, Cloud was trying to do it to everyone. And he didn't hide it that well."

Barret listened as the man worked before his attention was caught by something moving on the tree line, just past the edge of the airfield. "What's that?" he said aloud.

"What's what?" Cid asked, looking up from the access hatch, a wrench in his hand.

Barret considered for a moment before hitting a switch on his artificial hand so that it turned into his usual gunarm. "Saw somethin' movin' in the woods," he said, walking over to the door. Cid nodded and went back to work. Leaving the bridge and making his way out onto the airship dock. His eyes narrowed as he looked around. The guards seemed to be on patrol like they were supposed to be, and he trusted them. Zack did after all, with his life, but at the same time… it was what could get past GUARDIAN's best that was of concern to him. Walking down the steps to the grass he could see it starting to dew in the cold night air. Was there going to be a freeze tonight? Aerith was probably better tapped into things like that, but even he could tell the temperature was starting to drop. Not minding the cold, he stepped further out onto the airfield, and then made his way beyond the guards on the edge. They noted his passing with a salute but otherwise did not hinder him.

He walked a short way into the trees, eyes and ears alert. He pulled up his gunarm, sweeping it across the surrounding foliage, ready to fire at anything that might be a threat.

He was looking to his right, when he heard something approaching from the left and whirled around to see a muscular man with short white hair enter the clearing. "Hey!" the man said. "By any chance, have you seen my mother?"

"Kid, I think yer in the wrong place. There ain't nobody here but airship techs and pilots.

"How boring," the man replied, flexing his arm. On which Barret could now see was affixed a strange piston-like weapon. "Perhaps you'll play with me instead?" his glowing green eyes now had a hungry glint in them, and Barret found himself thinking of the Crater, two years ago.

He glared at the man. "Listen here punk, I ain't gonna go easy on ya! Come and get it!" With that, he opened fire.

* * *

><p>Aerith had watched Zack follow Cloud out of the house with a heavy heart. She knew the two of them would be able to help get things straightened out again, but it stung that Cloud, after all they'd been through together, still hadn't told anyone what was wrong when something clearly had been. Even so, that was beside the point now. They were working to resolve it, and things would get back to some sense of normalcy as soon as they could thwart what Sephiroth was up to. In order to do that with any semblance of reliability, they would need to find a cure for the Stigma.<p>

She turned her attention away from the window in the front hall of the lodge and walked back into the living area. "I still don't think it was very smart," she heard Freya say.

"I don't disagree," Kunsel replied, "But you know he can be kind of stubborn."

"Do I ever," Freya said. She walked to the kitchen to retrieve a glass from a nearby cabinet.

Aerith followed her in, sitting down at the table. "There has to be something more we can do. Things can't stay as they are," she said.

"Well, there are those notes your mother left." Dr. Rayleigh sat down next to her, a cup of coffee in her hand as Elmyra also joined them, drying the water from her hands on the apron she wore.

"That's true," Aerith said. She reached for a stack of papers on the counter. "That was the other reason I asked you to come here tonight. I did a little bit of looking over what we brought with us on the Gainsborough on the way back, and it seems those tapes aren't the only thing she left. There's also a set of notes about an ancient city to the south east of Icicle Inn. I don't know if there would be anything of use, but if I could tap into the Lifestream there, maybe we could find out if those notes had any connection to the Cetra who sealed Jenova away. My mother talked about the virus, maybe it was something like the Stigma?"

Rayleigh adjusted her glasses as she took the papers from Aerith and looked them over for a few moments before speaking. "That seems like it might be a very good possibility. We should definitely investigate once things calm down a little." She placed the papers down on the table before taking a sip of her coffee. "It would be wonderful if we could at least find something. That limit break of yours is definitely a step in the right direction. But we need to go further."

Aerith nodded in agreement, and looked around at the others to see what they thought. That was when she noticed Kunsel looking out the window by the back door. "Is something the matter?"

"I could have sworn I heard something," he said. He walked to the far wall where his gunblade waited, and upon retrieving it he said "Stay here, I'll check it out."

* * *

><p>As they made their way back towards town and Seventh Heaven, Cloud found it very hard not to notice how close Zack stayed to him, almost like his friend was afraid he'd bolt. The idea had crossed his mind, he couldn't deny it. Facing Tifa and the others at such a vulnerable time was a thought that terrified him to his very core. Even if Tifa had cared for him once, the idea of putting her through that again... For Jessie and the kids to see it up close, for Marlene to watch this again… And to face the possibility that even this attempt to return might inevitably result in them losing him again for good… it was the last thing he wanted to face.<p>

And yet he knew he would. At this point, there was no other option.

The path opened out and he saw his breath in front of him as the town spread out before them. The bar lay only a short distance down the main street, and the two men slowly walked in that direction. Cloud was tempted to walk even slower, but stalling would get him nowhere and at last, they reached the door to the bar. Through the window, he could see Tifa was talking to Jessie while she cleaned the counter with a white dishcloth. It seemed the kids had already gone to bed. Something for which he was grateful. For once, Zack said nothing and waited for him to make the first move. At last, Cloud reached for the handle on the door and pulled it open.

The two women looked up as they entered and placed their swords against the wall. It wasn't until they were almost to the barstools that Jessie broke the silence. "Hi guys. How'd the spar go?"

Cloud looked away as he seated himself on one of the stools. Zack took the one next to him, and said "It could have gone better… but…" he glanced at his friend. "I think there's something important someone needs to say…" he trailed off and waited. If there was one thing he wouldn't do, he wasn't about to handle this for him.

After a few moments, Cloud could feel Tifa's gaze boring into him and he struggled to find the right words to begin, but as more time passed, he realized they just weren't coming. When it was clear he hadn't started talking, Tifa spoke. "Cloud, what is it…?" She trailed off, apparently just as uncertain about where this was going to go, and that only served to make things even worse.

Finally he reached for the sleeve on his left arm and stripped it out from under his shoulder guard, exposing the fresh bandage. The moment seemed to take up a physical presence of its own in the room, and Cloud looked away again, not wanting to meet Tifa's eyes. "You have it too, don't you," Tifa said. Cloud nodded, not daring to speak. But it didn't matter. "Is this why you disappeared?" When Tifa spoke again, her voice carried an edge that cut deeper than one of Hojo's scalpels. "So you could lie down and die?"

"There's no cure," Cloud murmured.

"That's not stopping Denzel, is it? Or Zack, or everyone else at the clinic?" Tifa said pointedly.

"You didn't need me like this…" he said after a moment. "I'd have only gotten in the way…"

Zack cut in at that point, "We've told you before, and we'll tell you again, stop doing that!"

He looked back at his friend for a moment. "Doing what?"

"That thing where you tell yourself you're worthless, and shouldn't be worried about. You do it all the time. 'It's not worth the trouble,' 'it won't do any good,' 'I'd only be in the way,' 'I'd only cause them more pain.' Cloud, you've saved our asses on more than one occasion, when are you going to think its okay to try and save your own? And to _let us_ _help_ _you_!"

"Don't run," Tifa added. "We can still help each other, can't we?" she looked uncertain for a moment before pulling back. "Or does that only work for real families?"

Zack seemed a bit miffed by that. "What's this about 'real families?' As far as I'm concerned, we are a real family. Even if some of us have more problems than others…" Both Cloud and Tifa looked at him in surprise and he shrugged. "What else would we be?"

Tifa seemed heartened by his words. "I guess that's true." She turned back to Cloud. "But can you at least promise me you won't disappear like that again?" she asked.

As Cloud considered his answer, the phone for the bar started to ring, but Tifa ignored it. This was apparently far more important. "I'll… try not to…" he said.

"Good," Zack said.

"We'll probably need to let the kids know at some point," Jessie noted. The phone rang again.

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Zack said. Tifa nodded and finally went to answer the phone and Zack turned his attention back to Cloud. "We'll handle this one step at a time. Right now, we need to…" and that was when his PHS started ringing. He checked who it was and then quickly brought it to his ear. "Aerith?... What's wrong?"

* * *

><p>The stranger danced across the clearing through the hail of Barret's bullets with the speed of a Jumping flitting across snow drifts. As he tried to train his gun on the man long enough to do some damage his eyes narrowed. While not huge, this guy was definitely heavy, and it was surprising that he could move that fast. This line of observation was interrupted by the fact that suddenly, the man was directly in his face and drawing back his fist for a blow with the piston-weapon on his arm, coming in past the breadth of Barret's ability to shoot. Not bothering to change his gunarm back into a regular fist, Barret reacted by bringing up his normal left hand into a powerful uppercut. He felt and heard the satisfying thud as the teeth in the man's jaw were smashed together and the man nearly flipped backwards in the air before pushing off of a nearby tree to land on the ground. The two locked gazes as Barret's opponent wiped some blood from his lower lip and Barret prepared to open fire again. "Jes' cause I got a gun for a hand don' mean the rest o'me is a pushover!" he snarled.<p>

The stranger laughed, his expression becoming hungry. "Oh, I like you. This'll be fun!"

Barret opened fire again and felt the vibrations throughout his arm as the machine-gun bullets peppered the surrounding landscape and the smoke filtered out of the revolving chambers but the stranger had already begun weaving in and out of the trees. One second he saw him at the base of one tree and then the next he was at the top of another.

He was sending another wave of bullets into the leafless branches of one of the trees when he looked to his right just in time to see that strange weapon plow straight into his side. Electricity shot through him, but he shook it off, grabbing the man by the scruff of his neck with his arm, and running towards the trees with an animalistic bellow, threw him brutally against a tree trunk.

The stranger shook it off only just in time to see Barret's gun arm morph back into a fist as he was about to pound it into his skull before he ducked, attempting to take the larger man's legs out from under him with a leg swipe. Barret dropped and rolled as the stranger made another try for his face with his weapon before leaping to his feet and delivering a couple of stiff punches to the stranger's chest. They were by no means soft hits, but apart from bracing himself, the stranger simply grabbed Barret by the fishnet shirt under his vest and rammed him towards one of the other trees like a battering ram. Stars ran across his vision as the smaller tree split in two and fell to the ground from the impact, but he managed to keep the presence of mind to grab the man by his knee and lift him up, forcing him to break his grip before lifting him into the air and tossing him head first into a third tree. The stranger slumped as the echoes of the latest felled tree reverberated through the woods surrounding the town and Barret's weapon reverted into a gunarm. "All righ' you son of a $!#&%, don' you dare make a move, or it'll be the last one you make!"

He could already hear the sound of voices approaching and wasn't at all surprised to see Cid accompanied by a couple of the GUARDIAN sentries. "What in Sam Hill you tryin' to do out here, wake up the entire town?" the pilot demanded. "We thought there was some kind of stampede going on out here!"

"Ya ain't far off," Barret said, continuing to glare at the stranger who was attempting to pick himself up. The guards were about to close in when there was the sound of a PHS ringtone from nearby. Barret couldn't help but think it sounded strangely familiar and yet totally ridiculous as the stranger pulled the communications device out of his pocket, completely ignoring them as he pulled himself to a standing position.

"She's not here!" he said and to their surprise he snarled out "I'm NOT crying!" before looking back at them. "All right, I'm coming." He hung up.

"What makes you so sure you're goin' anywhere?" Barret demanded.

"Because my brother's done having fun with your friends," the stranger said. With that, he disappeared into the woods as though he'd never been there in the first place.

"You don't think…" Cid murmured before turning to the guards. "Spread out and search, if you find him, detain him, or at least keep him busy." He then turned to Barret. "Let's go."

The two of them took off towards the lodge as fast as they could run.

* * *

><p>The long-haired stranger Nanaki faced ducked out of the way as he fired off a shot from his gunblade. The bullet grazed his right shoulder, but he too found purchase, sinking his teeth into the man's arm. They didn't cut leather unfortunately, but he was certain the man would at least be bruised. The man let out a breath but used his gunblade to knock the red lion away with a swipe across his nose. It hurt, but as the Guardian of the planet dropped to the ground, he dashed in.<p>

The stranger was too quick however, shooting in his direction and forcing him to take cover behind a rock. Two more gunshots ricocheted off the hard surface before the stranger had to reload and Nanaki took a moment to cast a Cure on himself from a Restore materia Tifa had given him when hers maxed out before casting a Demi in the man's general direction. He felt the hum of energy around the area as the man tried in vain to evade the powerful spell that was attempting to crush him with its force but after looking over the rock, he could see that it had done its damage. "You…" the man growled, blood trickling down his leather clothes, before pulling himself back to his feet and charging one more time.

Nanaki dodged, landing on the edge of the pool of water, the steam backlit by his flaming tail as the stranger raced past. Nanaki turned to lunge at him, digging in his claws as he went for the man's throat, but as the man with silver hair was falling to the ground, he aimed his gun and Nanaki felt the bullet cut through his side like a knife, crippling him with pain. He dropped on top of the man before ducking away as his opponent threw him off.

The man laughed as he pulled himself up a final time to take aim. "Prepare to die beast!" he said triumphantly. Nanaki crawled behind another rock, ready to cast another Cure, but he felt a blade cut into his other side even as the healing energies flowed across him. Realizing the next attack would probably kill him, Nanaki fled into the trees, taking cover behind one of the larger ones and dimming his tail, hoping this would be enough. He was somewhat ashamed. Wasn't this a cowardly thing to do? He never had to answer that question though. For at that moment, he heard someone else running through the trees, and the sounds of others shouting.

* * *

><p>Kunsel scanned the trees surrounding the lodge, the light flooding out from the windows behind him, before pointing his gunblade northward, to his right. "I know you're there! Come out where I can see you!" he demanded.<p>

"My, my, how perceptive of you." He finally turned to look in the direction he had pointed the blade to see a man with shoulder-length silver hair step out of the woods. "Especially for one of those idiot cousins of ours."

"I'm not sure I get your meaning, but what I do get is that you're one of the guys who attacked Cloud at Icicle Inn. What are you doing here? You wouldn't happen to be Kadaj, would you?" He did not lower the gunblade as the man came closer.

"Why, I'd have thought you'd have figured both those things out by now. We're here for our mother…"

Kunsel heard the door open behind him. He could already tell by the footfalls and the metallic clicks that Freya had come out behind him, loading her shotgun as she took a position on the porch. "I think you're looking in the wrong place, pretty boy," she said. "Because, I'm sure your mama isn't here."

Kadaj seemed annoyed by the term because he drew a double-bladed katana. "How disrespectful! Shame on you!"

"What can I say?" Freya said, and he could taste the smirk in her voice. "We aim to displease. Especially where Sephiroth's concerned."

Kadaj chuckled at that. "Well then, we'll see how you feel about it after I've carved my way through you to chop that little Ancient of yours into tiny pieces." He was halfway across the clearing in an eyeblink.

"Not if I can help it." Kunsel met him just before he reached the steps of the lodge, their blade locking in a shower of sparks, however, as they traded several strikes, Kunsel found himself quickly becoming alarmed. As many times as he had trained with Zack and Cloud, he didn't think he'd ever encountered an opponent this fast. Not even Weiss and Nero. Sephiroth maybe, but the forms he'd personally faced were not of the sword-wielding variety, so it was hard to gauge.

He rolled out of the way of a particularly dangerous strike before kneeling to fire his gunblade. Freya's shotgun went off at the same time but the single-shot slug missed its target. Kadaj lunged at him again as he tried to stand and Kunsel was knocked over backwards, forced to block again. He pushed the man off before sending him flying through the air with a powerful kick and rolling back to his feet.

It was at that moment, when he heard the door opening again. "What's going on out here?" It was Dr. Rayleigh.

"Get back inside!" Freya demanded.

Too late. Kadaj raced at her and it was only because Kunsel channeled his limit that allowed him to cover other people that he was able to get in the way in time. As their blades vibrated against each other he felt another limit channel behind him, and an aura similar to what one felt when a sense spell was cast permeated the area. After a moment, the doctor murmured "By the Planet…"

What is it?" Freya asked. At that moment, Kunsel pushed his blade closer to his opponent, taking advantage of the higher ground to beat him back with a series of strikes.

"He feels like the Stigma… or Jenova cells…" Rayleigh murmured.

That was all he heard before he had to bring his attention back to defending against the man in front of him as he was knocked into the air by the power of one of the man's strikes and he parried back, kicking off one of the beams supporting the roof of the porch, attempting to drive the man further back from the house as an Ice spell connected seemingly harmlessly with his target from Freya's direction.

This fight was quickly becoming desperate as he was fighting for all he had just to keep the house from being attacked directly. He felt the katana clip his leg, though he dared not think what would have happened if it had gone deeper.

It was at that moment when a familiar rekka flew out of the gloom, landing a blow to Kadaj's back before returning to a new figure on the other side of the clearing. "I thought I heard noise over here," Cissnei commented.

Kadaj looked behind him and recognition flared in his eyes. "You!" he exclaimed.

Cissnei met his gaze with one of her own. "You're supposed to be dead!" she replied.

Kadaj didn't answer but instead turned and barreled towards her, katana ready to kill, but Kunsel was already in front of her, and he felt the familiar energy of Freya channeling a limit of her own, enveloping Cissnei in protective energies. The Turk jumped over top of him, using her rekka to aim a slice at Kadaj's face as he seemed to be occupied with the swordsman, but Kadaj brought up his fist and knocked her aside, breaking his locked blade and coming after her as she leapt to her feet. "Why didn't that hurt you?!" he bellowed. "Why won't you bleed?!"

"That's because of me, you jerk!" Freya interjected. "Do you want to play some more, or are you ready to turn tail and run!" She pulled back the slide on her shotgun provocatively.

"Not before I've covered the entire forest with your blood!" Kadaj taunted.

He was running directly towards her now but once again Kunsel countered, and he could feel his arms start to ache with the beating they had taken, but he wasn't about to stop, trying to press the offensive again by breaking their locked blades to land another series of strikes. Their blades sang through the clearing echoing into the darkened forest around them as the cold air fogged from their heavy breathing. But out of the edge of his awareness, he imagined that maybe he could hear people running. And then he felt the sensation of someone casting a summon nearby. A giant cauldron erupted behind him and he rolled out of the way as Hades appeared, throwing a powerful blast of energy at Kadaj. He was clearly put off by the deluge, but he was still standing. "You think you can kill me with that?" he taunted.

He was about to say more when Zack and Cloud raced into the clearing, their swords drawn. "Kadaj!" Cloud challenged.

"Oh look, our big brothers are here," Kadaj said.

"See how you do facing all of us!" Zack threatened.

Kadaj stepped back. "Maybe another time. But don't worry, I'll be back for the Ancient soon enough." With that, he fled into the trees towards the hot spring.

"After him!" Cissnei called. Cloud and Freya wasted no time but tore down the path on which the enemy swordsman had fled.

"You okay?" Zack asked, turning to his friend.

Kunsel let out a breath as he went for his bangle to cast a Cure. "Yeah, but be careful Zack, that guy's strikes are more powerful than Cloud's when he gets going."

"Stay here, we won't let him get away," Zack determined. With that he hurried after the blond swordsman and the lady Turk.

* * *

><p><em>A bit of swordplay action and another little something from my dev. notes, just for fun. ^^<em>

_You see, we get so little of what Dr. Rayleigh is capable of and I've been playing around with a set of limits for her too. Just because. Since this is the only opportunity we'll get to see any of them in action, here they are. Although I never really intended for her to seriously take part in a combat situation where she'd need them, mostly._

Analysis: Level one Limit, casts Sense without Materia.

_That's what she used here. She's a researcher first and foremost, what else is she going to do? ^^_

Doctor's Bag: Level 2 limit, heals entire party 30% of each individual's HP.

Psychological Warfare: Level 3, All susceptible enemies are Sad, Silenced, and Confused.

_Now one might ask what the use sadness would be against normal enemies when most don't channel limit breaks and it reduces the damage they take. Probably minimal, but against another party that can also utilize limits, when they rely pretty heavily on those limits, I could see the potential there. Besides, it's just funny. ^^_

_See you next week!_


	81. Scarlet and Heidegger Again?

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spin-offs That honor goes to Square-Enix.

Matt and Alistor are original characters.

**Part IV: ****Stigma**

* * *

><p>Chapter 81, Scarlet and Heidegger Again?<p>

**April 11****th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0009**

Cloud hurried down the path towards the hot spring as fast as he could and it wasn't long before he reached the edge of the trees. Looking around in the lamplight, all he saw was steam rising from the water but there was definitely evidence that someone had been through here. He was examining a trail of boot marks that seemed to be leading out towards the beach when he heard someone else step into the clearing behind him.

After a moment he heard Freya say quietly "There's blood over here." He hurried over to take a look. He hadn't noticed it at first because he'd been so focused on chasing after Kadaj, but now, he could clearly see that it had stained the ground.

"Whose though?" he wondered.

The level of energy in the air suddenly changed and he caught sight of a green light a short distance away. Walking to its place of origin, he heard a familiar groan before seeing Nanaki pull himself unsteadily to his feet.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

The red lion looked up at him before sitting on his haunches. "I think so. The person who attacked me did not seem to be interested in taking prisoners. As you saw, I made do with a Cure, but I'm afraid he escaped."

"Was it Kadaj?" Freya asked as she came over.

"I'm afraid you'll need to be more specific," Nanaki replied.

"Did he have shoulder-length white hair?" Cloud suggested.

Nanaki shook his head. "It was long. They might have been related though."

"Head back to the lodge," Freya said. "We'll be there once we've looked around some more."

Nanaki nodded in acknowledgement and then left the clearing. Cloud watched him leave before turning his attention back to the trail leading out the other side. Freya was already headed in that direction, scanning the ground. "They both definitely left this way," she said, walking down the hill towards the beach. As the two of them reached the sand, they saw that there was a trail of two sets of footprints leading towards them, and then the same two sets were making their way back in the same direction. They followed it for some time, past the cove where the Tiny Bronco had occasionally been parked in the past, and most of the rocks before off in the distance, they heard the sound of a couple of motorcycles departing. It wasn't long before they reached a spot on the edge of the forest where the bikes had been parked, but there would be no way to catch the two men without vehicles of their own.

"Damn it," Cloud muttered.

"Yeah, they got us good this time," the lady Turk replied, examining the ground under the moonlight for any other information that the ambient environment could tell her.

A moment later, her PHS buzzed and she answered. "Yeah? He's still with me. No. They got to their bikes before we could stop them." After a moment she hung up again. "Zack," she said. "He stopped when he saw Nanaki."

"Oh."

They spent a moment more searching the area and then Freya spoke again. "Hey Cloud, do you remember what I told you? When you were dealing with Sephiroth?"

"What part?" Cloud asked.

She walked over to him and gestured that they walk back over the sand. "When I told you I thought things would definitely be okay in the end. I still believe that. And I know Aerith's going to find a cure. Maybe we can help her. But if we give up now, there won't be a future for anyone to be there for, will there?" They were now walking back, trudging through the soft sand, and listening to the ocean to their left under the stars.

Cloud considered for a moment. "Probably not, but what good am I to anyone like this?"

Freya's normally confident demeanor faded for a moment, replaced by that wistful look he'd seen on occasion when she was thinking about something. "You know, I wonder even now whether or not there was something I could have done when Veld asked us to walk away. Could I have protected my friends if I had just made the effort? Cissnei probably asks herself that too. But I decided a long time ago that living in regret isn't living at all. So I promised myself that I wouldn't, and I also decided I would never let that happen again. Your situation may be a little different perhaps, but if you give up, you've already lost, and where's the good in that?"

"Not much," Cloud observed.

"Right," Freya said. "And now I've said my piece." They were about halfway back to the hill when Cloud spotted someone holding a lantern in the distance. Upon getting closer they saw Zack, following the tracks towards them.

"There you are!" Zack called out to them. "Any luck?"

"I think the situation speaks for itself," Freya said. "They seem to be gone for the time being. We could try to track them through the woods, but I don't think that's wise when they could just as easily circle around and come after Aerith again."

Zack was definitely disquieted by that. "They came for Aerith?"

"That's what it sounded like," the lady Turk replied. "They were also asking about that mother business; I assume that means Jenova. Though from what I could see, I think Aerith was the main target. That Kadaj guy didn't even know if their 'mother' was even here. Besides, where at the lodge would we keep her?"

"All right then," Zack said, "Let's go back for now."

The three of them trudged through the sand until they reached the hill again. They had almost reached the hot spring when Zack's PHS buzzed one last time and he checked the caller ID before answering. "I hope this is important Reeve, things are a little crazy down here…"

Cloud was close enough that his advanced hearing was able to pick up the other end of the conversation. "_Actually, it's related to the intelligence we gathered some time ago in regards to Scarlet and Heidegger's activities. I was hoping you might be able to assist the WRO since there was definitely a connection between the resistance and those men that attacked Cloud. What's so crazy down there?"_

"Those guys came here looking for Jenova, and they tried to come after Aerith," Zack said, and Cloud couldn't help but notice an angry edge to his voice that wasn't often there.

"_Is there anything we can do to help?" _Reeve asked automatically.

They had crossed the clearing and were heading back up the lamplit trail to the lodge now. Zack only took a second to answer. "I wouldn't mind you sending a detachment down here to support our troops, just in case they came back, but if that's too much, just make sure there's a clear path between us and Kadaj. No one goes after my wife or my friends without getting through me!"

Reeve was quiet for a moment before speaking. _"All right then. I'll send you the coordinates for where we need you through our private PHS channel. We will brief you on the way."_

"Got it." Zack put his PHS away and by this point they were halfway back to the lodge. Upon reaching it, Cloud saw Nanaki resting on the porch and Aerith next to him while Kunsel and Cissnei stood on guard. In their absence, Barret and Cid had also arrived and were checking the area for any damage that might have been done.

"Kunsel told us what happened," Cid said when they were in earshot. "Looks like it was an organized attack."

"They were somewhere else too?" Zack asked.

"Yeah," Cid said. "Barret ran into one o'those guys that attacked Cloud on the edge of the airfield. He knocked him silly, but the $#&!%^* still managed to get away. Any luck finding the one that attacked here?"

"Afraid not," Freya replied, clearly annoyed. "But if what Reeve says is true, there's a good chance we'll get a second chance soon enough if we follow up on Scarlet and Heidegger's trail."

Barret looked confused. "And where're we goin' to do that?" he asked.

Zack checked his PHS one last time before putting it back in his pocket. "Based on what Reeve sent me, it seems we're going to Mt. Corel." He looked around for a moment before turning to Cloud. "Take Dr. Rayleigh home and then go back to Seventh Heaven and get Tifa. Tell Jessie the kids need to stay close to the bar until we get back. I'm gonna tell our people and the town watch they need to have extra patrols in the area of the clinic and the town square just in case. The Shera and the Gainsborough leave at twenty-three hundred hours."

"You forget I'm not GUARDIAN anymore," Cloud murmured below everyone else's hearing except his friend's.

"Maybe not, but can you really just let this play out when there's a very good chance Sephiroth's involved?" Zack asked.

Cloud turned and headed inside. The answer to that question was obvious.

* * *

><p><strong>April 12<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0009 12:00 AM**

Cissnei was walking along the main passageway connecting the bridge to the rest of the Gainsborough when she walked into the common room near the main cabins. It wasn't as large as the one aboard the Shera, but since this had been intended to be one of GUARDIAN's best airships besides the Shera during their days as a true army, and also a mobile base of operations in field operations, the room was rather nicely outfitted with comfortable chairs and a few small windows looking out on the sky around them. Had it been day time, she would most likely have been able to see the Shera out there, but with nothing but starlight competing with the interior lights of the ship, it was rather difficult.

She was just about to pass the door when she noticed Zack and Aerith were talking in the corner. "You're really worried aren't you," Aerith said.

"Of course I'm worried," Zack said. "I mean, I have a lot of confidence in everyone. Kunsel and Freya saved your life and I really appreciate what they did, but I guess it's still hard to think about. I could have lost you tonight if things had gone badly enough." He slumped down on a chair, clearly showing he was tired.

Aerith leaned against the chair's left armrest. "I know. But things turned out all right. And we'll put a stop to whatever it is Sephiroth's up to, I know it."

"The question is, how?" Zack said.

"Which is why I think it would be good for us to go see the City of the Cetra," Aerith said. "At the very least, it might give us a few ideas about how to take care of the Stigma."

Zack considered. "Do we even know how to get there?"

"I think between talking to the Planet and comparing my mother's notes we ought to be able to find it," Aerith said.

"Then that's what we'll do," Zack reached up with his good arm and pulled her gently into his lap. "Did I ever tell you how much I love you?" he asked.

"Repeatedly," Aerith murmured with a smile, kissing him on the cheek.

Cissnei had stopped in the shadow of the door, but decided she shouldn't intrude on their privacy any longer. Instead, she chose to move on, closer to the bridge. The next door she passed was wide open, and led to the planning room. In it, Kunsel and Freya were standing over what looked like a map of the Corel region.

"I just can't think of any other reason why we would go," Kunsel was saying. "I mean, it certainly wasn't the best choice on Rufus's part, leaving a huge materia there with nothing but some guards to keep an eye on it, but if that's what Scarlet and Heidegger are after…"

"Then we can't let them get their hands on it," Freya said. "Or Kadaj."

"It wouldn't help us if they do, that's for sure," Cissnei said.

The swordsman and the lady Turk looked up. "Come to think of it," Freya said. "Have you met Kadaj before? I could have sworn you said he was supposed to be dead."

"That's because I thought I killed him," Cissnei said. "The first time I ran across him was when I was investigating the black water when Barret brought Matt and Alistor back from Rocket Town."

"Well," Kunsel said, "I guess that's another thing he has in common with Sephiroth." He ran a hand through his hair frustratedly. "I have to say, these monstermen that just won't die are really getting to be a problem."

"No kidding," Freya agreed. "Though speaking of Kadaj, thanks for covering us, back at the lodge."

"And don't you forget it," Kunsel said, "You were the one trying to provoke him after all."

Freya grinned, "With those guys, I get the feeling that they'd feel provoked by anything that didn't involve letting them get what they want. I just felt the need to remind them who the top dogs really are."

Cissnei nodded, trying her best to share her fellow renegade's enthusiasm. "I certainly don't intend to let them hurt anyone if I can help it."

* * *

><p>The bridge of the Gainsborough was a bit smaller than the bridge of the Shera, but with the large windows on the front it still felt like the most open place on the ship, even with their pilot standing at the helm. That made it one of the best places on the ship for contemplation.<p>

Cloud was looking out at the ocean below them. The water was mostly calm and tranquil, from what he could see of it in the dark below them, with the occasional white cap. Nothing like the tempest of thoughts whirling around inside his mind. Concerns about Sephiroth, the kids, Tifa, the stigma and what could have happened if he and Zack hadn't gotten back to the lodge in time, all seemed to mix together. It made him feel trapped in a way he hadn't felt since the time when Sephiroth's attempts to dominate him had reduced him to a catatonic stupor. Gaia, he was so useless.

"It's really late." He looked behind him to see Tifa standing there.

"I know," he replied.

She stopped next to him and for a little while the only thing the two of them could hear was the whir of the engine. Even so, the lack of words was still uncomfortable. Finally, Tifa spoke again. "I know you've got a lot on your mind, but is there a chance you want to talk?"

Cloud didn't say anything but continued to stare out the window. Tifa tried again. "Listen, it's not your fault that you got sick, or that Zack did either, but eventually we will have to get to the part where we keep living, won't we?"

"What happens then?" Cloud wondered.

"I don't know, but just standing around worrying about it won't give us an answer, will it?" Tifa leaned forward on the guard rail and turned slightly to look up at him.

"I guess not," he said. "We still need to tell the kids what's going on, don't we."

Tifa nodded. "We do, as soon as we go home."

They were quiet for a long time before Cloud spoke again. "I'm sorry."

Tifa stood up straight and the two of them looked each other in the eye for the first time since he'd come home. She opened her mouth to speak but suddenly his arm burned painfully and on reflex he dropped to the ground, gripping it in pain. His vision blurred as he heard Tifa calling for help. However, the last thing he heard before he passed out was a voice he'd hoped never to hear again. _"Stop fooling yourself, Cloud. All you are is an empty puppet."_

* * *

><p><strong>April 12<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0009 1:00 PM**

Denzel had been surprised on waking up the next morning to find that Marlene and Jessie were the only two people around. After receiving an explanation from Jessie, he had ended up feeling a little tired and had gone back up to the bedroom to rest for a while, only to return to the bar for lunch. He had just finished and once he had taken up his plate to give back to Jessie, he went outside, taking a seat on the step, watching the people walking around glumly. Why had everyone left so soon? He'd really been hoping to at least see Cloud for more than a few fleeting moments…

His eyes landed on a girl about his age who had a blanket over her and was apparently carrying something really heavy on her back. She was almost in front of the bar when she tripped and fell. As he was standing up to go help, he heard the door open behind him. "Denzel?" Marlene looked outside. "Jessie said not to wander off…"

"Are you okay?" he asked.

The girl looked up at him angrily as though voicelessly asking "_Do I look like I'm okay?"_ and he saw the familiar black residue on her arms. That was when he realized the weight she'd been carrying under the blanket was a boy a little younger than she was.

Marlene was behind him half a second later. "Are you looking for the clinic?" she asked.

At first, the other girl seemed too busy trying to pick herself up to completely register the question. But after a moment the anger left her face. "We came all the way from Edge looking for it…" she said breathlessly.

Denzel wordlessly moved to help her pull up the boy. "I know where it is," he said before turning to Marlene. "Could you tell Jessie where we're going?" he asked.

She nodded and hurried back inside. They had barely gone a few more steps before she came back. "Don't leave me behind," she said. "I'm coming too."

Soon they were halfway down the street and around the corner. As they were approaching the clinic, he could see a couple of the guard patrols walking to and fro. It was odd. He hadn't seen GUARDIAN this active since the battle for Midgar, and then, only from a distance. Probably because of what Jessie told them had happened last night.

They had just stepped inside when they saw Alistor and Matt in the waiting room. Marlene walked over to the lady at the front desk, pulling herself up on her toes to see over the counter. "Mrs. Ryan?" she said. "Is the doctor here?"

The woman nodded, having seen right off what the reason was for the question. "I'll call her up," she said, before walking over to the intercom.

Barely a few moments later Rayleigh herself appeared and soon the two children were being ushered into the office, leaving Denzel and Marlene alone with the other boy and the SOLDIER. "What happened?" Matt asked.

"They fell over in front of the bar," Marlene explained.

"Oh," Matt took a moment before saying "Have you heard the rumors?"

"What rumors?" Denzel asked.

Matt fidgeted with the bandages on his arms. "One of the fishermen's kids told me. There were these guys walking around the wharf yesterday talking about how they had a cure."

"Yeah, and I'll believe it when I see it," Alistor said seriously. "As much work as Aerith and the doctor have put into this, just to see someone pull the answer out of nowhere just seems way too good to be true."

"But what if it is?" Matt asked, turning his attention to the SOLDIER.

"Then I will walk up to the guy and shake his hand, but not before I know it's not a hoax. Rufus Shinra is funding some research into it too, don't forget, but when the doctor looked into it, it turned out to just be research into using old SOLDIER stimulants to stave off the pain."

"And why wouldn't this be different?" Denzel asked.

"I'm just saying things aren't always what they seem to be," Alistor said.

As they left the clinic, Denzel could still hear those words echoing in his thoughts. But on the other hand, if there was a cure, could he truly turn his back on the possibility, when he and so many of his friends needed it?

* * *

><p><strong>April 12<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0009 7:00 PM Junon Western Time**

It was already dark when the Shera docked in Junon to pick up two extra passengers before both airships began the crossing towards Corel. It was a short affair, as Zack watched them embark from his vantage point on the bridge of the Gainsborough as it waited in a holding pattern over the airport. It had been a while since he had seen Vincent, though Yuffie had been at Icicle Inn. It didn't take long for the entry way to close or the Shera to get back airborne. Once she was underway again, the two airships redirected their course across the ocean and the holo-projector on the Gainsborough's bridge came to life, opening a three way communication line between their ship, the Shera, and WRO headquarters just between Kalm and Edge.

As she appeared on-screen, Yuffie waved to everyone. _"Hey guys!"_ she called as though shouting over a long distance.

"_Yuffie,"_ Vincent said quietly, yet just as clearly from his position leaning against a wall, _"They can hear you just fine."_

Yuffie gave him a mock glare and then stuck out her tongue at him. _"Oh come on Vincent, I barely saw any of them for five minutes before we had to go back to Kalm! I'd at least like to let them know I'm glad to see them!"_

Zack chuckled at that. "Well, we're happy to see you too." He turned his attention to the gunman. "How's life with you Vince?"

"_As well as can be expected,_" Vincent answered. _"Scarlet and Heidegger have managed to pull together a surprisingly cohesive organization."_

On the other end of the call, Reeve sighed. _"I'm afraid that is the case. Especially with Mutton Kylegate not cooperating, it has been difficult to keep things in order. But that's why we need GUARDIAN for this."_

"So what's the mission?" Kunsel asked.

"_I'm glad you asked,"_ Reeve said before turning to take a disk from Cait Sith, who had been standing at his knee, and sticking it in a nearby slot on his desk. His image disappeared to be replaced by a reactor sitting in a mountain pass. _"This is the reactor at Mt. Corel,"_ Reeve began. _"It is currently inactive, now that the Shinra Company has halted its mako production, but as you know, mako production tends to produce a number of interesting phenomenon."_

"Like huge materia." Kunsel added.

Reeve nodded. _"Yes, and that is precisely why I'm sending you there. You see, Scarlet apparently had a number of projects in her research that gave her cause to use huge materia. In fact, she was already searching for some of them as long ago as our first Reunion Incident."_

"So why is she suddenly looking again now?" Aerith asked.

"_From what we've managed to gather it is because she believes she has accumulated enough firepower to be able to carry it out,"_ Reeve said. _"The renegade Turks have been able to bug a number of their meeting places around Junon. Though their actual base of operations seems to elude us at the moment. We need you to retrieve the huge materia before they manage to steal it for their own purposes."_

"I thought so," Freya murmured and Zack noticed that her expression had hardened somewhat.

"What about the other huge materia?" Cissnei asked. "The green one I know we have."

"That should still be at GUARDIAN headquarters," Kunsel said. "As for the others, it's my understanding that those should also be secure."

"_This is correct,"_ Reeve said. _"Counting the green one, there are four in our records, and we have been slowly placing them in secure locations. The blue huge materia is in our vault after we retrieved it from storage in Scarlet's lab in Junon. The red materia was also retrieved from there but we felt it would be best to keep it in a separate location. The only one that remains is the yellow materia. Though up until recently, we had thought it was safe there, since it was in a difficult place from which to extract it."_

"And that's where we come in," Zack said.

"_Precisely,"_ Reeve replied. _"Since we've managed to get information that they will be sending a team in the near future, we'd like to send in a team of our own in hopes of pre-empting them."_

"Well then," Zack said. "You can count on us!"

"_Excellent, I look forward to hearing some good news." _With that, Reeve ended the call and the Shera closed its channel as well. Zack stood there for a moment, reflecting on what had happened the previous night when Tifa had started calling for help. It hadn't taken them long to get Cloud back to the crew cabins, and he'd come to a short while later, but it had still been disconcerting…

_They had been standing outside the cabin when Tifa had stepped out._

"_How is he?" Zack asked._

"_He just woke up." Tifa had looked troubled._

"_What's the matter?" Zack had asked._

"_He muttered something when he came to about not being a puppet…" Tifa began. There was no need to explain the significance of those words._

_Zack nodded and followed her into the cabin. Cloud was sitting on the edge of his bunk, clearly embarrassed. "I knew I'd be no help," he said after a moment._

_Zack held up a hand for silence before sitting down across from him. "Don't want to hear it," he said. "Before I say anything else, I want to know, did Sephiroth tell you anything, and has he been telling you anything?"_

_Cloud shook his head. "That's the first time I've heard him in a long time…"_

_Zack let out a sigh of relief. "Well, what I told you before still stands. Don't. Listen."_

"_I know…" Cloud reached for a glass of water that stood on a table nearby. "I don't plan to."_

"_But if he does say anything else, you will tell us, right?" Zack prodded._

_Cloud leaned against the bulkhead, and gazed out the window at the darkness surrounding them. "I will Zack, just…"_

"_Just what?" Zack waited for a moment before deciding he wasn't going to get an answer. "Back off?"_

"_Yeah, it's late…"_

_Zack tried to think of something he could say to make the situation better but at last he relented. "All right," He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Sorry, but can you blame us for worrying you'll disappear again?"_

"_We're in an airship," Cloud pointed out._

"_You know what I meant," Zack said. "Get some more rest, I'll see ya in a bit." _

"_Yeah," Cloud murmured. With that, Zack moved out of the bunk room to rejoin Aerith. Cloud hadn't been the only one who needed to sleep after all._

He had had the whole day to reflect on things, but he still couldn't seem to find a particularly useful solution. This to him was confirmation beyond even what Aerith had seen in the Lifestream that Sephiroth was on the move. If what Rufus had guessed was true, then he was trying to revive again. But after that, what would he do? Zack was certain it couldn't be good. All the more reason to put a stop to it as soon as possible. As if to mock him, his injured shoulder chose that moment to burn painfully. He'd probably need to get Aerith to help him redress it soon.

* * *

><p>In a secret bunker deep underneath Junon, Kadaj's hand was inches away from Souba, his double-bladed katana as he glared at the two people in front of him. "And what's to keep me from simply torturing Mother's whereabouts out of you rather than doing this little chore you wish me to do?" he demanded coldly.<p>

"It's simple. At this time, we still don't know where Jenova is," Scarlet responded. "However, we will be a lot more predisposed towards helping you if you help us, and our search will go unnoticed a lot more than yours will, since our spies are deeply embedded in Shinra and you tend to draw attention." She leaned against her desk, clearly trying to look as seductive as possible, though Kadaj knew better. He could see the nervousness in her eyes, and it made him even more anxious for the time when he could kill her and the fat $#*&%^! next to her. One should never make a man with a double-bladed katana at his hip anxious to kill them. Or maybe they should. He would enjoy getting his chance eventually. That was beyond the point. He had already left his brothers in Mideel in a hurry, having had to hijack a plane to get back here before his big brothers for this lead.

Finally he made his decision. "All right, I suppose I will get this 'Blue Materia' for you." He drew Souba bringing the blade inches away from the woman's face. "But you will have mother's location for me when I get back!" With that, he walked out of the room.

He paused when he was almost out of earshot as he heard Heidegger let out a relieved sigh before saying to his co-conspirator "Do you really intend to give him Jenova? Think of the power we could have if we could use her ourselves."

"Don't be stupid," Scarlet snapped. "But get this through your thick skull meathead. As long as these people are around distracting them, Zack and Rufus won't have time to even consider what we are actually doing. Besides, odd are, they will probably all kill each other anyway. What have we got to lose?"

Heidegger laughed. "Gya-haha, I knew I liked the way you think."

"Kya-haha, there's a reason why I'm the brains of this operation," Scarlet returned.

Kadaj let out a chuckle of his own as he continued on his way. Soon enough, everyone would see, mother would destroy them all. If only Sephiroth wasn't her favorite.

* * *

><p><strong>April 13<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0009 1:00 PM Corel Mountain Time**

It was mid-afternoon when the two airships lowered their ladders and GUARDIAN climbed down to a scenic overlook that stood about twenty feet above the railway leading to the dormant reactor. Zack drew a breath and tried not to gag as he tasted the acrid breezes wafting up from below. He couldn't say he particularly enjoyed reactors any more than he enjoyed laboratories or enclosed spaces, but at the very least, this trip would only involve two out of the three. While their people were climbing down, including a contingent of GUARDIAN troops that had come aboard the Shera, he walked over to the edge and took in the sight below. The path towards Corel, as well as the path leading over the mountain pass seemed to to go on clear to the horizon in opposite directions.

After a moment, he noticed Vincent standing next to him. "Vincent! Do you enjoy startling me?"

Vincent ignored the question. "Snipers would find their best positions there, there, and there," he said, indicating a couple of points along the side of the mountain as well as a thicket of bushes near the railway leading towards town.

Zack decided to roll with it. "Yeah, I guess you're right. We need to make sure we get to those locations first." He looked behind him at the troopers before he noticed that Freya seemed to be distracted. "Something the matter?" he asked.

The lady Turk shook her head. "It's nothing, I guess I spaced out for a second."

That was when Zack remembered. "Wait a minute… this was the reactor you had to escape with Shears, wasn't it?"

She straightened slightly. "It's okay, I'm good," she turned her attention to the path after a moment. "Is someone coming?"

By that point, they had been joined by Barret, Yuffie, and Cissnei. Cloud and Tifa were still on their way down and Cid was helping Nanaki. Zack squinted in the direction the Turk had indicated. After a moment he walked over to the supply drop that had been lowered for their troops and retrieved a sniper rifle with a scope mounted on it and then knelt on the ground next to the railing around the overlook so he could use it to balance the rifle one-handed. He soon found the place where the path turned away and his concern grew. He heard someone drop to the ground behind him. "Cid, that you?"

"Of course it is," Cid replied.

"Tell your acting captain and the Gainsborough's to get the airships out of sight. They've probably already seen them. We don't want to make them a target."

"You got it," Cid walked a short ways away, already issuing the order as Cloud and Tifa dropped the last couple of feet to the ground.

"What is it?" Cloud asked as the two of them approached.

"There's definitely some kind of military force headed this way," Zack said. "They seem to be pretty well armed. Can't seem to spot the leader though…" Damn it all, his arm picked that moment to spasm on him. He stood up impatiently, before turning to Vincent and offering him the rifle. "Do you think you could take a look? As much as I hate to admit it, my aim isn't as steady."

Vincent nodded, took the rifle. Peering down the scope at his targets, he looked completely relaxed as he adjust his aim. "Orders?" he asked after a moment.

Zack considered. "We need snipers at those positions, and here and then we'll try to take out the people who get too far from the group. In the meantime, I want the troops setting up a barricade on the tracks. Once our snipers are in position, fire at will. In the meantime…" he looked around at the surrounding group. "I need Yuffie, Freya, Tifa, and Cloud with me. We'll get the materia." He turned to Kunsel. "I need you, Cissnei, Cid, and Nanaki supervising here. Medical assistance for the wounded will be here, Aerith, you're in charge."

Kunsel nodded. "You got it."

Aerith looked troubled, but she knew exactly why he was asking this of her. She was their best healer. If the fighting got bad out here, everyone outside would need her far more than they would while exploring an empty reactor. For that, they needed people who were quick and maneuverable, or who knew their way sufficiently to get them in and out as quickly as possible.

"And Vincent, you're on sniper duty here, at least until they get in close. Then you are to assist with engaging them," Zack finished.

"Understood," the gunman replied.

"All right then," Zack said. "Let's do this!" One thing was for sure, he didn't feel nearly as excited about the mission as he was trying to sound.

* * *

><p><em>A busy chapter and a busy week. I'm afraid next week I'm going to have to call another break week due to needing more of a backlog again. It feels like it gets shorter every time I turn around. The next chapter will be made available on Midnight, Thursday the 28th (Thanksgiving Day for the Americans in the audience), Friday, the 29th.<em>

_See you next time!_


	82. Caught by Surprise

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spin-offs That honor goes to Square-Enix.

Matt and Alistor are original characters.

**Part IV: ****Stigma**

* * *

><p>Chapter 82, Caught by Surprise<p>

**April 13****th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0009 1:15 PM Corel Mountain Time**

Kunsel moved their regular troops into position across the railroad tracks leading to the reactor while Cid stood on the overlook above him, watching the contingent of troops, or what he could see of them from this distance. Vincent waited at a vantage point under the overlook, observing their movements patiently even as he directed the other snipers in their unit to their locations. The regular troops were in the process of setting up defense barricades out of sandbags when he heard Cid comment "Looks like we got us a few Deepground rebels in that battalion out there."

"So it seems," Vincent agreed.

Kunsel turned his attention down the hill, narrowing his eyes against the sunlight and he could definitely see from this distance that there were a few wearing the all too familiar mako-suits among the enemy's number. There was something odd about their behavior though. He stood, going a little closer, to stand next to Vincent. "That's not a standard attack formation," he said at last.

"It's not?" Nanaki padded up after him, following his gaze down the rails.

"No," Kunsel murmured. "If anything, it looks like they're waiting for something…"

"I don't like it," Cid said after a moment. "I'd feel a lot better to just charge'em and get rid of 'em."

"But what if that's what they want?" Cissnei replied, having just joined them from the position near the rear of the overlook where they had set Aerith up with the emergency response crew.

"The question is, what are they waiting for?" Vincent murmured.

The mood was tense as they oversaw the construction of the remaining barricades.

* * *

><p>Zack stepped into the darkness of the passageway leading deeper into the reactor, noting the rails continuing below his feet as Yuffie looked around ahead of him, a flashlight in her hand, with Freya right next to her. The lady Turk paused as she took in the cramped hallway leading towards the antechamber where he expected the elevator was. "Have to say," she commented "I never expected to be back here again, though it looks a lot less busy than I remember."<p>

Zack drew level with her as Cloud and Tifa walked in from the sunlit tracks and he spotted a train sitting apparently unattended in the antechamber ahead of them. "Really?" he said.

Freya nodded and he saw the muted glow from her eyes dim slightly as they narrowed. "I ended up fighting my way to the door last time. The hallways weren't that busy on the way in, but on the way out? Completely different story. There were Ravens everywhere. It was like there was no end to them, and the reactor had just been blown too, so the supports were crumbling around us as we ran."

"You and Shears, you mean, right?" Tifa asked.

Freya nodded. "He threw me across a precipice about twenty yards behind us to get me the last of the way out. It wasn't the first time he cheated death." She stepped forward into the chamber with the elevator. "If we take this, we should get down to the level with the observation platform. Hopefully from there, we'll find what we're looking for."

"And that's where I come in!" Yuffie exclaimed. "I'll have that Materia in the blink of an eye!"

"As expected of the White Rose of Wutai," Freya said with a chuckle.

"Of course! I'm an expert Materia hunter after all!" Once the five of them walked into the elevator and Freya started working the controls, Yuffie leaned against the wall of the elevator car, basking in her own self-confidence. As the elevator began to descend, Zack did his best to shake the disquiet he felt. It was probably just the enclosed space, and he could deal with that, but didn't something about this feel a little too easy?

After a moment it hit him. "Hey, did anyone notice anything odd on the way in?"

"Like what?" Tifa asked.

"Well, outside of Midgar where there were regular technicians and cameras, it could sometimes be pretty tricky to get inside if you needed to investigate one of these things back in the day. When we entered, wasn't there something missing?" Zack gave everyone a significant look.

It was Cloud who answered first. "The door wasn't locked," he observed.

Zack reached for his PHS and hit one of the first numbers on speed dial. It wasn't long before he heard Kunsel on the other end of the line. _"Yeah Zack?"_

"You may have already thought of this, but you might want to post a couple of guards by the door," Zack said.

"_It's okay, we've got you covered. I'm just wondering what's up with that platoon out there. They're not… …ing any…"_

"What was that? Sorry, I didn't catch it?" Zack said.

"_Don't wo… …just… …that materia."_

That was good enough for Zack. "Okay, see you outside." He hung up. Dead zones sure were a pain. He saw the elevator doors open in front of him, and soon they were navigating another series of corridors. It wound around for quite some time before opening out onto a large platform suspended over the mako reservoir below. The level of the acrid and heavily processed substance had drained significantly once the reactor was no longer pulling Lifestream out of the ground judging by the level at which it bubbled away below them. He walked to the edge of the platform, taking in the cavern and pipes strung along the interior of the reactor like veins of some gigantic organism. "So let's see where this huge materia is," he said. Everyone fanned out along the platform, scanning the walls for any sign of the thing.

A moment or two later, he heard Freya speak again. "That catwalk down there…" she murmured. He and Cloud both glanced where she was pointing. It was almost directly below the platform on which they stood.

"What about it?" Cloud asked.

"It probably isn't exactly the same, since they rebuilt this place, but that was where Shears and I fell from here."

Zack grimaced when he saw how narrow the lower platform was. "Just a little to the left or the right and you'd have been a goner."

"I know," Freya commented. "And there were Chimeras down there too. If Shears hadn't taken the brunt of it, I still might have done worse than mako exposure and a few bruises. As it was, it put me in a coma for three years."

"Shears sure was a tough guy, wasn't he?" Yuffie commented from where she was scaling a girder that extended up into the ceiling.

Freya nodded, continuing to search as she talked. "He didn't get out of that unscathed either. He definitely broke a couple of bones. But he was just as determined as I was to get out so he could save Elfe. That was probably when we first really started respecting each other."

"But even at the end of that, he still sacrificed himself to save you and the support materia," Cloud pointed out.

"Because that was the best he could do to make sure his goal would be achieved," Freya commented. "And really, he didn't give up. After he threw me out and the reactor collapsed the rest of the way, there's not a doubt in my mind that he never once stopped climbing. Even after he'd done what was required, he was still going to keep trying until he couldn't try anymore. After all, if you don't have to die, why should you? If you have to go, it should be for something worthwhile, right? Otherwise, you may as well have died for nothing."

"I think I can get behind that," Zack agreed.

Their conversation was interrupted when they heard Tifa call from the other side of the cavern. "I think I've found something!"

Everyone gathered around her as she pointed out a deposit of yellow crystals along the wall's surface, just out of arm's reach of the platform. "Do you think this might be it?" she asked.

Zack looked up at it. "It might be," he turned to Yuffie. "You want to climb over there and take a look?"

"Of course!" Yuffie replied she walked to the edge of the platform and looked down before pulling out a rope and securing it to the railing. Once that was done, she rigged a make-shift harness and started making her way across a nearby girder. They waited as she carefully pulled herself along before hopping to a a spot just below the crystal formation and began examining it. "Huh," she said after a moment. "This is weird…"

"What?" Zack asked.

Yuffie frowned. "It almost looks like… there was something here and someone knocked it loose…"

At that moment, they heard a very loud noise echoing from far above them and Zack had a bad feeling. "Hey, did that sound like a train to anyone?" Yuffie called across the gap.

Zack looked over at the ninja and then at Cloud and the other two women. "We need to go."

Yuffie shimmied back over to the platform like it was nothing and then they all started running back towards the elevator.

* * *

><p>As though a signal had been given, several of the Deepground SOLDIERs in the opposing force advanced, firing rifles at the GUARDIAN barricades. Kunsel lifted his gunblade, shouting that fire be returned. Vincent fired the sniper rifle a few feet away when suddenly they all heard a rumbling sound behind them. Kunsel glanced over his shoulder and suddenly saw something that made his eyes widen. "Get off the tracks!" he shouted.<p>

As bullets from the opposing force hailed around them, everyone cleared off the rails just in time before a freight train quite literally rammed the sand bags many of their troops had been sheltering behind to pieces. As it flew by them and towards the enemy force, Kunsel caught sight of the man at the controls, and saw something glinting yellow in the afternoon sun. He signaled to Cid above him that he was about to jump aboard and reached up, grabbing onto the side of the last freight car. Barret seemed to have had the same idea, since he had grabbed onto the other side. The wind was nearly blinding as the two of them raced towards the enemies. Kunsel climbed up on top of the freight car with Barret right behind him. Once they'd gained purchase on top of it, they both crouched down low on top of the car, well aware that behind them the reactor was getting farther away and that they were flying ever closer to the enemy soldiers ahead of them.

"Did you see it?!" he yelled to the gunman over the sound of the wheels.

"See what?! Barret yelled. "If we don't stop this train, it's gonna crash straight inta North Corel!"

Kunsel cursed when he saw that they were almost to the contingent of enemies. "I don't think that's our problem until after this thing goes through all those soldiers! But the driver's got the Huge Materia!" As if on cue, a series of grappling hooks suddenly flew over the sides of the freight cars ahead of them. Barret reciprocated by getting up on his knees and turning to let loose a barrage of bullets at the men that were trying to climb aboard the train to their left. Kunsel looked to the right, taking his gunblade and knocking one man back off the side of their car with a single blow before opening fire on two more that were trying to pull themselves in. he heard the report of a bullet making contact with bone nearby and saw a man in an old Shinra uniform drop just as he'd managed to climb over the rear of their car. Probably Vincent's doing, he guessed. But that didn't matter. A couple of men in Deepground SOLDIER garb were coming in their direction from the next car.

"We need to get to the engine!" he shouted over the clickety clack of the rails below them. Barret nodded, and once he had dispatched the last trooper that had tried to climb over the side, the two of them hurried to the front of their freight car. Barret opened fire on the man on the left, while Kunsel leapt the gap, landing on top of the next car and parrying a blow from the other SOLDIER before cutting him down with a quick swish of his blade. Barret caught up to him raising his normal hand to cast a Bolt spell at another trooper that was trying to get the drop on them from where he'd been hiding behind the wall of the next freight car. Kunsel knelt, firing his gunblade at another enemy that was trying to get at them from where he'd been hiding on the side of the car on which they stood before looking ahead of them. Two cars left.

As he made this observation, Barret ran ahead of him, leaping onto the next car in a crouch channeling a limit against another Deepgrounder. A powerful explosion went off directly in their enemy's face before he went flying off the train. Taking advantage of the distraction, Barret moved into a powerful roundhouse punch against a Deepground Elite with his normal left hand. Kunsel raced ahead of him and leapt onto the final car. He could see the man in the trooper uniform in the cab of the train behind three more men who had set up a guard formation in front of him.

He cleaved his opponent to his left in to before parrying the attack of the man in the middle, driving him towards the front of the car. It wasn't long before the man's strength gave way under the sheer power of his sword and his knees buckled, sending him over the side of the car, probably to his death.

"Hey…!" Barret called up to him, but he had already spun to block the other trooper, catching his enemy before the man could come at him with a knife. The blade was knocked free and the man crumbled to the roof of the car.

"Move and you're dead!" Barret yelled at their enemy as Kunsel hopped down to the cab of the engine, aiming his gun at the trooper who had been controlling the train.

"Same goes for you!" he told him over the tumultuous noise of the train continuing to fly down the tracks. The mountains were starting to become foothills as they drew nearer to the bridges that he knew would take them straight into the town.

The trooper simply grinned and went for his machine gun. Barret gave him no time to answer, but opened fire. He was barely on the floor of the cab before Kunsel had hopped inside and started looking over the controls. This didn't look good. He had suspicions on where the brakes might be but there wouldn't be a lot of time to experiment.

"What the hell ya standin' there for?" Barret yelled, pushing his way in.

"Hang on!" Kunsel exclaimed, as Barret reached for one of the levers, "We don't know what that does!"

Too late, Barret pulled it down and almost immediately the train began to pick up speed. This definitely didn't look good. Not that there was any time to freak out right now. Kunsel tried to pull the other lever, and felt his panic mount when he realized the train was continuing to go faster. Up ahead through the the front window of the cab, off in the distance, he could see the ruins of North Corel starting to become visible on the horizon. Well, if both the levers wouldn't work… Wait a minute…

"Barret, at the same time, we're going to pull the levers both in the same direction! Now!" With as much strength as they could muster, the two of them each pulled as hard as they could on the two levers. At first, it felt like they might be speeding up, but they could both feel the resistance as the brakes screeched so loud it made both their ears ring. That had to count for something. Little by little, they felt the wind begin to die around them as the train began to go slower… and slower… until it pulled to a stop, barely an inch from a truck that would have been thrown askew if the train had been going full speed.

It was only when he felt the hot dry breeze wafting over his face that Kunsel realized he'd been holding his breath. He opened his eyes and glanced around as he released the brake. Looking next to him at Barret he grinned. "Nice job…" he said, hoping he didn't sound too breathless.

Barret let out a loud laugh and offered his normal hand. The two shook hands on a job well done, and then Kunsel looked over the dead trooper who had been driving the train, at last pulling a large yellow crystal from his pocket. "We got it," he said.

Barret nodded and then after a moment, he lumbered past Kunsel to jump down to solid ground before letting out a triumphant shout, thrusting his fists into the air as he did so. "Whoo! Did we just kick some #$%!"

As Kunsel was in the process of following him down to the ground, he noticed several of the townspeople approaching through the rubble, having apparently noticed the noise. As the two of them stepped away from the train, someone asked "Were you the ones that stopped that train? If it hadn't been for you, that thing would have destroyed our lives again. It might be full of junk, but this is the only home we got, Barret!"

Barret seemed taken aback by the fact that someone from his own hometown was talking to him like he wasn't the scum of the Planet. "Of… of course! We're all born and raised in the coal mines! No matter how tough it gets, our hearts burn bright red like coal!"

Kunsel looked up as the rest of the town was assembling to see the Shera and the Gainsborough flying closer overhead. As they cheered, he heard his PHS buzz and answered it. "It's okay Zack, we got it."

Zack let out a sigh of relief. _"Thank goodness, it would have been really embarrassing to let Scarlet get away with this."_

"Sure would have," Kunsel agreed. "I don't think I could stand to show my face in public."

He was about to walk over to a clear space to guide the airships in when he noticed a young boy walk over to Barret and hand him something that looked a lot like a green materia. Barret nodded in thanks and reverently placed it in his gunarm as the crowds began to cheer. For him. _"Something up?" _Zack asked.

"Not really," Kunsel said. "I'll tell you about it when you get down here."

* * *

><p><strong>April 14<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0009 9:00 AM Mideel Central Time**

Denzel was helping Marlene prepare tables when he spotted Alistor outside with Matt in front of him. Matt came inside followed by the ex-SOLDIER and Denzel noticed that his expression looked very grave. It wasn't until they were inside that he saw the girl from yesterday was standing next to him clutching a moogle doll in her arms, tears streaking her face.

"What's wrong?" Marlene asked.

Matt looked helpless, as he gestured half-heartedly towards the girl. "Sasha's brother died last night." Denzel saw his friend's lip tremble. "Just like Bri…"

Almost immediately, Denzel noted that Jessie had pulled out a mug and looked like she was preparing a hot drink at the counter while Marlene walked over to the girl and without so much as a question, pulled her into a hug. The girl seemed taken aback by the gesture, but then accepted it, bursting into tears again. Alistor knelt down next to them while everyone tried to provide what comfort they could until at last the sobbing subsided and Sasha was ushered into the living area that had been built onto the side of the bar opposite the garage. There wasn't a lot of talking until Jessie came in with a mug of hot cocoa and sat down next to her. But that was when the girl spoke again.

"Where are those men that said they had a cure?" she asked.

"I don't know," Jessie replied. "But we don't even know if its true. We still have a long way to go before we have one ourselves I'm afraid."

"We should find them," Matt said standing up. "They might be able to help!"

"What if they can?" Denzel said. "Shouldn't we go look for them?"

Alistor looked even more troubled as he shook his head. "It's too dangerous right now," he said. "You remember what Cloud told us."

"Not if we stay around town!" Matt argued. "There's guards! And the wharf isn't too far away!"

"I… want to look…" Sasha said after a moment, wiping the last few tears from her face. "I don't want to die… and I don't want anyone else to either…"

Alistor considered for a moment and Denzel held his breath as he and the other children pleaded with their eyes. Finally his expression softened and his shoulders drooped in resignation "We'll look, but only where there are guards, and I'll be coming with you. Okay? If I let anything happen to you kids, I doubt Barret and Tifa would ever forgive me. The others wouldn't either for that matter."

"Remember, if any of you starts feeling sick again, come straight back," Jessie said, "I don't want any of you getting worse over this okay?"

Denzel nodded. "We will." That decided, he stood up and walked to the door. Behind him, he saw Marlene holding hands with Sasha as they followed after him with Matt. Alistor was a short distance behind, a quiet and very tired looking guardian. The air was chilly as he stepped outside and waited for the others to catch up before walking towards the docks. He could taste the crisp salt tang in the air as the villagers went about their business around him. Widblain was as close to a haven as he could think of. When Cloud and Tifa had first brought him back after the battle of Midgar, he had asked if Cloud would show him around once things quieted down. This he had done, keeping mostly silent as the two of them had walked the dusty roads. Occasionally, he had pointed out various establishments, but for the most part, the man who had saved him from falling to his death had been very brusque and short in his descriptions of the place.

"_The fishing boats come in here," he'd told him when they'd walked to the docks. And that had been all._

That was fine in Denzel's opinion. When Cloud was around, he felt safe, even if his hero didn't have much to say. Nearby, he heard Matt and Marlene talking to one of the sailors about the appearance of the man who had been spreading the rumors about a cure, but something else caught his eye too. Near the docks, he could have sworn he'd caught sight of a man in a dark suit. His head was bald, and he also wore a pair of sunglasses. He looked vaguely familiar, though Denzel couldn't quite place why…

* * *

><p><strong>April 13<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0009 10:00 PM Corel Mountain Time**

The bonfire had been burning near the base of the Gold Saucer for some time as people celebrated. Not that Cloud could blame them. Since Scarlet had burned the town to ashes the first time, they had had precious little to celebrate. GUARDIAN had mostly been occupied tracking down the remaining stragglers from the platoon that had been sent to retrieve the materia, and it had taken a good bit of the day to be sure they no longer inhabited the area. Now, he stood on the outer deck of the Gainsborough, watching the goings on below as Barret retold the story of his and Kunsel's successful retrieval of the runaway train, occasionally bringing a large heavy hand down on the swordsman's shoulder whenever he wanted him to help describe something. They couldn't stay too much longer. Reeve had asked that they go to Junon until it could be decided what the next move was.

Cloud wanted to leave too. His arm was starting to ache again and he suspected Zack and Aerith had already retired to their cabin to take care of his shoulder. The pain could be staved off for a while, but it came back eventually.

He let out a sigh. He was really tired of everyone getting on his case. Not that he planned on leaving because of it. He would help if asked. But he still couldn't figure out what use he'd be in this state. He spotted Cissnei on the other end of the deck. She had just hung up her PHS, apparently having just finished speaking with someone. Upon seeing his eyes on her she walked over with a wry smile.

"Mao wanted to make sure we were okay. Apparently he just heard about what happened in Mideel," she said with a sheepish smile, "Peace of mind can be a wonderful thing when you don't have a lot of it."

Cloud shrugged and didn't say anything. The katana-wielding Turk had been working with Veld to assist Reeve since the battle of Midgar. He supposed he could understand the man's concern. "Maybe," he said.

Down below, he could see that Kunsel was headed in their direction, Barret behind him. They were almost to the main hatch when he heard the door open behind him and saw Zack, holding his PHS in his hand. "Guys? We've got to move again."

"What's wrong?" Cissnei asked.

"I just got a call from Reeve," Zack said. "Apparently the yellow huge materia wasn't the only target. There was a red one the WRO had stored on a sub that was docked in Costa Del Sol, and someone's trying to hijack it."

"We're the closest to it, aren't we," Cissnei observed.

Zack nodded. "Legend and Kemp are there already, but apparently the Deepground SOLDIERs that are part of the group are making things difficult. We need to get a move on."

* * *

><p><em>I am not kind to the kids in this story. I feel kind of bad about that.<em>

_On another note, as you've seen, I've given the Moogle Girl a name. After all, I can't exactly call her Moogle girl without it sounding weird now can I? I hope that's okay._

_See ya next week!_


	83. Storm and Stress

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spin-offs That honor goes to Square-Enix.

Matt and Alistor are original characters.

**Part IV: ****Stigma**

* * *

><p>Chapter 83, Storm and Stress<p>

**April 14****th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0009 11:00 AM Mideel Central Time**

Marlene walked next to Alistor as the three older kids hurried along a road lining the channel that led between the docks and the ocean proper. They were headed back from the part of the village where a lot of the fishermen lived, having gone to ask about the men who claimed there was a cure. Over the last couple of hours, they had asked a number of people, but most of them had only heard that they had been seen on one of the farther out docks, speaking to a number of other people.

She looked up at the man who had taken it upon himself to look after them. He had been keeping up with the others for now, but she could tell he'd started moving gingerly. The effects of Aerith's water must have started to wear off. "Are you okay?" she asked after a moment.

"I'm fine," the ex-SOLDIER replied. "But once we've seen what's going on, we're going to go back."

Marlene nodded. "Okay," she said. She walked ahead to catch up with the other kids. They were getting close to the docks now, and though most of the people around were going about their business, she didn't see anything particularly out of the ordinary. There was a familiar lady off in the distance with short blond hair, but she couldn't quite place where she'd seen her before.

She reached Denzel, Matt, and Sasha right as they reached the last ship and there, they could see a kid about their age talking to a few others. "And they say if we go with them, they'll be able to give us a cure. It's more than that doctor's been able to do."

"Really?" one of the other children asked.

"Of course!" the speaker said. "And when we come back, we'll all be good as new!"

"Because that doesn't sound suspicious at all…," She heard Alistor mutter behind him. She noticed he was leaning against a nearby retaining wall for support.

"But what if it's true?" Sasha asked. "What if they can fix us?" she looked at the two boys. "Let's get a closer look." With Denzel and Matt bringing up the rear, they tried to push to the front of the crowd to better see the speaker on the aft deck of the ship as several children began to climb onto the boat. That was when Marlene heard a thump behind her and turned to see that their chaperone had suddenly fallen to his knees. Alistor was gripping his side with one hand, as he supported himself with the other, his face pinched in agony and she could see his wrapped injury starting to bleed black through his shirt. She turned to try and find her friends in the crowd. "Denzel! Matt! Where are you?"

"Well… this is… pretty pathetic of me…" the ex-SOLDIER murmured in between gasping for air. "Tell them… to come back now… we need to go…" Marlene nodded. She was no stranger to moments like this, and so she calmly hurried after Denzel, Matt, and Sasha.

It was difficult to move through the crowd but eventually she made it to the forefront to find them talking to a slightly older kid. She walked up to Denzel and tugged on his shirt. "We need to go back!" she said.

Denzel looked back. "Do we have to?" he asked.

"Al's in trouble!" Marlene said.

At that information, Matt stiffened and then turned to go back towards the swordsman through the crowds. It took a little more pulling on Marlene's part before she could convince the other two to come after her, but soon, they had returned through the crowds to the place where the ex-SOLDIER was. When they returned, they found him leaning back out of the way, against the retaining wall. "Al?" Matt walked up to him and tried to tap him on the shoulder. He was breathing, but his eyes were closed. "Al!?" Matt tried to get his attention again, this time clearly getting worried.

For a moment the other three children watched them, with no idea how to respond to the situation but then Denzel spoke up. "What do we do?" he asked.

"Al!" Matt cried again. "Al, wake up!"

"We need to get help," Marlene decided.

Sasha turned and started towards the boat. "I'm going to go talk to those people. They might be able to do something."

"I don't think that's a good idea," Marlene said. "Al said..."

"We're wasting time!" Matt exclaimed, getting close to hysterics by this point. "Go get Jessie and Doctor Rayleigh!"

Marlene nodded gravely. "Okay." With that, she turned around and ran down the docks as fast as she could, her mind in turmoil. _"Please don't take anyone else away…" _She threaded through several groups of people like a fish through the narrow cracks in a coral reef until she was almost out of the harbor. But that was when it happened.

She tried to steer around a man in a black cloak when suddenly, he reached out and grabbed her by her arm. She jerked to a stop and looked up at him angrily. "Let me go! Al needs help!" she demanded.

"Oh," the man said with a grin, and Marlene noticed several strands of long white hair drooping out from under his hood. "Aren't you one of the kids who live with big brother?"

* * *

><p>It had been a while after the battle of Midgar when travel to the areas GUARDIAN controlled had become a lot easier. Rude had seen Widblain a few times since then. Once he had even gone in to pay a visit to Seventh Heaven. Cloud had been out at the time, but the first few minutes had been rather awkward, even though they had on multiple occasions shared the same side of a battlefield.<p>

He and Elena had been sent here because Rufus had a hunch that the remnants might be here. Most of the morning was spent watching the bar after they had discovered the rumor that the three of them had appeared the previous evening. He had also sent Elena to investigate the rumor of the people who claimed to have a cure, just in case it had anything to do with it, since it had been notable. Shortly after she had left, he watched a SOLDIER sporting several bandages leave the bar with the four children and had decided following them might be the best choice. Now that the long haired remnant; named Yazoo, based on his understanding; had revealed himself, he knew he had hit pay dirt.

He was walking up behind the man, preparing to put him in a disarming hold before he did anything to the girl, when he suddenly found the barrel of a gun pointed at his face. "Don't even," the remnant wasn't even looking at him, and the little girl had gone silent, watching their exchange in fear. "If you make another move," Yazoo continued, "This little one is going to have an unfortunate encounter with a bullet."

Rude looked down at the girl as Yazoo dragged her back towards the docks. As soon as he was out of sight, his PHS rang and he answered it, walking in the direction Yazoo had gone. _"Rude! I've found the one who called himself Loz. He got called over to where this guy collapsed on the docks. He's taking him back to the boat along with three kids. One of them is definitely that boy who lives with Cloud Strife and Tifa Lockheart. I'm following them now."_

"Understood. I'm currently pursuing Yazoo. He has Barret Wallace's daughter. We will be at your position soon." He hung up and continued to catch up to the remnant as he made for the docks. He could not allow himself to be seen again until a good moment presented itself, unless he wanted to cause Marlene Wallace's death, which in turn would mean not just facing Barret's wrath, but also the entirety of GUARDIAN's. Not a pleasant prospect regardless of whether that was his job or not.

He had just stepped onto the docks when he spotted Elena standing in an alley and observing her surroundings, her gun in her hand. The ship was a short ways down and the crowds at the far end had dispersed once the enthusiastic young man who had been speaking to them on the remnants' behalf had disappeared, but he was beginning to see evidence as soon as Yazoo stepped aboard that they were preparing to cast off. Rude reached the spot where Elena was hiding. "We should get aboard," he said after a moment, "We need to know where they are going."

Elena nodded and the two of them wordlessly hurried through the fishermen on the docks to get to a pile of lumber that was adequate to keep them from being spotted before jogging the last few yards to climb up onto the port side of the ship. Once they had climbed high enough to reach the deck, they glanced around, taking in the sailors working on board. There was one thing that was obvious right away. All of them seemed to be young. Maybe in their teens at most. It was curious, but he filed it away for reference for now. Once he was sure no one could see them, they climbed the rest of the way aboard and once the two wordlessly divided their investigation with Elena heading to the bridge, Rude made his way towards door to the cargo hold. The engines were already coming to life below them. The ship was leaving port.

As he pulled the door open and felt his eyes adjusting, he could already hear the sound of rustling and nervous whispers inside. It wasn't long after when he looked down below the catwalks and saw a large number of younger children huddled together below. They also all seemed to have the stigma. The only exception to this was the SOLDIER they'd seen with the children from Seventh Heaven. He lay, still unconscious on the other side of the hold. The young girl with the moogle doll and the two boys were sitting next to him, all looking concerned, but Marlene Wallace was nowhere in sight. Nor were the two remnants. After creeping around the catwalks for a minute or so, he was making his way back towards the door when his PHS buzzed and he saw that Elena had just sent him a message. "_Found one of them talking to captain. Heading towards port at Bone Village, said something about an Ancient City. No sign of kids yet."_

Rude nodded to himself at the new information. The Shinra company had been to the Ancient City on occasion, mostly expeditions flown in by air, but few went there otherwise and no such expeditions had been sent for a very long time. As such, it would be secluded. A perfect place to hide a lot of potential hostages, or people in general for whatever use the remnants had in mind. But if the Turks took them out before they got there, that might be all the better. It would require a careful survey of their resources though. He typed out an answer on his PHS and sent it. _"Storage closet below stairs to bridge."_

That done, he went back towards the door, being careful not to make too much noise. Once he was out on the deck again, he crept back along the port side of the ship. He was almost to the stairs when suddenly, up ahead of him, he heard a banging sound and he quickened his pace. Reaching the stairs, he spotted Elena sprinting down the stairs, gripping her arm. Blood was dripping out from under her hand. He backed up slightly, looking around him to see what he had on hand, when Elena had just reached him. At that moment, Loz landed on the deck right behind her, punching her from behind.

"You won't be going any further I'm afraid," Yazoo was now aiming his gun at them from the platform leading to the bridge.

"Rude…" Elena gritted out. "Run…"

As he moved to grab her he suddenly saw a grenade in one of her hands and that the pin was pulled. Realizing what she was doing, he grabbed it and pulled it to the side of the boat tossing it overboard. It exploded just seconds after leaving his hand, but by that point, he was too far away from the younger Turk. Pulling himself up from where he had ducked behind the wall of the ship to avoid the blast, he sprinted along the side of the ship, bullets flying around him. One clipped him as he was halfway to the back. With no further recourse, he grabbed a life preserver that hung on a nearby wall and dived over the side into the waves below.

By the time he pulled himself to the surface, the boat was out of sight. He treaded water for a few moments before he finally found the preserver and held onto it for a bit to get his bearings from the sun overhead. At the speed that boat had been going, he had a long way to swim back to shore, and Elena's life depended on him.

* * *

><p><strong>April 14<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0009 2:00 AM West Continent Eastern Time**

There was a strong breeze blowing through the evening air when the Highwind and the Gainsborough threw down their mooring lines on the beach. Yuffie, Vincent and Cissnei slid down the lines along with a couple of the rest of the crew to secure them as the ladders dropped, allowing access. Cloud was on the ground shortly after Zack and his friend was already directing their own troops to secure the area. "I want our SOLDIERs leading teams to secure the town as soon as possible! Kunsel, I want you and Cloud headed towards the docks to intercept the subs with team Wolf. We'll be right behind you!"

It was surprising just how easy it was to slide back into following orders again, Cloud reflected as he followed the other ex-SOLDIER up the steps and towards the bridge leading to the port. Around him, he could hear the sounds of clanging swords and gunfire as the insurgents were met and dealt with. It was clear GUARDIAN's forces were matching them quite handily, but that would only remain true so long as they could head off the departure of the submarine with the huge materia in time. There really wasn't much to look at around town in the dark aside from the evidence of their own conflicts. Under the starlight, they hurried past the inn and up the steps to the bridge before sprinting across and out onto the dock.

The water out beyond the port glittered under the sky of early morning and the spotlights centered on what was definitely a team of men in altered Shinra uniforms making preparations for moving a submarine, painted in a deep shade of red. Tifa came up behind him just as he spotted another pair of men attempting to fight their way towards the sub, both in street clothes. He hadn't recognized them at first, but as he got close enough he could see that one of them was also a martial artist and was attempting to spar his way around one of the SOLDIERs, while the other was tossing a series of bombs at several troopers. It was Kemp and Legend. Kunsel jumped into the fray, cutting Kemp's opponent down just as Cloud cast a powerful Fire spell on Legend's opponents. While several of them were killed instantly, a couple fled to dive into the water around the docks.

The two renegade Turks both offered them a wave in thanks and hurried off in another direction to take on another contingent of normal troopers. Kunsel was already sprinting towards the first submarine when a pair of heavy Deepground soldiers appeared in front of him. His blade clanged against the notched sword the other man wielded and he pushed up with a yell before trading a series of blows as they danced across the dock. Cloud went after the regular troopers, though Tifa got there first and a shuriken flew by overhead which he recognized as Cissnei's.

That was when Kunsel and his opponent locked blades and Cloud suddenly heard him shout over the noise of battle. "The sub!" His heart caught in his throat as he saw the red ship sink below the waves. Through the hail of gunfire from several other troopers and Deepground soldiers, he could already see the last of the loading take place on the second submarine a short distance down the way. There was nothing else for it. Reaching for the Neo-Bahamut summon Argento had given him, he slammed it into an open slot on his sword and began to cast. Moments later, the red dragon soared into the air. A destructive beam from the dragon's mouth leveled enemies left and right in front of them as the remainder fled towards the ship, but he was already headed in that direction.

Tifa was ahead of him with Cissnei just behind and the crewmen on the deck reacted to their approach by scattering in a panic, diving overboard as though they were death itself. That was perfectly okay with Cloud. He didn't need any of this right now. Just as Tifa and Cissnei hopped through the main hatch down into the belly of the ship, he heard a cry from below and lifted the First Sword straight above him to avoid scraping it on the side of the entryway as he jumped in after them. As his boots connected with the floor, he looked ahead of him to see they were faced with three renegade troopers.

"You want the Sub? Just try an' take it!" One of them yelled.

Another trooper visibly cringed and backed up a couple of steps. "Um… sir! Maybe we shouldn't piss them off…"

Cissnei sauntered over to the trooper who had just spoken. "So you actually do have some brains. I'm surprised Scarlet and Heidegger managed to recruit anyone who had those."

Cloud took his cue from that and held his sword up threateningly. "Just surrender. Otherwise, you won't last long." On noticing the First Sword, all three of them promptly backed away towards the bridge.

"Now that's what I like to see," Cissnei said approvingly. She walked through the hatch behind the three troopers and after Cloud followed her in with Tifa right behind, they found themselves looking at an army captain and two more troopers.

The captain's eyes bugged out upon seeing them. "Oh Gaia! This is terrible!" The three troopers they hadn't killed backed up behind him, still cowering.

"We don't have much time left! I don't want to die!" One of the two troopers by the pilot's seat said.

"There's still so much more I've got to do! I never got to do my special victory dance in battle!"

"All right!" The captain shouted, "Then make this your first victory! Go on! Show'em!"

"Yes sir!"

"All right, remember your last training! Begin!"

That was when Cloud realized that the voices of these three sounded familiar. His suspicions were confirmed when the two troopers behind the captain shouted "Yes sir!" again and spun their guns around over their heads in a very familiar motion.

The captain turned to face them, clearly ready to charge. "I'm back and ready for action, ATT-AAACK!" He had to at least give them credit for… well… maybe bravery wasn't the right term. He glared in their direction as they prepared to charge, and hiding the urge to wince at the pain from his left arm, he placed the First Sword back in his sword harness and nonchalantly pulled out the two switchblades, spinning both of them around in his hands.

The message was clear. _You don't want any of this._

The captain visibly paled and then hurried to the side of the room. He could have sworn he heard a couple of the other troopers audibly whimper as he passed. There was no time left. Cissnei was already calibrating the sub's receiver at one of the com stations. "Could you take the wheel?" she asked.

Wordlessly he sat down in the pilot's chair, trying to fight down the unease of being in this cramped space. Perhaps it was for the best. He generally felt better driving. Upon seeing that he was situated, the younger Turk turned to Tifa as she donned a headset. "You'll need to close the main hatch and then come back here. We need someone to man the torpedoes."

Tifa nodded and hurried back towards the ladder. While they waited, Cissnei asked "Before we start, do you want me to walk you through piloting?"

"Seems like a good idea."

* * *

><p><strong>April 14<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0009 2:30 AM West Continent Eastern Time**

It had been about half an hour since Zack had received word that Cloud and the others had taken a sub to chase after the one with the huge materia, and now, he was pacing in the common room at the inn. It had been stupidly easy for them to subdue the rest of the troopers. Now, all they could do was wait.

Zack hated waiting.

He had circled the common area for what felt like the hundredth time when he saw Aerith coming down the stairs, looking a bit drained from the exertions of healing their wounded with limits and cure materia. "Any more news?" she asked when she spotted him.

"Not yet," he answered. "Freya got together with Kemp and they commandeered a local Cessna to check the area for any sign of what's going on under the water, but they haven't spotted anything from the air yet."

Aerith walked to a nearby chair and sat down, leaning on a nearby table and resting her chin in the palm of her hand. "At least we'll have several hours in the air to sleep on the way back to Junon," she reflected.

"I'll sleep a lot better once everyone's back above water and that materia's secure," Zack remarked.

"So will we all," Aerith agreed.

Zack was about to say something else when outside they heard a distant and yet very loud thud. The two of them hurried outside to the main thoroughfare and back towards the docks where they could definitely see the evidence of an explosion off in the distance. Several more minutes passed as they waited with baited breath until at last a grey sub came to the surface. At that moment, Zack's PHS buzzed and he answered it. _"Good news Zack, we were able to retrieve the materia with minimal issues. We'll be back in port soon," _Cissnei reported.

"That's great," Zack replied. "Come on back in. We still need to get back to Junon."

* * *

><p><strong>April 14<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0009 2:30 PM Mideel Central Time**

As the last of the lunch rush left through the door, Jessie found herself becoming more and more concerned. It had been more than five hours since Alistor had gone out with the kids and she had heard nothing. They hadn't even come back to eat, and for Denzel and Marlene this was especially unusual. She finished clearing away the dishes and dried her hands before pulling out her PHS and dialing the number for Alistor's. After about three rings, his voice mail kicked in and after the message she heard the familiar beep. "Hey Al, it's Jessie, I just wanted to make sure everything was all right, since you and the kids have been gone for a while. Call back soon, okay?"

Once she had left the message she hung up and took a moment to think the situation through before flipping the sign on the door to "Closed" and gathering her coat. The docks tended to be busier and more populous than the rest of the village, but she ought to be able to find them.

* * *

><p><em>See you next week!<em>


	84. The Blue Huge Materia is Stolen

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spin-offs That honor goes to Square-Enix.

Matt and Alistor are original characters.

**Part IV: ****Stigma**

* * *

><p>Chapter 84, The Blue Huge Materia is Stolen<p>

**April 14****th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0009 4:00 PM Midgar Standard Time**

A few miles outside of the settlement that had sprung up on the edge of Midgar's abandoned and contaminated hulk stood an impressive building surrounded by military equipment and guards. The home of the WRO had only just finished being built about a month or so ago. Shelke had only just managed to move into her own office within the last two weeks, having recently been given a crucial position as head of intelligence and network security. She nursed a soda from a can as she sat in front of a huge wall of monitors on the other side of her desk, watching data and statistics fly across the screen at a rate that few could follow, providing information even fewer would be able to understand. To her, it was effortless and right now, all seemed to be well.

She didn't mind the quiet, nor did she mind that Reeve was in Junon for the moment. In fact, she rather enjoyed the fact that everyone put so much faith in her capabilities. A small smile crept across her face as she remembered a comment Zack had made once. It was indeed 'kind of nice' to be counted on.

She noticed an error on one of the screens and set to work on fixing it, her fingers flying across the keyboard. It was soon rectified with no trouble at all. She was about to pick up her drink again when she noticed something else. Odd, one of the security cameras outside the compound wasn't functioning…

She quickly accessed the data for that particular camera and checked its specifics. There didn't seem to be anything wrong with the program itself, which would indicate that it might be physically damaged. She reached for the button on a dispatch panel to call one of the lower ranked security technicians. When the man picked up, she got straight to the point. "Camera A2-458 in quadrant Gamma is malfunctioning. Would you please go check it out?"

"_I'll get right on it," _the man said and Shelke let go of the button, ending the conversation. She was about to direct her attention to another part of the network when suddenly, one of their machine gun turrets went offline. This time, there was a security camera in the near vicinity that was functioning so she accessed the feed, and as it came up, all thought of the cameras simply needing maintenance was forgotten. The turret was in shambles, and as she looked at the destruction the analyst and tactician part of her mind immediately recognized that it had been no accident. This damage had been rendered with what looked like two katana blades parallel to each other.

Upon inspecting several other cameras in the area, she caught a glimpse of a young-looking man with short silver hair making his way towards the compound. It appeared to be that person Kadaj, from the report Reeve had sent her in regards to the assault on GUARDIAN headquarters. She reached for the dispatch console again and this time hit the button that would tie her in to all WRO channels related to the building. "We have a hostile intruder approaching the building from Sector Gamma. Units 23 and 45 prepare to intercept. Units 24 and 30, please provide backup, all non-combat personnel, please go to your designated secure locations…"

She was about to continue when someone else interrupted. _"This is Sergeant Royal from Unit 45. The intruder has already passed us and we're dealing with a whole bunch of strange monsters. They've already killed a few of us!"_

Someone else chimed in barely a moment later. "_What is this guy! Platoon leader Jenkins from Unit 24 speaking. Whatever our intruder is he's quicker than Vincent Valentine. On route to reattempt interception at the main gate, but there's a whole bunch of monsters in the way."_

Shelke turned her attention to the mechanized defenses, her fingers flying across the keys as she now watched the goings on from a camera in front of the main entrance. As she worked, two of the gun turrets whirred to life, and she attempted to aim them at the man that was attempting to break his way in. To her surprise, he not only managed to dodge out of the way of the first volley but then she saw something she rarely saw outside of when the SOLDIERs started sparring in the workout room. The second volley had been accurate, but the man had taken his sword, a double-bladed katana she noted, and cut the incendiary round completely in half on one of the blades as he ducked to avoid the blast. He slid forward on his back before combat-rolling to his feet just in time to cut down three of the soldiers she had sent to stop him, and then, in a SOLDIER-worthy feat of athletic skill, he leapt into the air to fly straight over the fence and run into the building. Before moving her attention to another camera, she finally got a glimpse of what the other soldiers were talking about. A pack of wolf-like creatures were engaging the WRO units in pursuit of the target. Whoever he was, this man was dangerous.

"Shelke? What's going on?" Shalua stood in the doorway, her robotic hand hanging out of her lab coat, and Shelke could see the gun in her other hand. Her sister had come prepared. She didn't answer as she continued to type feverishly, trying to bring in every single robot and defense turret she could put in the man's way, but the intruder was fighting them all off as though they were nothing. But it was clear exactly where he was going. It was a vault in the basement. It would probably take him several minutes to get there, but the best she could do at this point was guide his route to minimize casualties and buy time. Once she had confirmed the situation, Shelke placed the rest of the defense grid on automatic. There was little more she could do at the moment except confront the man directly before he reached what he was after, and that could only be the huge materia they kept in that particular vault.

She walked over to a cabinet in the corner to retrieve her two EM sabers. "There is an intruder after the huge materia, we must stop him." She said simply.

The older woman nodded. "All right, we'll go together." The two of them hurried to a nearby elevator and rode it down into the basement before hurrying along the hallway. Shelke was certain she had calculated everything correctly so that they could get there in time. She reached for a small mako canister she had secured inside the guard of one of her sabers. She had been avoiding utilizing more of the substance than she had to, but it would be required if she intended to make full use of her combat capabilities… Her thoughts were interrupted when they reached the corridor with the vault.

The door to the chamber had been destroyed. It hung in pieces from both the adjacent walls and the chamber itself stood empty. She walked to a podium in the center where there had once been a huge materia, and then walked to the dispatch console on the inside of the vault. "This is Shelke Rui. All units report on the intruder. If he attacks, defend yourselves, but do not attempt to stop him. But if you see him, report on his location and the direction he is headed immediately." After ending the communication, she leaned against the wall checking the remaining security cameras for any sign of where he might have gone, and that was when she noticed something in the corner of one of the feeds. Standing on one of the nearby cliffs, not even trying to hide that he was watching, stood Reno of the Turks. As she watched the watcher, the man turned his binoculars south, and then mounted a small motorbike to follow a dying trail of dust. It would seem that Rufus's interest in current events had not diminished since he had summoned Cloud Strife to his villa at Cliff Resort. She reached for her PHS as she walked back to her office to deploy some tracking drones. Reeve needed to know about what had happened.

* * *

><p><strong>April 14<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0009 3:00 PM Junon Western Time**

The two airships came in to land at the Junon airport with minimal difficulties and soon Cloud saw Reeve pulled up in a WRO truck, a Cait Sith unit on his shoulder. "I'm glad to see you all managed to retrieve the materia. Excellent work, as always," he said.

"Nothin' we couldn' handle," Barret said gruffly.

"That's for sure, next to Sephiroth, those guys were nothing!" Yuffie flashed a grin as she struck a dramatic pose in front of the loading bay.

Cloud hung back from everyone, content to stick close to Fenrir in the Gainsborough's cargo bay while the others spoke on the tarmac, but he could hear everyone perfectly well. Zack took that moment to ask the question on everyone's minds. "Has there been any news about Kadaj and those other two?"

"None yet, I'm afraid. After they attacked Widblain they disappeared pretty quickly," Reeve said, the disappointment evident in his voice. "On the bright side, we've gotten a few more leads on possible locations where Scarlet and Heidegger might be hiding out here in Junon, but it's entirely possible that we can tug on that thread a little more to draw these men out of hiding."

"Maybe," Kunsel mused, massaging his chin thoughtfully. "Though I'm really beginning to wonder."

At that moment, Reeve's PHS rang and he answered it. "Shelke?" He listened intently for about a minute as the former Tsviet spoke and then he looked at the others. "It seems I may have spoken too soon. Kadaj has managed to steal the Blue Materia."

"Seriously?! How did he get past all of your security?" Cid demanded.

Reeve looked troubled. "He apparently cut his way through it. Shelke will be sending me the data now, but after witnessing the initial assault, she realized that without someone of equal strength to defend the facility, the best she could do was slow him down. We can view it in the truck." Reeve gestured towards the trailer of the vehicle in which he had arrived and walked over to open the door, revealing a field office with several monitors. As everyone gathered around, the screens came to life, each revealing a different angle on the destruction, or a different feed on the results from Shelke's security network.

"Damn, he worked over those turrets like a $&#^%*$# can-opener!" Cid commented upon seeing the feeds.

"And it looks like he might be headed this way," Cissnei said.

"We can't be entirely sure which roads he'll take though," Freya pointed out. "Looks like there are about three different routes he could be taking to get here."

"And we'll need people to remain here in case something happens," Zack said. He walked over to a road map that hung on the inside of the trailer. "I think we can cover more ground if we spread out. Don't you think?"

Kunsel nodded in agreement as he walked over to join him. "Looks like the southern pass forks here, and here to connect to a couple of small towns in the mountains between here and Edge," he said, pointing to each divergence on the map as he noted them, "If Cloud scouts the westernmost path on Fenrir with Tifa, and then I go with Freya on the easternmost road; you could take Vincent or Cissnei…" He gave Aerith an apologetic look on seeing that her expression had become rather indignant. "Not that I don't think you can't handle it or anything, but Kadaj did specifically try to kill you. That makes me think it might be better not to make you an easier target."

"I know," Aerith said, "It doesn't make it any easier."

He still looked a little guilty as he went back to looking at the map. Zack continued thinking aloud. "No matter how we handle it, one of us is bound to run into him. And if we keep the Gainsborough on patrol above us, we should be able to get everyone else to where he is pretty quickly. It does sound like a plan." He turned his attention towards the entrance to the trailer, where Cloud stood watching. "What do you think?"

"If that's how it's going to be…" Cloud answered. He didn't relish the idea of encountering Kadaj again, but there was a two in three chance it wouldn't happen. He walked over to the loading bay of the Gainsborough and prepared to wheel Fenrir out onto the tarmac. Behind him he could hear the others continuing to make plans.

"In that case," Reeve said, "I would appreciate it if Cid, Barret, Yuffie, and Nanaki stayed here to assist in rooting out Scarlet and Heidegger once we've located their hiding place. That should happen fairly soon I expect."

"That will be fine," Zack agreed. "The sooner they're out of the picture, the easier this is going to be."

* * *

><p><strong>April 14<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0009 10:30 PM Mideel Central Time**

Jessie had been walking back and forth along the docks asking for information almost non-stop since this afternoon. There had been talk of the kids having been seen near an unfamiliar ship, but no one could recall its name, nor the owner or the persons running it. They'd been too distracted by the kid who had been hawking information on a cure for Geostigma. No one had seen where he had gone either. Eventually Doctor Rayleigh had come out to the docks upon noticing Jessie hadn't opened the bar as usual for the evening rush and the two of them were now walking back towards Seventh Heaven. "We're going to have to tell Tifa and the others what's happened," she said.

"I know," Jessie said, trying to keep herself from going into hysterics, "But the truth is, we don't even know where they've gone, or where that ship's gone! They could be in Wutai by now and we wouldn't know it!" She wrung her hands nervously. "I just hope they're all right…" They were nearing the bar when suddenly she spotted someone lying on the ground outside the door. It was a familiar looking bald man with a dark suit, though he had clearly been sopping wet up until a short while ago. His standard Turk uniform was practically ruined and he smelled heavily of sea salt.

"Rude…" Dr. Rayleigh breathed out before hurrying over and kneeling by him, checking his pulse, before looking up at Jessie. "Help me get him inside." The two women worked together to lift the man up and through the front door before pulling him into the living area before hurrying to get some towels. The man looked as though he had tried to swim several miles in the open ocean.

* * *

><p><strong>April 14<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0009 4:00 PM Junon Western Time**

Cloud drove Fenrir expertly up the mountain road, as Tifa held on behind him. Springtime had not quite taken hold in the areas with higher elevation so there was still a slight nip in the air, but it wasn't cold enough that he was uncomfortable. He and Tifa had parted ways with Zack and Kunsel and their partners at a three-way fork a short distance from where the roads entered the passes. If the situation hadn't been serious, he might have enjoyed looking out over the mountain peaks, passing them by as Fenrir rumbled over the dirt and gravel that made up the narrow road. But as things stood, he was spending much more time making sure they avoided trees and keeping an eye out for Kadaj.

The earpiece he was wearing crackled as Kunsel reported in. _"We've reached the second settlement on our route. Still no sign of him."_

"_Yeah, it's all clear on this road too,"_ Zack replied. "_We'll be getting to the third village on our road within the next few minutes I think."_

"All clear on this end so far too," Cloud replied.

"_Roger that," _Cissnei said. "_Everyone is to check in again in half an hour."_ In the end she had volunteered to run communications from the Gainsborough.

Cloud turned his attention back to the road ahead of him, adjusting for the twists and turns as they drew closer to the first summit. He knew this area had a scenic overlook just past the highest point that provided a good view of the road leading north. From there, he would probably be able to spot any signs of Kadaj, if he was indeed headed this way. He really hoped this would be over soon. While he did have to admit having Aerith's water ease the pain of the Stigma was definitely to his benefit, he still couldn't shake the feeling that Zack was trying to pull him back into action simply so he would feel less useless.

He watched the pine trees fly by around him, catching a glimpse of a small waterfall to his right as Fenrir made its way further up the mountain. Finally their coniferous surrounding all but fell away, leaving him and Tifa exposed in the afternoon sunlight just as they pulled up to the overlook and Cloud pulled to a stop, standing astride Fenrir, letting the motorcycle idle under him. Tifa looked over his shoulder at the roadway ahead of them, scanning the path they would have to follow just as he was. Cloud squinted through his sunglasses against the bright light coming from the west. Even with the height advantage, it was rather tricky to pick out moving objects after a certain distance in the scrub and tree cover below, and it wouldn't get any easier once sunset arrived.

Tifa sighed behind him. "It never gets any easier does it?" she said after a moment.

"Nope," Cloud agreed.

The martial artist continued searching the roads as she spoke. "But that just means we need to try harder," she said at last.

"Can we even do that?" Cloud wondered before glancing back at her.

"I don't know," she said at last, squeezing his right arm gently. "But we can't give up."

Cloud said nothing, but was spared from having to answer this question by the distraction of a glint of light near the bottom of the next mountain. He leaned forward, eyes still narrowed as he tried to identify its origin. After a moment, he began to detect the sound of another motorcycle, distinct from his own. "We should go," he said at last.

"All right," Tifa replied, taking position behind him again as he turned Fenrir back onto the road and they continued in the direction of the other motorbike.

Barely a minute later they were getting close to the base of the mountain when they saw it coming at them from the other direction. Kadaj was speeding along the road as though it were a major highway. Cloud had to pull slightly to the side of the road to avoid being hit before bringing the bike around to follow him, revving the accelerator and sending Fenrir back up the mountain after his quarry.

The other man glanced behind him at the first hairpin turn and gave him a predatorial grin before turning the bike hard and guiding it up the road. Cloud followed suit and it wasn't long before they were back at the overlook. Fenrir temporarily left the ground at his current speed, causing the bike to land with a thump directly behind Kadaj. The man looked behind him with a feral grin and pulled his double-bladed katana from his harness. Realizing it would be too dangerous to use the First Sword without risking Tifa losing her grip, Cloud hit the switch on his sword compartments and when they popped open he drew the hollow blade, holding it to the side as he raced down the mountain.

He could already hear Tifa speaking behind him through earpiece. _"Tifa reporting in, we've spotted the target and we are in pursuit. He's headed south towards Junon."_

"_We're on our way," _Zack replied. Fenrir powered forward along the road and Cloud signaled to Tifa that he was turning and they leaned into the curve, the gravel grinding underneath the tires as he adjusted to continue the chase. There was another hairpin turn up ahead and Kadaj vanished from view. After a moment's decision he turned Fenrir toward the trees blocking the way between them and the next stretch of road and gunned the engine again. Tifa held on tight as he rushed through the trees, jumping slightly as he returned to the main road. Kadaj flew past him just as he had adjusted for the next stretch. They were now on a somewhat long clear stretch going down a steep incline before continuing towards Junon. At the very least it was open road. Much easier for gaining ground.

It wasn't long before Cloud was right behind his quarry, but that was when the other man looked behind him at the swordsman and the martial artist and grinned wildly before swerving the motorcycle around in a half circle so that it was sliding backwards down the hill on pure momentum. Cloud brought up the hollow blade to block just as Kadaj brought his double-bladed katana forward, lifting himself slightly off of his seat to make a try at decapitating his opponent. Tifa held on for dear life as Cloud pushed back, breaking the lock and bringing the hollow blade back for a powerful strike. He was beginning to feel the ache in his left arm as he used it to keep Fenrir steady and prevent the bike from slowing as he controlled the descent. Trees, rocks and cliff sides rolled up past them as he and Kadaj traded blows. As they neared the curve, he could already see they would need to pull out of the slide in order to avoid being smashed against a large boulder that lay directly ahead of them.

Ducking to avoid Kadaj's blades, he brought Fenrir into a hard left just as his opponent gunned his engine, propelling him past them. He reflexively brought up a wall spell to protect Tifa as the other man raced past him, speeding down the next incline, his silver hair trailing behind him, along with a cloud of dust from under his tires. Cloud revved the accelerator to catch up and soon they were flying down the next incline. It took him until they were halfway to the next turn to retake his opponent, pulling close enough that the two of them were neck and neck before turning to block another attack. He saw Tifa casting from her Poison materia behind him out of the corner of his eye, and was about to unleash a blast of fire when Neo-Bahamut suddenly flashed red inside his bangle. In unison, Bahamut also glimmered in one of the materia slots on the First Sword along with, to his complete surprise, a third materia that was lodged in one of Kadaj's pockets. Out of reflex he attempted to grab it but Kadaj swerved away before coming in from behind.

Tifa stood on Fenrir's seat, and as Cloud glanced behind him, she kicked, just below where Kadaj was swinging at her with his sword, catching him in the gut. He grunted and was knocked back, his motorbike spinning out for a moment, but he recovered, speeding forward and retaking them again. Cloud was ready for it and the hollow blade parried two blows against Kadaj's double-bladed katana, but the third blow was where it all went wrong. Suddenly, pain wracked its way through his left arm sending echoes up through his shoulder. It was all he could do not to lose control of the bike. Not now, damn it!

His body was shaking as he fought to maintain control but Kadaj had already pulled ahead, and he could tell he was starting to lose the fight to stay in control of his body. Angrily, he stepped on the brakes, knowing if he didn't it wasn't just his life on the line. Tifa was now speaking loud enough that he could hear her over the engine. "Cloud? What's wrong?"

He didn't answer but nearly fell off the bike, landing on his knees as it skidded to a halt. Tifa hopped off after him, leaving the motorbike to stop completely on its own. He felt like he was hearing her voice from somewhere underwater as he fought to stay conscious, gripping his arm in agony. But at last, it became too much and he felt himself falling the rest of the way to the ground…

* * *

><p>Tifa pulled herself up from where she had landed in a crouch and hurried over to where Cloud had dropped to the ground. "Cloud?" she called. After a moment, she rolled him over so she could check his pulse. He looked rather pale. This had been the second time this had happened. Tifa shook her head dispiritedly.<p>

"_Tifa? What's going on?" _Kunsel had apparently cottoned on to the fact that something had gone awry.

"Cloud collapsed," Tifa said. "I'm starting to think that maybe we shouldn't be doing this anymore. What if the next time it kills him? Kadaj is gone. We lost him."

"_We'll find him again," _Freya said. _"But right now, seems we need to organize a pickup. Is there a clear space where the Gainsborough can get to you?"_

The martial artist looked down the hillside until at last she spotted another overlook. It wasn't very large, but it would be enough to get everything loaded appropriately. "Yeah, I'm headed that way now."

"_All right," _Zack said, and then after a moment, he added sheepishly, "_I guess in the heat of getting Kadaj, I forgot the other things we were dealing with, you know? We probably should have just let him rest on this one."_

Tifa picked up the hollow blade and the First Sword into their compartments on Fenrir before carefully lifting Cloud over her shoulder. She would come back for the motorcycle once she had gotten him to the extraction point. She bit her lip as a wave of guilt washed over her. She had been just as guilty of that oversight. "I should have said something too. But I guess we were so caught up in not wanting him to feel useless…"

"_Yeah…" _Zack sounded somewhat frustrated with himself at that. Their conversation was interrupted when she heard the sound of another vehicle approaching them from the direction in which they had come. When she looked up to see who it was, she was greeted by the sight of a familiar man with red hair in a dark suit, also on a motorcycle. As Reno approached, he pulled to a halt and looked over the situation.

"Hey," he called out to her.

"Hey yourself," she answered before getting back to task of carrying Cloud down the road.

"What kind a greeting is that _yo_? Don't you remember me?" Reno was clearly going out of his way to accentuate that verbal tic of his as obnoxiously as possible as he dismounted from his vehicle.

"Oh yeah," Tifa responded without looking at him, rolling her eyes as she continued with what she was doing. "I remember you_._" She continued a few more steps before seeing the Turk walk in front of her.

"Listen, do you need a hand?" the redhead asked.

She paused, considering. At the very least, it would mean considerably less time getting him and Fenrir down to open ground. "Maybe a little," she said after a moment. The Turk nodded and then circled around to Cloud's left side and pulled his arm over his shoulder so that the swordsman hung between them.

"So," Tifa said as they started down the road, "Any reason you're being so helpful?"

"Aside from the fact that Rufus asked me to? A couple," the man said. "The boss wants us to find Kadaj. And I get the feeling you'll lead me to him. And…" he trailed off.

"And?" Tifa prompted, narrowly avoiding a rock that might have caused her to trip.

Reno looked at her from behind Cloud's spiky hair. "You guys might want to prepare for some bad news."

* * *

><p><strong>April 14<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0009 5:00 PM Junon Western Time**

"What?" Aerith exclaimed. She was standing in front of the Gainsborough com-station as the PHS call was routed through the speakers.

"_They'd gone out this morning but when they didn't come home for lunch, I got worried and started looking. We weren't able to find any trace of them until we came back to let you know and that was when we found Rude," _Jessie explained. "_And then he said the remnants took Al and the kids."_

"And he didn't try to stop them?!" Zack demanded.

They heard the sound of someone talking on the other end of the line and Jessie said something before Rude took the PHS. "_We managed to board the vessel, but there was a struggle and I was forced to go overboard. They still have Elena…"_

Aerith heard the sound of a fist pounding into a bulkhead and saw that Zack was leaning against said bulkhead, but not facing in her direction. He was doing his utmost to avoid getting any more frustrated about this, but it was a hard battle. After a moment he spoke. "Any idea where they went?"

"_The City of the Ancients. They were discussing it with the captain." _Aerith looked out the windshield of the Gainsborough's cockpit and saw that Tifa and Reno had just returned to the clearing with Fenrir and his motorcycle while Kunsel and Vincent were in the process of moving Cloud to a lift.

"Can you tell us where that is?" Zack asked after a moment.

"I can," Aerith said. "Though coordinates probably wouldn't hurt." It would probably be very difficult to tell their airship pilot how the Planet described locations.

"_Reno can tell you,"_ Rude said. Zack joined Aerith at the window. By now Cloud had been loaded up and the others were working to get the motorcycles squared away.

"Cissnei?" Zack said after a moment.

"Yes Zack?" the Turk responded.

"Put in a call to Reeve. We're going to the City of the Ancients."

* * *

><p><strong>April 14<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0009 5:00 PM Mid Central Sea Time**

Elena had been trapped in a cargo container for a long period of time along with Marlene. The two of them had sat in an uneasy silence for most of it. It was almost as though the girl knew they were headed somewhere terrible. However, at some point, she had gotten the sense that the container had been moved from the ship and put on a plane. A few more hours later, the impression was that they'd gone back to a boat and then the doors had opened and she had found herself on a dock. There wasn't much she could do since the remnants had tied her up, but from what she could see, hanging over Loz's shoulder like a sack of potatoes while he dragged Marlene with his free hand, they had walked away from an isolated dock near Bone Village and had gone into some kind of ancient forest.

The children were following the one called Yazoo who seemed to be carrying the SOLDIER, and he was doing his best to keep himself away from Loz so no one would ask any questions. After what had seemed like a few hours they found themselves at the edge of the remains of what appeared to be an abandoned city, probably the City of the Ancients the remnants had spoken of. Across the way, as though leading a parade, Yazoo was leading the other children towards the center of the city, overshadowed by another grove of trees; all with bark as white as a snow drift. There was a ghostly, deathlike feeling about it. Elena swallowed hard as Loz carried her towards one of the houses made of shell. Walking into the building, he dropped her unceremoniously on the floor before walking outside with the little girl.

Elena was already visually scanning the room for something she could use to cut her ropes, but when Loz returned, she had only had enough time to crawl a few feet towards a particularly sharp looking shell that decorated a nearby table. Loz wanted none of that. The man grabbed her roughly by the lapels of her blazer and pressed her against the wall with one hand. She saw stars for a moment as the man glared at her. "Did you really think it would be that easy to escape? Did you, Turk?"

She did her best to channel every ounce of professionalism she had to glare defiantly at him.

At that moment, a shadow fell across the floor from the doorway in the dying sunlight. "Not much for words are you?"

She fought down the urge to laugh. Tseng had always said she talked too much. "Not when it's to you," she spat.

"Well then, perhaps we can change that," Kadaj gestured that Loz lower her to the ground and the larger man chuckled as he did so. Once she was seated on the floor, Kadaj grabbed the shell she had been aiming to use as a knife and brought it threateningly in front of her face. "Did you want this?" he asked, teasingly. Elena said nothing and Kadaj gave her a coy smile. "Looks like you've changed your mind. Maybe not. But…" the smile became a wider. "If you don't tell us where mother is…" he cupped her chin in his hand, "I'll see to it that you'll get these sharp edges a hundred times over." Elena dug deeply into her training as a Turk for all the reserves of courage she had. She would need every drop for this.

* * *

><p>After Loz had taken Marlene away from that lady she had been traveling with, she had been taken to where Yazoo waited. Alistor was resting on the ground near a lake, and Mat was with him. Apparently the boy had absolutely refused to leave his side, but when she tried to go to them, Yazoo wouldn't let her. A few minutes later, Loz reappeared with a new man with shoulder-length silver hair. "You won't believe what I picked up from big brother on the way here," he said, producing a red materia for the other two to see. "With this materia, we'll be able to have all the power they have."<p>

"A gift from mother?" Loz asked.

"Of course," Kadaj replied.

"Then maybe big brother's hiding her too?" Loz looked hopeful at this.

"No, it's that Shinra guy. Our brothers would have destroyed her a long time ago, and hiding her is something they've always been very good at," the man said.

"So," Loz began, clearly struggling to think. "If we check everywhere that has to do with Shinra we'll find mother?"

Kadaj nodded. "Yes, and we'll have plenty of help soon. But first, we need to have a chat with our big brothers. They like to pretend they aren't part of the family. How they break my heart." Marlene knelt on the ground as she felt something rumbling above her as the man raised his fist, casting a spell from the materia in his palm. In the last light of the setting sun, an aurora filtering through the trees, she saw the silhouette of something that looked an awful lot like a dragon before it vanished from sight. Kadaj lowered his hand and walked over to where the children were gathered.

Loz grabbed Marlene again, dragging her in front of what appeared to be the largest of the shell buildings at the edge of the lake. Kadaj appeared soon after, carrying Alistor in his arms before laying him down by the water. Yazoo had told Matt not to join him but he was watching from the other side of the lake, beside himself with worry. Kadaj stood behind the prone form raising his hands into the air. "Mother has given me a very special gift! The power to fight," he leaned towards the children, his words intense, "against a planet that torments humanity. She gave this gift to all her children. That's right!" He raised his hand into the air emphatically. "You and I are brethren! Brothers and sisters chosen when we inherited mother's memetic legacy through the lifestream!" He turned to raise his hands to the heavens dramatically before whirling back around to face his audience. "But the planet doesn't approve of that at all! It's doing everything it can to hold us back!" He pointed accusingly at someone who wasn't there. "That's why it's wracking our bodies with pain, and filling our hearts with doubt!" He lowered his arms to about chest level and Marlene saw black fire spring from his hands. "Now, I shall heal you, and we shall go to mother together! We will join as a family and strike back at the planet!"

He knelt by the lake's edge, dipping one of his flaming hands into the water which Marlene suddenly saw turn black. At that moment, she caught sight of Alistor blinking next to Kadaj's knee and heard the white-haired man say softly, "Oh, you're awake, cousin, just in time."

The SOLDIER's arm shook as he reached up and grabbed the man's wrist. "You can take that cure and shove it down your own throat," he growled.

"I think I'll settle for yours," Kadaj said. He grabbed the man by the front of his shirt and dragged him into the water. He was too weak to resist as the white-haired man pushed him below the surface of the darkened lagoon. A few agonizing moments passed and then Marlene watched as the SOLDIER stood, dripping the dark water from his body. "How do you feel about it now?" Kadaj asked.

Alistor's back was still to the girl as he spoke, "It's the most wonderful thing in the world."

Kadaj looked over at the children on the opposite shore. "Come into the water, and do as I do!" he instructed, before gesturing that Alistor leave the water to join Loz and Yazoo.

The man did so as the other children began to climb in, and Marlene caught a glimpse of his eyes. Rather than their usual mako blue, they had become a strange reptilian green. "Al?" she asked.

The ex-SOLDIER did not respond but continued past her without a word. Marlene turned to look across the way and spotted Denzel, Sasha, and Matt walking forward among the other children. "Denzel," she called. out but across the way she could see that he and the other children were raising the polluted water to their mouths. "Denzel!" she cried again. But it was too late. He had already swallowed, and not long after, she saw him look in her direction, and his eyes too had taken on the strange alien hue.

She heard Kadaj chuckle happily nearby. "See mother? All my new brothers and sisters? They can keep me company, just until I find you."

* * *

><p><em>I always wondered what would happen if the remnants managed to snag an adult into their collection. And so ends another chapter where I am not kind to minor characters, or major characters, not kind to anyone really. Next chapter I can promise will be even less kind. I'll let you guys ruminate on that.<em>

_On another note. The original doc that I've been writing out of has breached 1000 pages. This is the longest story I have ever written. Wow._

_I actually feel a little nostalgic, so I'll let you in on a little bit of my story development. Often when I write, I listen to music and I'll assign minor characters themes when they don't have them and I end up using them enough. For instance, Dr. Rayleigh got "Know Your Enemy" from the anime Ghost in the Shell S.A.C. as her assigned theme, and I gave Argento "Galahad Fortress" from the video game Xenoblade. They're both pretty nifty musical pieces. Check them out sometime. I'll note more as we get closer to the end if people are interested._

_Oh yes, and one more thing, there will be a break week next week in anticipation of Christmas business. However, there will be a chapter at midnight Thursday, 26th/Friday, the 27th. Until then, have a wonderful holiday, see you then!  
><em>


	85. Phoenix Fire

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spin-offs That honor goes to Square-Enix.

Matt and Alistor are original characters.

**Part IV: ****Stigma**

* * *

><p>Chapter 85, Phoenix Fire<p>

**April 14****th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0009 6:00 PM Junon Western Time**

It was taking every ounce of self-control Reeve possessed not to duck under the desk in his Junon office in the face of Barret's wrath. As it was, Cait Sith was taking refuge under the tails of his trench coat, hiding between his legs as he stood, calmly weathering the storm. "An' they jes let'em get on that boat without doin' a thing?!" he thundered. "Weren' there people watching?!"

"It seems to be that way," Reeve answered, and that was when he realized he'd been holding his breath. "However, Zack and the others are headed north to search as we speak."

"They know where they took her?" Barret's voice had dropped so low he could barely hear him, but Reeve was certain the man was a tightened coil ready to snap at the slightest provocation.

"They'll send us an update as soon as they get in!" Reeve answered. "I'm sure we'll find them soon!"

Barret glared at him before turning to Cid who had entered the room with him. "Take me to my little girl," he growled.

It was to Cid's credit that as abrasive as he could be on occasion, he knew when not to argue. He looked up at Reeve. "You got the coordinates for this place they're goin' to?"

Reeve nodded and reached for his PHS, typing it in and then sending it to Cid's. "Between Yuffie and Nanaki, we should be able to keep things under control. Though they'll probably get there before you do," he said, "Good luck."

Cid nodded, and the two men walked out of the office.

* * *

><p><strong>April 14<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0009 8:00 PM Mid Central Sea Time**

It had gotten significantly darker as the Gainsborough came in for a landing in a clear space between a large forest and what definitely looked like the remains of a city that had long ago been abandoned. Tifa sat next to Cloud's bunk in their cabin, watching the scene through a nearby porthole as she heard the sounds of the others preparing to go out and begin the search. Every instinct told her to go out with them, but on the other hand, who would be left to keep an eye on Cloud until he woke up. Aerith had already cleaned his wounds again, but unconsciousness turned to uneasy sleep was still hardly something to be considered healthy. As she considered her conflict, she heard the door open behind her and turned to see Zack and Aerith standing there. "We're about ready to head out," Zack informed her. "We'll go over the entire city if we have to."

She nodded.

Zack turned and left the doorway. Aerith remained standing there for a moment. "Don't worry, we'll do everything we can to find them," she said. With that, she followed after her husband. There was the sound of another door closing after several people walked through it and then Tifa found herself alone in the crew quarters, with only Cloud's sleeping form for company. She stood and walked to the door, leaving it open so she could hear if he woke up before stepping out into the main cabin, looking out on the view from the window, watching as Zack and Vincent led the way towards the old shell-like buildings, interspersed with several that appeared to have been built of old stones. It reminded her of looking at a sand collage in a bottle, except much larger, and much more dilapidated.

It was when she made this observation that she saw Reno and Vincent cut off from the main group in different directions while Zack and the others continued up the main path until they disappeared under the boughs of the leafless trees. As they did, she couldn't help but feel a sense of isolation, not helped by the fact that she really felt like she needed to be out there looking too.

She was walking back towards the cabin when she heard a rustling sound from inside and picked up her pace. Upon reaching the door, she saw Cloud was sitting up and once he detected her entrance out of the corner of his eye, he looked up at her helplessly. "It happened again," he observed.

"Yeah," Tifa sat down next to him.

"What happened after I passed out?" Cloud asked.

She hung her head. "Reno showed up," she said. "He helped us get back to the Gainsborough. But, while we were out looking for them, the remnants… that's what Reno called them, they took Marlene and Denzel…"

Cloud's eyes widened. "What?"

Tifa continued. "He and Rude told us they were coming here…"

"How did it happen…?" Cloud asked.

"They got grabbed at the docks. Jessie only found out when she found Rude… They got Matt and Alistor too…"

Cloud buried his face in his palm at that point and Tifa paused. Of course she should have known this would be difficult to talk through. "Zack and the others are already out looking," she said at the moment. "Reno's with them, and we can help if you feel up to it?"

"What good will it do?" Cloud murmured. "Tifa, I'm not fit to help anyone, not my family, not my friends… nobody."

Tifa sighed. "Dilly dally, shilly shally."

He looked up at her in surprise. "Dilly dally, shilly shally." She repeated. "Cloud, Zack's right… you need to stop doing that. It only makes it worse." She paused, trying to think through her words. "Look, I'm just as worried as you are, and even if we find the kids, we might not be able to help them, but we're not alone. We'll help each other. I know we can."

Cloud looked up at her sadly, but didn't seem able to answer.

After several moments of uncomfortable silence Tifa knelt down, forcing him to look her in the eyes. "Cloud, don't shut us out. If we give up now, it's going to be that much more likely that something will happen that can't unhappen. But we need to think about what's going on right now, really take it in… So… what's it going to be?" She held his gaze for a few more seconds before standing up and walking out of the room. She felt heartless and she hated it. How could she say those things? Yes it was painful to try and force action on him. She didn't like it, but it was even more painful to see that vacant hopelessness in his eyes once he decided there was no way out. It made her feel ill. She walked to the window, sadly looking out at her surroundings, trying to hold back tears as the uncertainty swirled around in her thoughts.

She couldn't have been standing there long however, when she heard shuffling sounds from behind her. Looking back she wasn't sure if she felt better or worse watching him reattach his sword harness as he walked out into the main cabin. His expression had not changed. He still looked as discouraged as ever, but there was a hardness in his expression that she hadn't seen before when she had spoken to him. As he finished he started towards the cargo hold where Fenrir was parked. "Where are we?" he asked, as she followed after him.

"Aerith called it the City of the Ancients." Tifa said. "Zack and the others should be on the main road, we can catch up to them pretty quickly, I think."

Cloud nodded as they entered the hold and walked over to the manual release on the back gate, hitting it before he returned to his motorcycle, checking its condition before mounting it and gesturing that she join him. "Let's go."

She didn't need to be told twice.

* * *

><p>Aerith was listening for anything the Planet could tell her about the location of the remnants, or the kids, or Elena, as she walked through the woods that covered the dead city, though it was really hard to make things out when it was quite distracted by that very large amount of black water that had been released in the lake up ahead. As much as she tried, she didn't feel like she was making any headway at all. After a while, she paused and looked around. "Where are Vincent and Reno?" she asked.<p>

"They broke off a short while ago to scout the side paths," Zack said.

"Oh…" Aerith looked up at the trees as they made their way down the path, surrounded by collapsed buildings. There was definitely a muted sadness here, as though someone she knew had lived here once, and now it was nothing but an emptied out shell of a place, with a few paint cans in the corner. Funny, considering all the giant shells that were lying around.

Freya spoke up at that moment. "There's really something strange about this place," she began before lifting up what appeared to be an old flower pot sitting at the door of a building that had long ago caved in. "It's almost like whoever lived here just… left… without taking anything with them. " She knelt at a series of stones that might have lined a doorframe on the nearest side of the building. "If anyone was actually planning to leave permanently, they wouldn't have just left gardening tools lying around like this." She indicated the head of an old trowel. The wood had been there so long it seemed to have been petrified against the wall of the house.

"Do you think it was because they were in that much of a hurry to get away from Jenova?" Kunsel reflected.

"Either that, or they had hoped they'd be able to come back…" Freya trailed off after a moment as she turned her attention back to why they were really here. "But that's beside the point, we need to stay focused." She stood straight and walked up to where Aerith was standing with Zack and Cissnei and that was when she turned her attention to another part of the ground. "Here we are…"

"You found something?" Zack asked.

"Maybe," the lady Turk knelt on the ground examining it for a few moments. "A whole bunch of people with smaller footprints came through here not that long ago."

Aerith tightened her grip around her staff as everyone quickened their pace. Soon they were at the lake the planet was speaking of and Aerith saw that the waters had all turned pitch black. "This is terrible," she murmured.

"No arguments there," Cissnei said.

"It looks like these people actually went into the water," Freya said as she looked over the marks in the sand.

"They went into that stuff? Why?" Zack asked.

"They were giving themselves to Jenova…" Aerith said before swallowing hard. She looked up at the giant shell at the edge of the lake. Something about it called to her urgently. "Let's go inside," she said. "I-I think someone's in there…"

She stepped forward but Zack held out a hand to stop her. "Wait," he said. "Let me go first. If anything's waiting inside, I'd rather be the one to be in front." He turned to Kunsel, "Could you watch our rear?"

The other swordsman nodded. "Got it," he said. As he drew his gunblade, Freya took up a position next to him before Zack stepped ahead of the group into the depths of the giant shell. As Aerith followed him in, she was relieved that nothing happened.

As they walked a little deeper, they found themselves in a room with a staircase leading down into a hole. Looking through it, everyone found themselves surprised to see that as the staircase went deeper, it was nearly impossible to tell what was holding it up. In fact, from here, if she didn't know any better, it was almost like they led down to the sea floor through an expanse of crystal clear water, though there was obviously air down there because she didn't see any point where there was a water-level just yet.

"What is this?" Cissnei wondered aloud.

"The Water Altar," Aerith answered, almost as soon as the Planet told her. "If I ever needed to use Holy, I would have had to come here…"

"Holy?" Kunsel asked.

"It's not important right now," Aerith murmured.

A hush fell over everyone as Zack checked the stability of the stairs and then, gingerly put his full weight on the first step. It held. "Never seen anything like this before," he commented. "How are they being held up?"

"I don't know…" Aerith said, barely above a whisper, "but I have this feeling… I'm not quite sure what it is… but it's like there's something down there… that's not supposed to be…"

"Well, we should check it out anyway," Freya said, as she checked her ammunition. "If there's a chance the kids are there."

Zack nodded in agreement. "Yeah… let's go." With that, he resolutely began walking down the steps, doing his best to make as little noise as possible. As she walked over them, Aerith didn't even feel the stairs dip under her weight. It was really strange that they hung stationary in the air like this, but it was even more odd to see the vacant towers and platforms below, almost like this had been some kind of castle. After the stairs coiled down around the chamber a couple of times, they finally reached the first solid platform and she saw a ways below her that there was indeed a deep pool of water at the bottom of the chamber. She couldn't tell how far down it went, but the path led to the Water Altar through a series of pillars that had been set across the waterway as stepping stones once it trailed down a couple of sets of stairs and through a couple of the surrounding towers.

The moonlight seemed to be filtering in from a light source above them, giving a mysterious aura to the place. Fitting, considering that this area definitely held some immense spiritual power. As a matter of fact, it looked exactly like the place Minerva had showed her when giving her the technique they had used to pull Cloud back when Sephiroth had almost broken his mind. It had to be the same place.

She heard the others come off the last few steps behind her before they continued forward, following the path towards the altar. Upon reaching the stepping stones, Zack pulled ahead again and Aerith followed until they were standing at the steps up to the Altar itself. "It doesn't look like anything's here," Cissnei commented.

Aerith walked up the steps until she was looking up through the shattered ceiling of gold sea glass that covered it. "No, there doesn't seem to be anything, but I think when we've found the kids, I'd like to come back. There's just something about this place that makes me want to take a closer look."

Zack nodded. "All right, let's keep looking…" he was about to walk towards the stepping stones again when he paused and suddenly Aerith noticed a shadow had fallen over her in the moonlight… Zack lunged, knocking her to the ground and sparks flew as Kadaj's double-bladed katana connected with the blade of the Buster Sword.

"Hello big brother," he drawled, and Aerith looked up in time to see that the others had taken defensive stances nearby, as Yazoo and Loz joined them on the platform. As she looked across the water, a wall of children now stood watching and to her horror, Denzel stood directly in front of them, as did Alistor, blocking their escape. She was picking herself up as she heard Kadaj continue, speaking to their audience. "You see this man? He's our big brother, but along with our other big brother who was too much of a coward to show up, you could say they're what we call, black sheep. Why else would he help this witch here. You know her, of course! The one who was promising to cure you when she didn't have a cure!" The katana was pointed in her direction as he said this, and she saw Zack lunge, once again locking blades with Kadaj.

"Leave my wife alone," Zack said, his voice venomously low. With that, Yazoo fired several shots in their direction and several Wall spells came to life on the Altar platform.

* * *

><p>Vincent was floating along above a series of the shell houses that weren't quite as damaged as the others when he heard a rustling sound coming from nearby. Folding out of his cloak into a secure patch of bushes, Vincent listened for the noise again and this time he heard it coming from a house a couple of buildings away. Upon coming closer, he realized it had been blocked by a large stone slab. He called on the Gallian Beast and soon his muscles rippled and bulged under the familiar purplish fur. Walking to the slab, he used his now incredible strength to lift it and move it out of the way before looking into the building. He was almost distracted as there was a piercing scream from the opposite side of the room and a pebble landed right between his eyes. Gallian growled and sniffed towards the sound before recognition filtered through his mind. The little girl was here, Marlene, and she was standing on the staircase, another rock in her hand.<p>

After a moment, he forced Gallian back into the recesses of his mind, allowing his usual form to reappear. "I would not advise doing that again," he said. "Had I not recognized you, Gallian might have had you for dinner."

Marlene peered across the darkened room. "Vincent?" she asked.

The man approached, coming into a shaft of light from a skylight on the floor above and Marlene ran to him, looking on the verge of tears. "Miss Elena! She's really hurt!" Vincent followed her up to find himself in another room, and across it, lying on a stone slab, was a woman he barely recognized. Her blonde hair was askew over her face and her business suit did nothing to hide the cut marks or the bruises that marred her face and body. Upon hearing him enter, the young woman looked up and her eyes widened. As much as they could with her bruises anyway. "V-Vincent Valentine?" she asked. "H-how did you…"

Never one for long conversations, Vincent simply reached for the Restore Materia in his bangle and cast a Cure, causing her injuries to visibly recede from view. "We should leave here immediately and return to the others," he said curtly. "Can you stand?"

The young Turk pulled herself unsteadily to her feet. "Seems I can," she said, using the wall to balance herself.

At that, Marlene tugged at his cloak urgently. "Kadaj did something to Denzel and the others! I don't know where they went but you need to help them!"

"Everyone is looking for them now," Vincent replied, guiding Elena's right arm over his shoulders so he could assist her with the walk down the stairs. "We'll find them soon."

Marlene nodded and hurried ahead of them as they made their way back down the steps. As they stepped out of the house, however, the former Turk suddenly had a strange feeling. It seemed Chaos's attention had been drawn by something near the center of the village. "Hmm…" he grunted. And without bothering to explain anything to his companions, instead began making his way in that direction.

* * *

><p>Kunsel returned fire from the foot of the stairs leading to the altar as bullets from Yazoo's weapon ricocheted off of his own Wall. Freya was right behind to him, crouching behind the guardrails a few steps up as she reloaded her weapon before standing slightly to fire another blast at the two remnants before backing away towards the larger threat. Cissnei had already been a couple of steps ahead of her in joining Zack and Aerith at the altar, where the dark-haired ex-SOLDIER and Kadaj were trading a series of blows. Judging by the speed at which he was moving, it appeared Aerith had cast Haste on him.<p>

The other two remnants leapt over the gap with the stepping stones at that moment and Kunsel brought up his gunblade in a block when Loz lunged at him with his retractable gauntlet. Electricity crackled between his blade and the other weapon before Loz pulled back and made another go at it which Kunsel quickly deflected before attempting to stop Yazoo's advance with a couple of shots. The remnant jumped over him before running ahead to where Cissnei stood between them and the rest of the group.

Following his lead, Kunsel broke off from where he stood and ran up the stairs, dodging to avoid another strike from Loz, and channeling Double-Time as he did so. To his consternation however, Yazoo managed to parry all five of his attacks. Coming to a stop at the top of the stairs he once again locked blade and gauntlet with Loz, as the sounds of Zack and Kadaj sparring behind him echoed through the room. Loz broke the lock this time and went for two punches aimed at his gut which he managed to deflect and then a powerful kick, which he was barely able to evade. Why did these guys have to be so fast?

Dodging to avoid a gunshot from Yazoo, he realized only a second too late that it had been a distraction and Loz was headed directly towards Aerith. He was running in that direction, praying he'd be able to get there in time since Zack was clearly preoccupied with not getting skewered by Kadaj, when Loz pulled back his fist and struck towards Aerith's back. Instead of seeing the blow connect, Kunsel felt a limit channeling nearby and then a field of energy enveloped the Ancient. Loz crashed headlong into the barrier and Kunsel looked around to see Freya watching the goings on with a look of relief on her face. She had channeled soon enough, Aerith was fine…

That was when Yazoo appeared behind her, his own gunblade drawn, and at the same second Kunsel channeled one last limit to try and cover her, the remnant fired, and suddenly, blood started to stain her light blue shirt. As Kunsel appeared in between them, landing a powerful blow to Yazoo's shoulder, the lady Turk fell to her knees, and then dropped to the ground.

In that moment, all the sound in the room seemed to have gone mute. Cissnei was next to him, using her rekka as an improvised blade, channeling a limit of her own to drive back Yazoo and Loz before any further damage could be done and Kunsel turned to kneel on the floor, turning the lady-Turk over, looking for some sign that she was still alive. "Freya?" he asked. She was definitely not conscious anymore. Feverishly, he searched his bangle for his Phoenix materia and started casting. _Oh Gaia, please let this work… _he silently prayed.

The magic began to work around him and as fires burst to life above them, he saw Aerith at his side, a limit break channeling from her own energy. Rain began to fall on the altar in a torrent as Zack and Cissnei continued the fight around them. The phoenix appeared over them, healing energies fluttering down through the chamber like fiery feathers, steaming under the rain and lighting up the walls with warm yet iridescent prisms of color. The remnants were dodging and weaving even as they fought with the others to avoid the burning of its flames. He checked the Turk again for any signs of life.

She wasn't breathing… and then his heart froze.

She didn't have a pulse either...

The Pheonix let out a loud cry that sent echoes across the room before dissipating in a rainbow under the fading rains and suddenly he was once again aware of the clashing sounds of swords around him even as he began attempting CPR. _Not like this_, he begged. _Please… No… _"Freya!"

* * *

><p>Fenrir was powering down the road as fast as Cloud could drive it towards the forgotten capital. He felt the wind in his face as he looked from side to side. There was no sign of movement. Hardly any sound at all, aside from the rumble of the engine below him. The tranquility of the area was far different from the turmoil of his own thoughts and worries. He hoped they would find the others soon. Looking up ahead of him, over the stand of trees, he suddenly saw something that got his attention. A fiery light had illuminated the sky, painting an aurora of color across the stars, twinkling innocently in the darkness. He wasn't sure what to make of it, but then, inexplicably, he was somewhere else…<p>

_The place where he was sitting was very familiar. He could see Zack lying off in the distance, just as he had been the day the Turks had found them in the Midgar wastes, and someone was standing over him. A familiar looking Turk. Through the mako-tinged memory she walked a bit closer through the landscape and suddenly she gave him a very grave look. "Well Cloud, I did it."_

"_Freya? What's going on?"_

_She smiled softly. "It looks like I was able to protect our friends this time."_

_He blinked in confusion. "I don't understand…How are you…?"_

_She shook her head, dismissing his questions before walking closer as she spoke. " Listen. I don't have a lot of time, but no matter what happens, it's going to be all right. You're still here, and as long as you don't give up, you can still keep trying… so don't give up. No matter what. That's the mission I leave to you. I know you're not a Turk, but that doesn't mean you can't hold to our creed, right?"_

"_But… what is this?"_

"_No buts!" she chided, offering a grin that was both fiercely determined and yet terribly sad, "And no regrets… " She knelt down in front of him and gently pushed his blond hair out of his face just as she had done that day two years ago and then stood and turned to walk away, but she looked over her shoulder after a few steps, as though surprised he was still there. _

"_Hurry… they need you…"_

He blinked and found himself back on the road to the center of the city. Adrenaline kicked in and he put Fenrir into full throttle, rocketing along the road at breakneck speed. Trees and buildings flew by them and he could hear Tifa behind him trying to find out why he had suddenly changed their pace, but he wasn't listening. He couldn't shake this terrible feeling that something was wrong. In what seemed like barely a few heartbeats, he had reached a large shell house and come to a screeching halt. He didn't know whether or not he had parked the bike properly as he raced towards the door, the First Sword in his hand and Tifa behind him. He vaguely registered that they were passing Vincent, Marlene, and Elena, or that Reno was approaching from another side road before they had entered the gloom of the shell's interior to find a set of stairs leading into a crystal chamber below.

He practically leaped off the last few steps to land on one of the platforms, Tifa and Vincent right behind him, when up ahead he saw Zack and Cissnei fighting for their lives against the three remnants on an altar surrounded by water. Kunsel and Aerith were behind them, the SOLDIER continuing CPR on someone just out of sight as Aerith was casting healing spells. There was a crowd of people approaching that seemed to be trying to block his path but with the force of a hurricane, Cloud jumped across the water onto the platform with the altar and raced up the stairs to level two quick blows at Kadaj, while Vincent fired several rounds at Loz and Tifa went after Yazoo with a spinning back-kick. Seeing the situation they were now in, Kadaj called to the crowd "Go to the boat!" before attempting to run his sword through Zack's right side. Cloud dived in to cover for him before pushing him away with the First Sword. Kadaj jumped onto a nearby pillar, and Cloud followed after him to come to rest on another support beam over the water.

They traded a few more blows before he realized that Yazoo and Loz had retreated, and that Kadaj had jumped to the platform leading to the stairs before dissolving into a cloud of black mist, leaving them alone in the chamber.

Cloud hopped back to the ground and saw that Kunsel was still on his knees next to Freya's still form. No one said a word as they were all still dealing with the shock of what had just happened. He suddenly felt Tifa grab his shoulder, her eyes wide, and Aerith, who, up until the fight had ended had been trying to help revive the lady Turk with healing spells had now walked over to Zack and was crying into his chest. Cissnei stood behind Kunsel, trying to hold back tears as she purposefully returned her rekka to the strap on her back where she usually kept it.

Kunsel's expression was completely blank, as though the reality of what had happened just hadn't hit him yet, but after a moment, he reached down and gathered up the body of their comrade in his arms, along with her weapon, and started walking across the stepping stones. The others followed as they continued up the stairs and out the building to find Reno, Elena, and Marlene standing outside waiting for them. "What…" Reno began as Kunsel stepped into the starlight, but then he saw the lady Turk in his arms and said nothing more. Elena's eyes widened, and Marlene looked confused.

Kunsel continued past them and they joined the group in walking the rest of the path towards the Gainsborough. Cloud lifted Fenrir from where it had fallen to the ground and wheeled it after the others. They were walking up the main road and the airship was in sight when Cloud noticed sparks of Lifestream beginning to filter around the area, lighting it in a warm green glow. Off in the distance, he could also see the lights of another airship approaching. It appeared to be the Shera.

They were almost to the Gainsborough when suddenly the body in Kunsel's arms dissolved, sending more sparks of Lifestream up into the atmosphere. It wasn't until the last spark disappeared that Kunsel dropped to his knees, and in that moment, Cloud saw that Freya's shotgun was still within his grasp. It was when Tifa walked off to lean against one of the trees nearby, trying to muffle the sound of her own sobbing that he realized Marlene was standing in front of him, and he picked her up and held her close, even as he felt tears trickling down his own face.

* * *

><p><em>I wish I could have said so at the beginning but it would have been impossible without spoiling the plot. If you would like to enhance your reading experience for this chapter, look for the song Last Regrets, as remixed by the artist Haru on youtube and start it around paragraph 7 of section 5.<em>

_While developing this chapter I wanted to pay tribute to the original scene without losing its punch, but still allow the new version to stand on its own. It is my hope that I have managed to achieve this._

_I hope everyone has had a wonderful Christmas, or other alternative winter solstice-time holiday as the case may be, and I wish everyone a happy and safe New Year._

_See you next week, in 2014!_


	86. Great Gospel

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spin-offs That honor goes to Square-Enix.

Matt and Alistor are original characters.

**Part IV: ****Stigma**

* * *

><p>Chapter 86, Great Gospel<p>

**April 14****th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0009 10:00 PM Mid Central Sea Time**

The mood on the bridge of the Gainsborough was as dark as the night sky outside as their communications officer activated the channel that would put them in direct contact with Reeve's office. Zack stood slightly to the side of the front window, with Aerith next to him facing the others. Barret was holding Marlene in his arms while Cid, Vincent, Cloud, Tifa, and the others stood in an uncomfortable silence. It was hard to believe what had just happened. It felt unreal, like Freya would just walk out from the corridor to the main cabin and ask why everyone was looking so glum, and yet he knew it wouldn't happen. The shotgun she carried now sat against the bulkhead without an owner, though Kunsel stood in front of it, almost as though keeping guard. He hadn't spoken a word since the moment when Zack had walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"_We need to get aboard. The others will want to know…"_

"_I know," _he'd answered. His voice had been nearly imperceptible, though he had accepted Zack's good hand to pull himself up again and followed Cissnei and Aerith back to the airship even as Cid and Barret had disembarked from the Shera.

Finally Cait Sith picked up on the other end. "_Zack? Thank goodness! We were startin' ta worry aboot ya lad! Has there been any news?"_

"Cait…" Zack said, "Is Reeve there?"

"_He stepped oot for a moment, but I can find him easily enough," _the little cat replied.

"Then do it, we've got a report."

Cait Sith seemed to detect the intensity in his voice, because they soon heard the sound of his light footsteps as he padded out of the room and it wasn't long before Reeve's voice sounded through the room. _"What's the news?"_ Reeve asked.

"We found them. They were right where Rude said they were," Zack replied. "The Turks will be pleased to know if Reno isn't telling them now that we also retrieved Elena safely and that we'll be escorting her back to Junon. We also found Marlene… but…" he paused.

"_But what?" _Reeve asked.

Zack glared at the wall as he spoke, "Denzel, Matt, and Al seem to have been put under some kind of mind control, and… we lost Freya…"

"_What?"_

"She was protecting Aerith… and Yazoo got behind her…" Zack said helplessly. "If not for her, it would have been..." he stopped, not trusting himself to continue.

Reeve waited for a moment before speaking and then he said _"I understand... Do you have any idea where they were headed."_

"They're also going back to Junon," Elena spoke up, though she looked ready to drop from physical exhaustion. "They didn't tell me directly, but I heard them talking as they left me in that shack with Marlene."

"We'd better haul ass that way then," Cid interjected, though his usual enthusiasm was nowhere in sight. "We might still be able to head'em off…"

"I agree," Cissnei said. "At least we may be able to prevent them from hurting anyone else."

"Rufus said he'd be headed that way too," Reno added. "We need to get there fast."

Aerith looked like she had something on her mind and at last she spoke. "I have this feeling," she said solemnly. "Like there's something I really need to find here. It might be important. The rest of you can go on if you wish, but I need to look for it."

Zack gave her a worried look. "In that case, the two of us will stay here with the Gainsborough. Someone's got to stick around to protect you." He looked over at Kunsel who was leaning against the bulkhead, as though thoroughly exhausted. "What are you going to do?"

His friend looked up at him, his fists clenched. "I'm going to Junon," he said, his voice painfully flat. "I'm not leaving this alone…"

"You sure?" Zack asked.

"As if there was any doubt!" his friend snapped. "They've taken so much from us already, I'm not letting them take any more."

"Me either," Cloud said. Zack turned to where he stood in surprise. "If I had been there… if I'd had my head on straight just a little sooner… she might still be…"

"Don't blame yourself for that," Zack said. "If anything…"

"Stop." Kunsel said, and the word cut the argument off like a knife. "She wouldn't want anyone taking the blame… She did what she thought was best as a Turk. She knew the risks she was taking, just like we all did…" Everyone watched in silence as he turned around, picked up the shotgun and walked towards the main cabin, apparently done with the conversation.

After a moment Zack nodded sadly. "He's right…" He turned his attention back to everyone else. "We'll need everyone we can spare in Junon. Since we're pretty sure the remnants have left the area, I should be all the protection Aerith will need. Everyone else but our pilot will transfer to the Shera and return south. We still don't know what they have in mind but it can't be good." He glared at his left fist. This could have gone so much better. It should have. They should have been able to avoid this… He looked around at everyone assembled. "Get going, we'll be right behind you as soon as we can."

* * *

><p><strong>April 14<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0009 10:30 PM Mid Central Sea Time**

Elena stood alone in one of the cabins aboard the Shera, watching the stars float by through the clouds in the darkened gloom. They were too far North still for the moon to be visible right now. She had already reported to Tseng what had happened. The man's soft words and evident relief at her being all right would normally have made her heart flutter, but right now, she was too exhausted and emotionally spent to care. Freya was gone… The lady Turk whom Zack had helped to save her life, and someone she had respected, along with… she played with her PHS absently for a few moments, debating whether or not to dial the number she had on display.

After a moment, she made her decision. She needed someone who would know what was going on. Who knew what this was like and would understand. Pressing the button, she heard the familiar dial-tone on the other end of the line and then after a moment a female voice answered _"E…Elena? Why are you calling at this hour?"_

"Lou… Are you busy?" Elena asked.

"_Not really. I just got off duty. Is something wrong?" _Her sister seemed to have not been notified of her whereabouts.

Elena swallowed hard. The day had been one living hell after another, and reliving it would be so painful. She still felt exhausted from the pain Kadaj had wrought across her body, even though Vincent Valentine had healed the physical wounds, and then… She was already second guessing herself. How was she supposed to explain? "Is this what it means to be a Turk?" She asked after a moment.

"_I think I need some clarification, Sis…" _Lou said gently. She seemed to have realized that her sister wasn't playing here and that something was definitely wrong.

Elena bit back a sob as she struggled to explain. "A lot's happened today… How do I even begin…?" She considered for a moment and then tried one more time. "Freya's dead…" She forced out at last, barely above a whisper.

"_What?!" _

Elena wiped away a couple of tears, a little angry at her own weakness. "Exactly what I said," she snapped. "Freya's dead. Those bastards killed her and… Lou… I thought they were going to kill me too…"

"_Slow down, Elena. Do you mean to tell me Rufus sent you after them alone?!"_

"I wasn't alone," she gritted out. "Rude was with me… but we got separated and… and…" She realized she must have been through far more trauma than she'd realized for her body was quivering both from grief and exertion.

"_Elena," _Lou said firmly. "_What happened? I'm right here. Just sit down, take a deep breath, and start from the beginning." _Taking a moment to collect herself, Elena took a few steadying breaths and sat down on her bunk, before slowly retelling what happened from the moment she and Rude had found the remnants to the point where Kunsel had walked out of the shell house with Freya in his arms. Lou listened, only offering her silent support as the young Turk retold the chain of events.

It was when Elena finished her story that she spoke again. _"Is there anything I can do?"_

"I don't know… But perhaps you can answer my question. Is this always what it was like?"

"_I'm afraid so… The reality of it is that it has always been part of the job. We say there is no mission we cannot do, but at the same time, the possibility of dying is always there. It's the nature of what we did, and the life you took up when you put on the suit. She knew that right to the end… and it's something we all have to face sooner or later… "_

Elena nodded sadly. "To see it happen in front of you… and not be able to do anything about it…"

"_Sometimes there isn't anything you can do," _Lou agreed. _"But I know you Elena. You're going to make it beyond this not just because you're strong, but because you are a true Turk, and most importantly of all, because you are my sister."_

Elena wiped another tear from her eye. "Thanks…"

Lou continued. "_All right, now that that's out of the way. I'm sure Tseng will consider you due for leave after this incident but you need to get all the rest you can before you get back to Junon. Speaking from a first aid perspective, trauma like what you've been through is no laughing matter, and he may still have orders for you before the mission's over. I'll see you later if you want to talk some more, all right?"_

"I'd like that…"

"_Okay then."_ After saying their good byes, Elena ended the call and suddenly noticed someone in the open doorway to her cabin.

Reno was standing there looking unusually solemn. "You've been talking to Lou." It wasn't a question.

"What if I have?" Elena snapped.

"Nothin' wrong with it, we aren't after them anymore." Reno said, sauntering a little closer. He reached into his pocket and produced a handkerchief. "Here." Elena took it from him before blowing her nose.

"Thanks…"

"No problem." With that, the older Turk turned around and shut the door.

* * *

><p><strong>April 15<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0009 12:30 AM Junon Western Time**

Yuffie was curled up with Nanaki in a tent at a WRO checkpoint, her Conformer next to her. She had been waiting for several hours at this location near the docks, until her assistance was needed. It seemed their operatives were tracking a known member of Scarlet and Heidegger's resistance, hoping to find their hideout. But in the meantime all she could do was wait… and hope. She buried her face into her comrade's back for warmth, and contrarily wished she could have gone with Barret and Cid.

"Yuffie…" she heard Nanaki's voice reverberating through his lungs.

"Mmmm?" she complained with a grunt.

"You're holding me too tightly. Would you please let go a little bit?" the red lion said patiently.

"I'm sorry…" she muttered and rolled over, before blinking as a shadow suddenly covered the area where she was sitting.

"Princess Kisaragi?"

As her eyes slowly refocused she found herself looking up at a WRO SOLDIER who was politely gesturing to the PHS in her pocket. "I thought you might want to get that?"

She looked down, not quite realizing what was going on until she saw her PHS light up at her hip and reached for it, waking up a little faster as she remembered what was going on. The kids! "Reeve? Has there been any news?"

She listened with baited breath as Reeve spoke. At first the news was good, Marlene had been rescued and so had Elena, but then he said something that made her pause. "What?!" Nanaki looked up in her direction, sensing the urgency of her tone. "No way! She couldn't have! How?!..." She listened as Reeve explained, only offering an affirming "I got it," as he explained what he needed her to do. Finally, she hung up and once again curled up on top of Nanaki, this time burying her face in his fur completely and after a moment, she felt tears beginning to flow from her eyes.

"What is it?" Nanaki asked.

"Freya…" Yuffie said biting back a sob, "She's gone…"

* * *

><p><strong>April 14<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0009 11:00 PM Mid Central Sea Time**

It had been about an hour after leaving the Ancient City and Cloud stood on the bridge in front of where Cid was guiding the airship through the sky. He still wasn't exactly sure how to explain what had happened on the way to the lake. Had it been real? Had it been an illusion? He couldn't say. He shut his eyes for a moment. Could he have been there in time? Could they have prevented this? Kunsel had hardly said a word since they'd boarded the Shera. Did he blame him? If he had been there. If he'd been able to help…

"_You're still here, and as long as you don't give up, you can keep trying. So don't give up, no matter what… that's the mission I have for you… No buts!"_ He sighed. How like her. Even in death, she refused to let up on anyone or take any excuses.

"You didn't leave me much of an out, did you…" he turned and started towards the door that would take him to the main cabins.

"You talkin' to me?" Cid piped up from where he stood at the helm.

Cloud paused at the door. "No…"

"Well… I wish I coulda been there too. Just to kick those remnants asses for 'er." Cloud looked up at the pilot in surprise as he continued. "She'd probably laugh me off if she heard me talkin' now. But…" he sighed. "That woman always did have her own way of doing things…"

Cloud nodded, and continued down the corridor a ways. He passed the planning room and noticed Cissnei sitting in there alone, and his gut clenched as he saw that she was curled up in a chair, looking listlessly at the far wall. The position told him everything he needed to know. She had definitely been crying, convinced that no one could see. Deciding not to invade her privacy further, he continued on, soon finding his way to the common area where Tifa and Barret were sitting at a table in the middle of the room. Marlene was sitting in Barret's lap. They looked up as he walked in and at that moment and then Marlene slipped down from the gunman's lap. Barret gave him a hard look. "So what're you gonna do Spiky?" he asked.

"About what?" he asked, taking a couple of steps closer. There were a lot of things that needed to be dealt with right at the moment.

"About the kids. And them #$$-holes that took-em," Barret clarified.

"I don't know…" he answered. He was surprised to see Marlene walk over to him as he sat down, looking at his left arm, still covered in the dark sleeve.

"Does it hurt?" she asked.

He glanced at the others for a moment, and it was clear that they must have been talking about it. "Don' look so surprised," Barret said. "Zack and Aerith put two and two together right quick once they saw what you'd been doing. We've just been holdin' off on sayin' anything until we were sure."

Cloud turned his attention back to the little girl and the worry in her eyes. "A bit," he said honestly, "But not as bad as Denzel's."

She nodded and then said "You won't go away again, will you? Like you did when he hurt you?"

"Who?" Cloud looked at her curiously.

"You don't remember?" Marlene asked. "You were awake, but you weren't there…"

That was when it came rushing back. Marlene had definitely been there for that. She'd seen what Tifa had gone through before they'd taken him to Banora. How helpless he'd been to do anything. How could he have forgotten? And how could he have been such an idiot?

"_You're still here, and as long as you don't give up, you can keep trying…" "They need you…"_

After a moment, he leaned forward so he was at her eye-level. "I don't know what's going to happen…" he swallowed as he considered what he was about to say. "But… Once this battle has been fought, I'm not going anywhere." He placed his right hand on her shoulder. "You've always been there when I needed you." He looked up, glancing around to show he was including the others in this statement. "You, and Tifa, and Denzel, and Zack, and everyone else. Now, it's my turn." The best he could do to honor the memory of Freya's sacrifice, would be to honor the last request she had made, regardless of how she had managed to make it. _I was never SOLDIER, and I'm definitely no Turk, but I can at least do this much._

* * *

><p><strong>April 15<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0009 4:00 AM East Central Sea Time**

_Kunsel found himself sitting at a table near one of the restaurants at the Gold Saucer and he held his PHS in front of him. He'd been typing something, probably to Zack. It was then that he realized the information written in the mail was what had happened in the Ancient City. But that didn't make any sense, because Zack already knew about that. He'd been there. Aerith too, and Cloud, though he'd come in at the end. He stood up, pocketing the PHS, and was looking around when suddenly Freya was standing in front of him, smiling sadly. The two of them regarded each other for a moment, and then without a word, she ran into his arms. For a moment as brief as the morning dew, he felt her warm body within his embrace and then, before he knew it, she disappeared, like she was never there…_

"Freya…" Kunsel jerked awake and looked around at the darkened cabin. After a moment, he sat up on his bunk and leaned against the bulkhead, hearing the Shera's engines rumble through the walls. After a moment, his right hand closed into a fist and he brought it against the bulkhead, not loud enough to attract attention, but hard enough that he felt the vibrations from the blow up his arm and his vision blurred with tears. Why? Why was he not fast enough? Why had she been dead before he'd even been able to summon? And what was he doing right now? This last question was punctuated with another angry but still controlled blow to the bulkhead.

Rationally, he knew exactly what he was doing. He knew he was trying to find a way for this to somehow not have happened. To somehow reverse this empty pain in his gut that felt like it was eating him alive, and he knew that it wouldn't be undone. He knew it all too well. Losing Zack, however temporarily, losing Luxiere, twice. Losing any number of fellow soldiers on the battlefield enhanced or not. He'd deadened it out mostly when it was expected that he be the SOLDIER Shinra needed him to be, and when Zack had called on him to be that SOLDIER again, mourning them only when he had the luxury of time to grieve, but this…

Without realizing it until just recently, she'd been someone he'd come to count on being there… how could she not be, when no mission was impossible for her? She was a Turk, damn it! Thinking of her smiling face, her ever-confident, no-nonsense attitude, her self-assurance that no matter what happened they would still win… He didn't want to accept that they were gone, even though he knew he had no choice. Remembering her body against his when they kissed in the tunnel to the Junon Reactor, her lightly glowing copper eyes that matched her long, beautiful hair that she always pulled back to keep it out of the way; the times when they had ribbed each other about whether SOLDIER or the Turks were better; the times when she'd shown him her more vulnerable side, yet still refused to compromise on her principles… the idea that those times would never come again; it was excruciating.

To think when they'd first met, he'd thought she was the enemy.

He wasn't exactly sure how long he lay there, thinking these dark thoughts, but the next time he remembered glancing out of the porthole behind him, dawn was breaking over the eastern horizon. He stood, washing his face from the nearby sink and began preparations for the day. GUARDIAN was still needed. As he walked to the door, ready to rejoin the others, he glanced at her shotgun which sat on a nearby table. He'd help protect the others for both of them.

* * *

><p><strong>April 15<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0009 9:00 AM Junon Western Time**

Rufus was standing at the window in his newly repaired Junon office, looking out to the west as the sunlight peeked through the clouds to illuminate the waves below. It had been a long flight to Shinra's headquarters in the western city, but he wanted to be on hand to witness Scarlet and Heidegger's apprehension. However, any ruminating on what he might do for the day was derailed when suddenly the door slammed open, revealing Kadaj, his double-bladed katana drawn. Tseng immediately drew his pistol and aimed in the remnant's direction, but Kadaj was in front of him in an instant, sending the blades through his right shoulder before adding a second blow to his left leg. The Wutaian dropped to the floor and Rufus watched the remnant approach him.

"Boy do I hate liars!" man drawled.

"You assume too much," Rufus responded. "The only sample we know of was lost in the Shinra building, which then became unsearchable following the contamination of its surroundings by the tainted mako. Only a fool would go in there to search for it, and the only ones foolhardy enough would be GUARDIAN." Of course it was a lie, but if he didn't manage to distract Kadaj, the chances were high that Tseng would not survive this encounter, and he could not afford to lose his most loyal Turk.

"Is that right…?" Kadaj had turned his back on the man as he was speaking, but now he faced him again, glaring at him with piercing green eyes. After a moment, he reached out with his katana, placing it neatly under Tseng's chin. "Fine, then swear on him!" As Rufus watched, Tseng looked up at the man threatening to kill him with a face of stone, even though he could tell the man was in agony from the wounds the remnant had already inflicted on him.

Rufus ached to go for the shotgun he had hidden underneath his coat, but it was clear to him Kadaj would undoubtedly strike in that instance. He needed to wait until the right moment. "What good will that do you?" he asked smoothly.

"It doesn't matter," Kadaj insisted. "We need Mother's power. The reunion is coming." He stepped closer, the slits in his pupils contracting eerily.

"Reunion…" Rufus breathed the word out in surprise. He had not heard that word since Hojo's demise, and he had hoped it would never come up again. It spoke of a time when his people had been forced to band together with GUARDIAN to fight a nigh unassailable enemy at the top of the world, and another time when the other man in this room had nearly died.

Kadaj grinned upon seeing the effect his words had. "My brothers and sisters will all assemble…" he raised his arms gesturing at the sky hidden by the building's roof above them, "and together, we'll take revenge on the planet!" he chuckled at the thought before pacing around the room uncertainly. "We've already sent out the invitations but… you know… someone's gone and hidden the guest of honor."

"Invitations?" Rufus asked.

Kadaj looked at him as though he was being intentionally stupid. "The Stigma," he explained, "But you know all about what it did to your precious city, don't you." Rufus stayed as still as a stone, determined not to let this vermin know he was concerned as Kadaj continued. "Mother's memetic legacy lives on in the Lifestream and makes it happen." He threw up his hands in frustration. "She does so much for us, and yet, we don't even know where to find her!" He paced in front of the president in agitation before coming to a stop. "But what can we do? We're just remnants. Merely remnants of mother's legacy." He turned and came closer. "Until we find Mother and receive her cells, we can't be whole again!" He had Rufus backed up against the window as he brought his voice down to a whisper. "Geostigma and a legacy, aren't enough. Not for a true reunion."

"What do you mean by that?" Rufus asked coldly.

"But sir," Kadaj said, continuing to glare at him, "Surely you've noticed."

As the president of the Shinra Corporation watched, Kadaj knelt on the ground and then slowly lifted his head. He was so distracted by what he saw in that moment, it did not even occur to him to take advantage of Kadaj's lower position on the ground to kill him. For in the instant that he raised his head, Rufus did not see the remnant's face. For a moment, it was Sephiroth's…

* * *

><p><strong>April 15<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0009 8:00 AM Mid Central Sea Time**

Aerith had been awake for some time when Zack rolled out of his bunk in their cabin aboard the Gainsborough. It was understandable. Yesterday's events had taken a toll on him, and she herself still felt tired. She had been right at Kunsel's side, trying to help him revive Freya right up until the end. But they could not linger long, not when there was still so much work to be done, and if they could be there to help the others in Junon, all the better. Behind her she heard Zack speak up, "Are you ready?" he asked.

She nodded. They had already spared a little time for her to tend to his Geostigma so, leaving their pilot to wait by the ship as they made their way towards the ruins. "So, where do you want to investigate?" he asked.

"I'd like to go by the lake one more time," she replied.

He nodded. "All right." With that, they walked quickly along the main path, back through the buildings and old shells. The trees were still, with only the slightest hint of a cold breeze. It was all right though, as she had her cloak and she had Zack. The Planet didn't seem nearly as frantic as it had yesterday, so the danger seemed limited to the black water that was still in the lake.

As they approached it through the woods, she could still see it, an affront to the Planet's nature. Her expression hardened at the sight. Below this lake, Freya had died to save her life. If there was one thing she could do to prevent anyone else from meeting her fate… she tightened her grip around her staff as they reached the water's edge. "I think this is good enough," she said. "The Planet seems to think we're okay around here, even with the black water. Are you ready?"

Zack nodded, unhitching the Buster Sword and sheathing it into the ground before sitting down on his knees in front of it. "Let's do this."

Aerith stood in front of him, holding the Princess Guard between them, and after a moment she placed it on the ground, shutting her eyes and allowing the Lifestream to channel around them from the ambient sources until at last, the familiar wave rose up and engulfed them…

_Upon finding herself within her inner space, she noticed that it had changed yet again from the last time. The darker tint of the ambient light surrounding the pond of water had spread, covering more of the field in a darkened hue though the flowers still bloomed. There were even more fireflies surrounding the epicenter of the swarm over the water. Surprised, she walked a little closer, squinting through the points of light to see what was concealed behind them. She thought she caught sight of some tendrils of Lifestream, but she couldn't be sure._

"_Aerith?" she could hear Zack calling her._

"_Coming!" She called out and started towards the road that led out. As she prepared to leave, the lights once again coalesced into a single point of illumination and followed after her, taking refuge under her cloak. She found Zack waiting on the road, and noticed immediately the evidence of the stigma on him, tendrils of blackened Lifestream bled around him, though she said nothing. They were both well aware of what was wrong. She saw that the area very much mirrored the place in which they actually stood, yet tendrils of Lifestream floated freely around them and shadows walked around, as though searching for their owners. It was truly a ghost town in more ways than one, but none of them felt threatening. If anything, they felt like the spirits they'd run across at the Temple of the Ancients._

"_What are they?" Zack asked._

"_Ancients who came before, I think," Aerith said. She walked over to one of the shades and attempted to get their attention but it simply looked up at her. Its speech, if it could be called such a thing was nothing but disjointed images of a world long past. A village, and children, and then something about fear, and then recognition that something like what had made their brothers and sisters flee from this place was in the village again. "It's hard to understand, but I think they're definitely aware of the black water."_

_She looked to her right and there it was, the lake held as visible a presence here as as it did in the real world. She walked closer, her brow furrowing. Now what should they do?_

_There was movement in the corner of her eye, and suddenly she caught sight of a familiar figure standing by the lakeside. As she watched, a pair of faintly glowing copper-colored eyes met with hers, and then the figure turned away, gesturing that they follow her. "Zack! Look!" She gestured towards where the figure had been._

"_Freya?" Zack asked. The two of them started hurrying in that direction but soon only found themselves standing in an empty shell, looking down a familiar set of stairs. They could hear the distant footsteps down below them and Zack went first. In an instant, they were no longer on the stairs but standing at the center of the Water Altar where another shadow stood in front of them, somewhat resembling a man wearing ancient clothing and looking somewhat like the shaman whom she'd seen in Banora. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that same copper-eyed figure disappearing into the gloom, fading into nothingness. Turning her attention back to the shadow in front of them, she tried to get its attention._

"_Hello?"_

_The man looked up at her and she felt a warmth wash over her. He was returning her greeting. Then... curiosity she guessed._

"_Um… we're trying to find out how the Ancients drove back Jenova... well, her virus… anyway. Do you know anything about that? Can you help us?"_

_The man glanced over at Zack, who looked like he was too distracted searching for their missing friend to notice the attention. Even so, it was clear the older man recognized the signs. He looked back at her and nodded. From the general sense he was giving her, it seemed like he did know something. He raised his staff, which she saw looked somewhat similar to the Princess Guard, and tapped it on the ground. Above them, the yellowed sea glass cleared, the cracks healed, and within the memory, she saw the man praying to the Planet in a language she didn't know, a familiar materia held in his hand as several warriors lay behind him, contorted in pain from patches of diseased and abscessed flesh that covered their bodies._

"_I don't understand," Aerith said. "My materia can only cast Holy…"_

_The shade looked at her across the memory and walked over to her, reaching gently up to the ribbon in her hair and retrieving the materia from it. She heard him speaking in the Ancient tongue. For a moment, she listened to the old language at first hearing but not comprehending and then, it became clear to her. She understood. She smiled at the old man. "I see. Thank you! Thank you so much! If not for you…"_

_The man suddenly gave her a look of surprise as his thoughts suddenly registered her memory of her meeting with Minerva and then smiled back. It was then that the little firefly appeared at her elbow. The shadow spotted it and she suddenly felt an emotion that confused her. "Really?"_

_The man nodded and then placed Aerith's materia back in her hand. The message was clear. "You know what to do, child."_

_She considered for a moment. The news he had just told her was so huge, but yes, this was also important. "Thanks again," she said, and then after a moment, she looked over at Zack and she could already feel a light rain around her as she followed the old Ancient's instructions…_

The rain was still falling as her awareness returned. It was a surprisingly warm and wholesome rain and felt wonderful on her skin in the chill air. Behind Zack, she could see the lake steaming as the clean water came into contact with the polluted murk within its depths, boiling it away and purifying it once more until the waters were crystal clear. Zack was on his feet in an instant. "Aerith, was that who I thought it was in th…" he suddenly looked down at his right shoulder before pulling off his jacket and ripping off the bandage peeking out from under his shirt. As they both watched in wonder, the injured flesh was knitting itself back together as though it had never been infected. The scar from Sephiroth still remained, but the black puss and infected tissue had almost melted away. He looked up at her in surprise. "You did it…"

She nodded and through the rain, the two of them embraced. "We did it," Aerith said, unable to tell which drops of water on her face were rain and which were her own tears.

"Yeah," Zack whispered into her ear. "We'll be able to save everyone. I just wish we could get her back too."

"We all do…" Aerith said and then her thoughts whirled back to the last thing the Ancient had told her. "Zack, there's something else…"

"What is it?"

"I think you're going to be a father…"

"What?" he backed away looking down at her in surprise even though his hands were still on her shoulders. "You mean… you… and me… we're going to have a…" He seemed incapable of articulating his words.

Aerith nodded. "The Ancient who told me how to use the cure. He told me…"

Zack pulled her into another hug as the rain kept pouring around them and she realized he was crying too. Neither of them seemed able to decide if it was out of happiness or grief. "That's wonderful…"

* * *

><p><em>I hope everyone had a happy New Year's Day!<em>

_See you next week!_


	87. Bahamut SIN

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spin-offs That honor goes to Square-Enix.

Alistor is an original character.

**Part IV: ****Stigma**

* * *

><p>Chapter 87, Bahamut SIN<p>

**April 15****th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0009 10:00 AM Junon Western Time**

Scarlet paced the floor of her bunker impatiently. A conservative estimate of their attempt to use the remnants as a distraction had been a complete catastrophe, and if they didn't get the huge materia Kadaj had stolen soon, their attempt to take over Junon would be a complete rout. She and Heidegger knew very well that the WRO's net was closing in. It had been all they could do so far to keep them from actually discovering their hiding place. She looked up at the large vehicle that loomed up in the shadows. She needed to augment its weapon soon, or there wouldn't be a chance in hell against Reeve's troops.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard a set of footsteps approaching out of the gloom. Turning, she saw it was Heidegger. The old oaf didn't say anything, so she turned her attention back to the technicians that were in the process of making the last adjustments on the machine in front of her. "Is it almost ready?" Heidegger asked, and she felt grimly satisfied that he sounded worried. Apparently their interactions with Kadaj had left him jumpy.

"Of course," she said. "All we need is the huge materia and my Little Sister Ray mako cannon will be completed. And then, my second prototype for the Proud Clod will be complete." It was a work of genius that advanced technology had allowed her to build on a much smaller scale than her original cannon. The increased portability and the advanced structure of the vehicle on which it had been affixed would allow her to overtake enemy units with ease.

"_Director Scarlet?" _A voice called out of her communicator.

"Yes?" she responded. The last of the bolts had just been soldered into place, now it was simply a matter of getting the materia into its proper fitting.

"_Two of those men have arrived… should we let them in?" _The man sounded worried.

"Of course," Scarlet said, doing her best to remain calm. These two were supposed to be dead. Had she misjudged whether or not Strife and Fair were up to the task? Heidegger shifted his weight uncomfortably. A few moments later, Loz and Yazoo entered the bunker, and without so much as batting an eye, the bigger of the two tossed a small canvas bag in her direction which she caught.

"Our brother found what you were looking for," Yazoo said calmly. "Now how about that information on where mother is?"

Scarlet sighed. "You didn't hold up part of your end of the deal. You were supposed to distract Zack Fair from our activities in Corel, yet you didn't even so much as bother to show up."

Loz glared at that. "You want to mess with us lady?"

Scarlet walked over to the mech on which her subordinates had been working and handed them the bag. "Still, I suppose you did give me what I wanted. All right then, I already told you, Rufus might have some of her remains." She reached into her pocket, and produced a blank data disk. It would at least buy her time. "This should tell you where they are," she handed it to one of the more nervous looking technicians who hurriedly walked over to hand it to Yazoo, possibly out of the misconception that he was slightly less threatening. Scarlet knew better, but she could already see that her materia was being installed into the portable mako cannon. She silently motioned to Heidegger that he should get on board the mech while she continued. "Now, if you'll kindly excuse me, I have a city to conquer." And two remnants who wouldn't have time to verify that they had actually received the information they wanted before her Little Sister Ray disintegrated them into oblivion.

She could already see Yazoo hovering behind Loz expectantly while the other remnant fiddled with a data reader as she hurriedly climbed into the cockpit of the mech after Heidegger. Sure, there was still Kadaj to contend with, but there was always the chance that Strife or Fair would still eliminate him. The technicians were quickly scattering out of the way as she strapped herself into her seat, seeing that Heidegger was already set to go. Booting up the Proud Clod's computer, she began setting the parameters for aiming the mako cannon. The two remnants had barely looked up when she hit the button to fire, however, to her consternation, they both leapt out of the way as a mako blast discharged leaving a small crater in the ground where they had been standing.

"The disk!" Yazoo cried. It had apparently been shattered in the blast.

"What did you do that for you $!#&%" Loz shouted.

Scarlet chuckled. "Did you really think I'd let you destroy the world you imbeciles?! If you did, what would I have to rule? Now Die!" She pressed the button again, sending a blast of energy streaming across the floor. One of the techs had the presence of mind to open the blast doors, which was good. She needed to get out in the open, lest she bring the entire bunker down with her. Not that she would need it anymore since Junon would be hers by nightfall, but it was a shame to let this place go to waste.

"Scarlet?" She heard Heidegger behind her. "You said we'd rule together."

She glared at him. "Shut up, of course that's what I meant! Without you we have no army, but if we can't get rid of these monsters, we may not have one anyway!"

"Is that so?" Yazoo asked and she suddenly noticed him outside the blast shield on the cockpit's front window. "Well then, perhaps we should just kill you now!"

At that moment, Loz suddenly leapt into the air, and after gaining purchase on the mech's plating, pounded his gauntlet into the glass. Spider webs of cracked glass filtered out from the impact zone and Scarlet quickly activated the electrification feature on the mech. The remnants backed off, but she couldn't see them. This could not be! She started the mech towards a service elevator. It would take her up to the upper plate, directly below the Junon cannon. With all the space there, she'd be sure to defeat them and then she could get back to doing what was actually important. The city would be hers, no matter what!

She activated a com line to a set of cameras she placed topside as the elevator began to rise above lower Junon. They had been there to record her victory, but now as she watched she noticed something rather off. Near the site of the lift exit on the main street through the city, stood a crowd of children, and at their head stood a man wielding what looked to be a SOLDIER's sword.

* * *

><p>The Shera was very close to Junon when the com channel on the airship's bridge suddenly opened. "Sir," the officer in charge of their channels spoke up. "We have a direct line from Commissioner Tuesti."<p>

"Put it up," Cid ordered.

"Yes sir."

Barely a moment later, Reeve stood over the holo-projector, _"Cid, we have a development under the Cannon, I'm sending you the live feed now. Where are the others?"_

"They're in the back getting ready, we'll be at the airport in about 10 minutes."

"_I might suggest a different approach at this point."_

As Reeve spoke, the feed suddenly went live and Cid's eyes widened. "Scarlet?" he asked.

"Yes, and it would seem she and the remnants have had a falling out," another camera went online and Cid could see that the man who had attacked Barret along with another were attempting to fight it out with the mech along with another man who looked very familiar and was wielding a standard SOLDIER sword.

"I see what ya mean," he said after a minute. "Maybe an airdrop would make sense."

"_You read my mind,"_ Reeve said. _"I'll be sending Yuffie, Cait Sith, and Nanaki to investigate further, but please hurry."_

"You got it," As the call ended Cid turned his attention to the PA system. "This is your captain speaking. Get your asses into the cargo bay and get ready for an air drop.

Turning to his flight officer, he said "I leave the Shera with you. Find a clear space nearby to land. I know there's a park near the cannon that oughtta do just fine."

"Yes sir!" With that, Cid left the bridge and headed down the main corridor just as Cloud appeared with Tifa right behind him. "What's happening?" He asked just as Kunsel and Barret appeared in the hallway leading towards the cabins.

"Those remnants have shown up under the cannon. It'll take too long to actually get there from the airport, so we're doing an airdrop. Scarlet at least looks like she's there, and so are the kids, so let's move it people!"

He probably shouldn't have been surprised that Cloud and Kunsel were already prepping their gear before he even reached the cargo doors. Tifa was not far behind them. And Cissnei, and Vincent were right behind her. Barret had taken another moment to tell Marlene to stay in the cabins before joining them and the active Turks were still awaiting orders. A minute later, everyone was set, and the acting pilot spoke up over the PA system, _"We're in position sir, commence drop on my mark."_

Cid hit the button to unlock the cargo doors and waited. Down below, he saw a bright beam of energy blink into existence under the cannon. They needed to get moving. "_Three, two, one, mark!"_

At that, Cloud stepped forward, the Fusion Swords fully assembled on his back and dropped into the sky below them. Tifa dived out after him, then Kunsel and the rest followed until Cid was the last one. He ran for the gate and soon he was dropping like a stone, the wind whipping past his face as his speed increased and the adrenaline flushed through his system.

Once he'd dropped sufficiently he pulled the cord, allowing his parachute to open above him as the cannon got closer below. As he floated the rest of the way down, he could see Cloud and Kunsel already racing in the direction of the mech with the others not far behind him. Soon, he felt the hardened asphalt of the street below him and after disengaging the parachute, he took off after them.

Up ahead, he saw Cloud leap into the air to trade a series of blows with Loz while Tifa had broken off the attack upon seeing Denzel and was standing in front of him trying to get his attention. Barret meanwhile had headed straight towards where a SOLDIER in street clothes appeared to be assisting Yazoo in fighting the mech. Cissnei and Kunsel seemed to have decided that was the best course of action as well and Cid, not being the type to do things half-way, decided to do the same thing. Reaching for the summon materia he'd found in that cave outside Icicle Inn. As he finished casting, the giant fortress-like being sent a wave of powerful magic in the direction of the conflict. The two remnants seemed visibly mortified at the blast of destructive power headed their way and the pilot wasn't finished yet. He scaled the summon he'd just called upon and leapt off the top of it, channeling a limit directly at the heart of the mech.

Slashing at the mech and the remnants eight times, Cid jumped back, spinning his spear over his head with a grin. "That's how you do it!" He taunted. He was about to press the attack again when he noticed a black mist spreading across the street that was quickly forming into a series of four legged beasts.

* * *

><p>Cloud ran through the waves of holy energy, dodging an attack from the mako cannon on Scarlet's mech before bringing the sword to bear on one of its legs. At that moment, Kunsel unleashed a barrage from his gunblade on the other before giving it a slash. The mech sparked as Scarlet threatened to send another blast in their direction, but right at that moment, Nanaki appeared between them with Cait Sith on his back as he channeled a limit which promptly caused the mech to burst into flames. "Good to see you," Kunsel commented.<p>

"You as well," Nanaki said, before hurrying off toward the sound of several cries of surprise. Yuffie appeared half a second later sending her Conformer at one of the monsters that had just appeared near where the remnants were.

Cloud and Kunsel ran towards the other monsters, breaking off in different directions. Cloud headed off towards where he saw Barret fighting off a couple of monsters, though he definitely saw Kunsel going in the direction of Yazoo.

At that moment, Alistor entered his vision, about to take a slash at Barret from behind. Running forward, he was there almost before the SOLDIER had fully lifted his blade, blocking the swordsman's blow. To his surprise, the man had a pretty good arm on him for being also afflicted with the stigma, almost like he didn't feel it. Barret turned around at that moment. "Thanks Spiky!" He hurried around him grabbing Alistor by the arm as Cloud used the butt of his sword to knock him out.

The man took a step back, blinked in surprise and then dropped to the ground. Barret lifted him up and carried him towards the Shera while Cloud redirected his focus towards where Tifa had stopped to try and help Denzel. His heart nearly stopped, when he saw her turn to defend both herself and the boy from one of the monsters and instead get knocked over by one from behind, pulling Denzel down in the process. He quickly detached the hollow blade from the main blade and tossed it through the air like a boomerang. It flew in front of him as he broke into a sprint, promptly slicing the monster in two before spinning towards another one that had just been about to get Cid from behind. It returned to his hand as he approached them, seeing that the Shera had only come in to land about a block away. Good.

Looking down, he saw that Tifa and Denzel were picking themselves up and let out a breath of relief. Denzel noticed him there first. "Cloud?" he asked.

"We can talk later," he said. Thinking better of it he turned and looked the boy in the eye. "We will definitely be talking later."

"You mean you're going to come home after this?" Denzel asked.

Cloud nodded as Tifa turned to talk to him. "Marlene's on the Shera. Can you make it back?"

Denzel nodded before looking back up at Cloud. "I'll see you there, okay Cloud?"

The swordsman nodded and then, as Denzel ran towards the airship, they turned their attention back to the monsters. They had to destroy them before they could kill any bystanders or get to the rest of the city.

* * *

><p><strong>April 15<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0009 10:30 AM **

Rufus stood on top of a skyscraper near the cannon whose construction had been halted around the time Midgar had been evacuated. He knew that if he ran for it Kadaj would gladly gut him like a fish. But as things stood, perhaps he could still work the situation to his advantage. Off in the distance, he could see the Shera approaching and the tell-tale signs of parachutes. It seemed GUARDIAN had arrived. Scarlet and Heidegger didn't have a prayer. "Say Kadaj…" he said after a moment, "I have a question."

Kadaj scoffed as he playfully tossed a materia into the air that Rufus recognized as being a summon. "And I've got an answer," he replied.

Rufus continued, "You told me you needed Jenova's cells in order to be whole again, right? What did you mean by that?"

Kadaj caught the materia in his hand frustratedly. "Him. He's coming back…"

Rufus did his best to emulate Tseng and maintain his calm. There was no ambiguity as to who 'he' was. "Sephiroth… the nightmare…"

"So they say," Kadaj said over his shoulder.

Rufus was surprised. His initial theory about Kadaj was that he and his fellow remnants might have been from among the Sephiroth clones, perhaps a few that had somehow survived Sephiroth's initial attempt at the Reunion. But in that case, this didn't make sense to him. "You mean…"

"I've never known Sephiroth," Kadaj intoned, "I just… I sense him there… "It's unbearable… to think Mother might want Sephiroth more than…"

"Poor little remnant," Rufus taunted.

Kadaj turned to face him angrily and he had to resist the urge to step back. "It doesn't matter who she picks, you'll all meet the same end!" He raised his hands expressively as he stepped closer to the president. "Mother came to this planet after a long journey, to rid the cosmos of fools like you!" He brought the materia forward, shoving it in Rufus's face. It was a testament to his mental fortitude that he did not budge, no matter how much he wished he could. "But," Kadaj continued, walking back towards the edge of the platform on which they stood, "You know as well as I do. Nothing's changed since she got here. I have to change it, to make her happy! If mother willed it…" he brought the materia up to catch the light of the sun. "I'd do anything for her."

Rufus scoffed. "The nightmare returns," he observed.

Kadaj resumed tossing the summon and catching it with his right hand. "As long as you exist, the nightmares will come again and again."

Rufus smirked. "The Lifestream courses through our world, ever flowing on the edge of life and death. If that cycle is the very truth of life, then history too will inevitably repeat itself. Go on, bring your Jenovas and your Sephiroths, cause trouble to your heart's content. We'll do as life dictates and stop you every single time."

Kadaj was not even bothering to look at him. "Please sir, is that your excuse for going after mother yourself? You don't seem all that sorry."

"Sorry?" Rufus raised an eyebrow and his smirk became a little wider. "The truth is, I actually enjoy it."

It was at that moment when he saw that Kadaj had once again equipped the materia by slipping it into his arm. "Good." He turned back with a feral grin. "Then let's put an end to all this." For a moment, Rufus wondered if he had miscalculated and he was about to die as the remnant charged up the materia but then Kadaj turned and aimed the spell at the sky, directly about the Junon Cannon. As they both watched a dragon appeared and flew down towards the commotion below, but it was unlike any Rufus had ever seen. Perhaps the remnant's corrupted energy had caused it too to be twisted by exposure to it. But it was no more than a theory. Regardless, it seemed GUARDIAN had not succeeded in breaking off the remnants' attack yet, so he still needed to be patient, until the time came to play his hand.

* * *

><p>Across the street from where Cloud and the others were dealing with monsters, Reno was surprised to find himself face to face with a familiar bald Turk he had not seen in a while "Rude! How did you get here man?"<p>

"Took a plane," the martial artist responded. "How's Elena?"

"'Bout as well as can be expected, but we can talk about it later," he gestured at the monsters when out of the blue, Yazoo and Loz suddenly appeared in front of them.

Reno jauntily tapped his EMR rod across his shoulder. "And just where do you think you're going?"

"To find our mother," Yazoo said.

"Oh?" Rude replied.

"Yeah," Loz said. "We're pretty sure she's somewhere in this city."

"So you think we hid here here? Good luck with that. It's a big place," Reno commented.

"Well, did you hide her here?" Yazoo parroted back.

"Why ask us?" Rude said.

Reno grinned, trying to get in on the act too. "Where we hid her is classified info." He turned to Rude with a laugh.

"Oh ho!" Yazoo took a couple of steps closer. "So you do have something to hide."

Reno was taken aback by that. How could they have said something so dangerous. "Rude! You and your big mouth!" With that, he raised his EMR rod and charged. At that moment, multiple things occurred. Kunsel ran out of the crowd, Barret raced past them with an unconscious man over his shoulder just behind that kid Strife and Lockheart had adopted, several four legged beasts started fighting it out with Cloud, and a huge shadow suddenly appeared over all of them. Reno looked up and his mouth fell open, feeling his rod connect with something behind him. At that same moment, Elena ran up to join them, firing a hand gun up and the enormous dragon… thing… that had just dived down parallel with the cannon to come to rest with a Planet-shattering boom.

"Hel-lo…" Reno observed.

"Hell no," Rude replied.

"What are you talking about you wusses!" Elena said, running past them. "After Sephiroth, this should be easy! Besides!" She paused, lifting her gun and pointing it directly at Yazoo. "I've got a bullet with your name on it!"

"How cute," Yazoo scoffed. "Some measly little Turks are the least of my concern."

It was at that moment when Kunsel stopped behind him aiming his gunblade directly at Yazoo's head. "Then how about we add a SOLDIER to that equation?"

"Leave my brother alone!" Loz aimed a punch with his gauntlet at the SOLDIER's chest, forcing him to dodge out of the way, but then the situation escalated again as they all heard the dragon roar. That was when Reno noticed the blue glow of energy being gathered in its mouth. Rude grabbed Elena, while Reno and Kunsel both grabbed one of the children who were standing around nearby and started running.

They had run about 10 feet when Reno asked "Is it after us?"

Rude responded breathlessly "I'm not lookin'." Just as he spoke, Kunsel jumped over top of them, knocking them to the ground and Reno felt the energy of a Wall spell flicker to life around them. In that moment, a wave of energy blew out from near the cannon and he could see a series of other Wall spells activating where other GUARDIAN members had moved to defend those that they could.

As the dust cleared around them, Kunsel picked himself up, holding his gunblade in a defensive position as the two remnants approached them. "Are we having fun yet, hmm?" Yazoo goaded.

"The time of my life!" Reno gritted out, hopping to his feet and rushing past Kunsel. The SOLDIER dodged his EMR rod as he and Rude lunged at the two remnants, trading several blows with them before Yazoo knocked Reno back onto the pavement. "When are you gonna call it a day!" Reno growled, picking himself back up as Yazoo hopped onto a nearby building.

"Why? Just as soon as you give back Mother, that'll be the end of everything," Yazoo taunted. Reno glared angrily at him and took a running leap to start climbing the building with his bare hands. He was about halfway up when he saw Kunsel leaping through the air right after him. The two of them reached the roof of the building at almost the same time and the SOLDIER vaulted over the remnant so that the two of them were surrounding him.

"Because just ending one life wasn't enough!" Kunsel said bring up his blade in a cleaving slash. Yazoo blocked with his own gunblade just as Reno came closing in, but he broke the lock to parry the Turk's blows.

"Forget your little reunion and get a grip!" Reno shouted.

"All we want is to be with mother!" Yazoo returned and with a powerful blow, he sent Reno flying through the air to land on Rude who had been sparring with Loz below. As they picked themselves up, he suddenly saw Kunsel appear in front of them as Elena was running to catch up.

"Stay outta this SOLDIER!" Reno said, picking himself up.

"As if!" Kunsel said, not moving a muscle.

The remnants ignored him and Loz spoke up at that moment. "Mother will win. When she gets here, she'll decide what's best. Now where's mother?"

"Mother, shmother, it's Jenova's friggen head…" Reno taunted as he dusted himself off.

"Hey!" Loz shouted.

"I will not have you refer to mother that way!" Yazoo interjected.

"You meanie!" Loz added.

Kunsel seemed a little surprised when Rude spoke up "Our apologies."

"You're ma's cool…" it was then he realized that maybe he'd been knocked around a little more than he'd thought. "What the hell am I sayin'!"

Their banter was interrupted when a short distance away, the dragon suddenly started climbing. "We'll see how you handle your city being a crater…" Yazoo said and with that, he and Loz suddenly disappeared. Kunsel had apparently spotted something off towards the cannon because he had started sprinting in that direction, just as Elena reappeared next to them.

"Are you guys all right?" she asked.

"We need to find the President," Rude said.

"Right," Reno agreed. With that, they rushed back towards Shinra's Junon office. Hopefully they could find something there.

* * *

><p>In Junon's undercity, several WRO units had a couple of houses that had been used as staging locations for Scarlet and Heidegger's attempted coup. It had been a successful rout with most of the officers neutralized. Valerie stood next to Allen, overseeing their two top prisoners, when a loud boom suddenly reverberated through the area.<p>

"What was that?" she wondered.

"It was Scarlet and Heidegger you idiot! Don't you get it?! What you've done here means nothing! They will conquer the city and the rest of the world will follow." General Nietzsche seemed awfully confident in spite of being handcuffed to his fellow General Kant.

"How do you figure it?" Allen asked.

"Because under the old Shinra, the people were happy! And when we bring back the company, it'll be better than ever! There's no way those two would fail," Kant gloated.

"Is that so?" A familiar voice spoke from behind them. As they turned to see who it was, Lou appeared from behind a truck, along with Rod, Mao, and Tanjuu. To their surprise, Veld was also with them, along with Elfe and Shears. "Because we just got word that they got stomped on by a dragon," the blonde renegade finished.

The two generals suddenly became really quiet. "Is everything okay up there?" Allen asked.

"GUARDIAN's on it. And they've got Cissnei with them, they ought to be up to it," Rod said.

"Still, it's hard to believe…" Valerie said sadly.

She gave Tanjuu a concerned look but the lady Turk's former partner didn't return it. "She knew what she was doing." He said coolly.

"Yeah," Mao agreed. "Same with the others. They'll be all right."

"They will," Veld said. "Even so, I think times will be changing again soon."

Elfe nodded in agreement. "It's hard to believe anything will remain the same after this. Regardless of what happens." As if to punctuate her observation, they all suddenly caught a glimpse of a pale blue light emanating brighter than the sun on the upper plates of Junon above them.

* * *

><p>Denzel was running back towards the Shera when he suddenly saw several of the monsters blocking his path, attacking civilians. There was only about two-hundred yards or so between him and the ship and if that wasn't bad enough, he suddenly felt the abscesses along his body seize up. At first he stopped, unable to move on and looking around him, he could see that others who had been in contact with the monsters seemed to be having a similar reaction, but up ahead, he saw one man being tossed around like a rag doll into a fire hydrant.<p>

Breathing heavily he looked down at the black pus collecting in his hands and then at some of the people who in spite of their current state were trying to fight these things off. It the others were fighting, surely there could be something he could do too. "I can do this!" he gritted out, pulling himself up grabbing a pipe that had been knocked free in the struggle he ran over and struck the nozzle on the hydrant that was aimed in the direction of the monsters. As he struck it again, the four that stood in his path were alerted to the sounds and started charging.

Staring them down, he did his best to get over his fear, and swinging the pipe in the air for leverage, he brought it down one final time, bursting open the seal and sending a powerful stream directly at his attackers. The monsters were already backing off as suddenly Barret came barreling through with Al over his shoulder. As he passed him, he said "Follow me!" Denzel did so and once they were at the Shera's cargo doors, Barret lowered the SOLDIER down. "You keep an eye on him, all right? I gotta help the others!"

Denzel nodded and Barret wheeled around, heading back towards the cannon several blocks away.

* * *

><p>Cloud and Tifa had dispatched the last of the monsters when above the cannon a shadow had suddenly appeared. "Is that a dragon?" Tifa asked.<p>

Without bothering to answer, Cloud started running closer to the summon's location, pausing only to help Tifa leap to the top of a nearby building before pulling himself up after her. The two of them ran in the direction of the cannon's main support pillar, just as Yuffie pulled past them, swinging her Conformer which spun through the air. Sparks flew as it connected with the dragon's armor, and they had barely gone two more steps before Cloud spotted Cid climbing a nearby set of steel pilings to leap at the monster's shoulder while Nanaki let loose a limit below. Cloud pulled himself up to another steel crossbeam and prepped the fusion swords as he saw Vincent materialize onto another one nearby, firing several shots from his gun while Cissnei raced across the ground, sending up a Bolt 3 with one hand as her rekka went flying out of her other one.

Tifa joined Cloud on the crossbeam before giving him a leg up as he jumped to land directly on the monster's head. He gave the dragon several strong slashes to its face before it shook him off. Yuffie's Conformer flew past him as he landed on the ground and Vincent took his place leaping across the dragon's body while Cid catapulted himself up by his spear to join the gunman. Nanaki weaved in and out between the dragon's legs before casting Gravity on the dragon's center. The dragon roared angrily before shaking Cid and Vincent from its body.

That was when Barret appeared next to him, having returned from evacuating Alistor from the front lines. His gunarm blazing, he raced in with a battle cry, stopping a short distance from Cloud who had definitely noticed the dragon was headed their way. He spared barely a thought, automatically reaching out to drag the gunman out of the dragon's path as Tifa grabbed onto one of the dragon's legs and scrambled to one of its eyes before unleashing a Bio spell directly into its face. She landed on the cross beam directly next to where they were. "What kept you?" Cloud asked.

"That's real funny!" Barret gritted out before unleashing another barrage in the dragon's direction just as Cissnei retrieved her rekka from a second strike and Nanaki and Cait Sith had been knocked free from where the red-lion had attempted to maul one of the dragon's limbs.

The dragon had apparently decided at that point that it'd had enough, because it suddenly took flight again, a blue glow emitting from its mouth as it prepared to fire. Cloud looked down at the ground at that point just in time to see Kunsel sprinting back from where ever he'd gotten off to and began running up a nearby steel pylon. it was clear what he needed to do. The ex-SOLDIER was looking at him expectantly and he nodded, readying his blade before signaling that Barret throw him into the air. "Alley oop!" The gunman called after him, rocketing him up the side of the building. He flew up to meet Cissnei as she dropped from her perch, offering her rekka as she fell.

"You can do it!" She said. He grabbed the other end and she tossed him higher into the air to where Kunsel had just jumped into free-fall above him.

He grabbed the other swordsman's hand and Kunsel spun him around, propelling him further upward taking him towards the dragon's head. "Get 'im!" he heard the swordsman say behind him before he leveled another strike at it before being knocked away by the force of his own blow, but then he saw Cid, holding out his spear and he prepared to land.

Crouching down on the shaft, he felt it bend under his weight and he eyed Cid who nodded, knowing what he had in mind before he did it. "Giiyup!" Cid grunted as he used the spear as a makeshift catapult, propelling Cloud higher up their current skyscraper.

He felt Nanaki grab hold of his sweater behind him, throwing him further as Cait Sith called out "There ya go!" Before Yuffie also appeared throwing him higher with a battle cry of her own.

He was nearing the upper segments of the cannon tower when he heard Vincent's soft "Fly!" and felt himself being thrown still higher to where Tifa was waiting for him at the highest point on the tower.

She leapt out and took his hand. "No giving up!" she said before throwing him further. Above him, the dragon had stopped and he braced himself as it suddenly unleashed a powerful ball of energy directly towards him. Strangely, as it passed around him, he had the feeling that Zack and Aerith would be here soon. They were close by and their hearts were with him… and then…

Perhaps he had imagined it, but before him, he saw a woman with copper eyes reaching out to grab his hand. _"No regrets…"_ echoed through his thoughts as he flew out the other end of energy vortex, piercing his sword directly into the dragons head as it dived after the ball of destructive force somehow starting to disperse after he'd gone through it. His boots connected with the dragon's back and he ran along it, digging the Fusion Sword as deep as it would go before jumping free. As he dropped back to the ground, he saw the summon dissolving ahead of him into tendrils of Lifestream until it was consumed by its own energies and became no more.

He landed in a crouch on a crossbeam near the cannon when his attention was grabbed by the sight of a bright flash of light from a nearby building…

* * *

><p><strong>April 15<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0009 10:45 AM**

Kadaj grinned as he watched the fighting in the distance and let out a laugh. "This is too fun sir! Any requests for the next act?" As he turned Rufus was already reaching into the confines of his coat, revealing a case that the remnant clearly recognized, because his eyes widened in shock. "Mother!" he cried out.

Rufus smiled condescendingly at the remnant. "Hmph, a good son would have known," he said. With that, he tossed the box over the side. In a fit of rage, Kadaj ran at him with his sword, but at that point, a man suddenly appeared out of the shadows. Tseng pushed Rufus aside, pulling out a grappling hook as he knocked the two of them over the edge. A disk flew free of Rufus's coat as they fell and he suddenly had a moment of horrific realization as Kadaj snatched it out of the air before turning his attention to the falling case below. "Mother!" he called out again before diving after the case as Rufus fired two shots at him. As he felt Tseng firing off the grappling hook he decided to change tactics. Instead firing a shot at the case. Perhaps if he destroyed it…

Below, he caught sight of Reno, Rude, and Elena running their way to assist and before he knew it, the youngest Turk fired off a net gun, providing a soft landing for both him and the Turk director. Fortunately one of his bullets struck home but it wasn't sufficient to stop Kadaj from reaching it before he hit the ground. As he watched the Turks approach, his attention was suddenly directed away by the sound of another motorcycle approaching and then he saw what it was. Cloud was on his way, and below him he saw the remnants hurriedly getting onto their motorbikes to flee the scene, before the swordsman sped past the building.

* * *

><p><em>There are only about five chapters left and I need extra time to make sure they're good, so for that reason, next week is going to be a break week. We'll be back at the usual time, Midnight, Thursday the 23rd, Friday the 24th. See ya then!<em>


	88. Crazy Motorcycle

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spin-offs That honor goes to Square-Enix.

Matt and Alistor are original characters.

**Part IV: ****Stigma**

* * *

><p>Chapter 88, Crazy Motorcycle<p>

**April 15****th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0009 10:45 AM**

Cloud sped down the city street after the remnants, buildings, lamp posts, and street signs rushing past him as the wind blew his hair out of his face. Up ahead he could see Kadaj, Yazoo, and Loz heading towards a street ramp that would take them onto the plate for the level above them. Those were residential districts. He gunned the accelerator as the four of them sped into the darkness before turning to take the ramp. As they went up the incline, he noticed that Yazoo and Loz were decelerating. Reaching for his sword as they drew level, he swerved out of the way as Loz attempted to punch him with his weapon before deflecting several shots from Yazoo's gunblade. The two of them spun out behind him before accelerating again and trying to come at him up the hill from behind.

Up ahead, Kadaj had reached the top of the ramp and had swerved to power through a security gate someone had placed at the entrance. He sliced at it with his double-bladed katana, sending it flying down the slope and forcing Cloud to duck. He heard the sound of the other two bikes swerving again behind him when a bullet pelted past his ear. In his surprise, he swerved around, allowing momentum to carry him the rest of the way up the ramp as he struck at Yazoo, who was coming up from behind. The smaller remnant traded blows with his gunblade before speeding past to catch up with his brother. Having coming to the top of the incline, Cloud hit the accelerator to change the direction he was going so he could follow. Loz had to leap into the air over his motorcycle to avoid being clipped by the Fusion Sword, but followed in hot pursuit, attempting to draw level with the blonde swordsman again.

They pulled out into the half-light of one of the inner main streets on the 6th level of the residential district, and Cloud saw several pedestrians dive for cover as Fenrir screamed past homes and small grocery stores. As they raced through, he caught sight of Yazoo up ahead of them, flipping backwards off of his bike to run along the walls of a building and fire several more shots, which the swordsman had to deflect before suddenly catching sight of Loz next to him again. The remnant jumped from his bike to Cloud's as both of them continued their trajectory down the street, sparks flying everywhere and the swordsman thrust his blade forward over the handlebars, forcing him to leap off. As they flew past a news stand by a side street that led towards the sea, Cloud activated a wall spell, just in time to deflect Yazoo, whose bike had just slowed past them. He spun out and as he re-angled himself, he spotted that Loz had just grabbed his brother's hand in midair to direct him back onto the motorbike he'd vacated. The two remnants were accelerating to come at him again, but by now, they were all rocketing towards the next ramp that would lead them up to the 7th level plate.

Kadaj had cut his way through another check point just ahead and Cloud carefully threaded his way through the destroyed wreckage before making a hard left to continue the chase. Behind him, he heard the other two doing the same. Cloud looked behind him as the lights on the ramp tunnel flew by around them. In his rear view mirror he spotted the two remnants behind him rounding the bend before turning his attention back to Kadaj. He was slowly gaining on the remnant as they continued up the ramp, the tunnel echoing in a roar through his ears. He was about halfway up when one of the tunnel lights went out in a hail of sparks and swerved across the tunnel to avoid several more shots before Loz suddenly appeared next to him, trying to sandwich Fenrir between his own bike and the tunnel wall.

He glared at the remnant before seeing through the hail of sparks coming off Fenrir's frame that he was pulling back with his gauntlet to try and knock him out. Calmly, he reached for the button that unlocked his blade compartments. They popped open like a pair of black wings, knocking Loz's bike into a spin as Yazoo pulled ahead of both of them. Cloud accelerated again, the bullets pelting off of his Wall, knocking out tunnel lights and penetrating holes into the rounded walls. The gunshots echoed as he pulled closer, drawing level and then striking at the remnant's head. Yazoo saw him coming however and countered, causing the two to lock blades; spinning around each other in an elegant high-speed dance across the asphalt before breaking the lock. It was apparent they were getting to the next turn off, and Kadaj had already disappeared again.

Cloud accelerated once Yazoo broke free, racing ahead of them to turn another hard left and speed through the next destroyed checkpoint that led into the seventh level. This ramp led to the seaside street, and the sunlight filtered down from above. He had to squint for a moment so his eyes could adjust, but up ahead, he could see mothers pulling their children back from the street as Kadaj barreled through. Up ahead, he saw Kadaj glance behind him, glaring in challenge and he revved the engine to pursue.

He was vaguely aware of the fact that a B1-Alpha was flying around above him up until the point where he checked his rear-view mirror when there was a powerful BOOM in his wake. Apparently whoever was flying the helicopter had tried to shoot a missile at the destroyed checkpoint to stop Yazoo and Loz, but they had pulled out of the tunnel seconds before. As he watched, Loz pulled up close to Yazoo, before whirling his bike around to use a set of machine guns that had been mounted on the front of the bike to open fire on the helicopter. Glancing up, he caught sight of a tuft of red hair in the cockpit before the chopper's pilot retaliated by opening a spread of much larger machine gun bullets after the two remnants. By that point, he was already headed towards the next ramp leading up to Level 8. He was through the next checkpoint when he noticed that the chopper was headed towards the upper level, like it was going to land. He wasn't sure what they were planning, but his mind was already on Kadaj.

He was very unhappy to see that in his preoccupation with Yazoo and Loz, Kadaj had pulled pretty far ahead now but he throttled the gas, plowing up the tunnel as fast as he could go. He was about a quarter of the way up when several more shots rang out behind him which he brought up his Wall spell again to avoid. At that moment however, he was surprised to see a large object moving up to catch him before Loz suddenly appeared on his handlebars. Half standing to use one boot to keep the bike from spiraling out of control as it continued through the tunnel, he brought up the First Sword to block as Loz attempted to land another blow on him again. They traded a few more before the the remnant leapt into the air to avoid his last strike, and Cloud was forced to swerve around to avoid more of Yazoo's bullets. He parried the ones that didn't miss, sending several holes into the walls as they echoed around him in a typhoon of noise and light before throttling again to speed up.

As he went, the two remnants were now literally driving their bikes along either side of the tunnel and once they were going fast enough, the two of them lunged at him, forcing him to quickly stand again, unhooking one of the switchblades from the First Sword so he could block both of their attacks. Pushing off the side of the wall he traded blows one more time with Loz who had evaded the blast by diving back down to his bike and using it once again as a springboard as he was tumbling back towards the ground. Yazoo came at him too at that moment and he quickly used his strike to direct himself back towards Fenrir, still rolling along below him. Once secure he turned in surprise to see that Loz had actually landed on the ground and on physical power alone had catapulted his motorcycle through the air towards him. Reattaching his switchblade, Cloud brought up the First Sword and cut through the vehicle in a powerful downward strike, sending the two halves of the bike spiraling through the air to burst explosively in the chamber behind him before seeing the way out onto Level 8 ahead of him.

* * *

><p>Reno and Rude stood outside the tunnel on the Level 8 plate as Reno held up a bomb that had clearly been thrown together out of duct tape, a timer, and a capsule of explosive compounds that most normal civilians probably wouldn't be able to identify. "Hey partner, this thing, got any bite to it?"<p>

Rude looked over at him and he could see the Turk's eyes twinkling humorously behind his sunglasses. "Shinra technology at its finest."

Reno grinned. "Oh, so you made this."

Rude held up a second bomb of similar construction. "If nothing else, it's… flashy."

"Oh, good!" Reno replied. He could definitely appreciate his partner's choice in pyrotechnics.

"You love it, I know," Rude said.

Reno sighed, glorying in the sea breeze ruffling his mullet. "Looks like today, we're clockin' out early." Almost as he said it, Cloud rocketed between them. As if this was the signal, the two Turks placed their explosives and hurried back to the chopper to get back to Tseng, Elena, and Rufus. Just as another motorcycle was pulling towards the tunnel exit, the bombs exploded, blocking off the road to Level 8 almost entirely.

* * *

><p>Level 9 on the south wing of Junon was a covered collection of tunnels and extended offices from Shinra's maintenance division, and Kadaj had quickly lost sight of his pursuer before pulling into one of the smaller tunnels. As soon as he did so, he lifted the case in his hand, caressing it and looking it over. It was around that point when he spotted the bullet holes and the Mako that was leaking out of them. Anxiously, he took a closer look and his eyes widened as he saw evidence of ripped tissue contained beneath the container's layers. "Mother?" he asked and then, overcome with emotion, he gripped the box close. "Mother!" He shouted, sobbing angrily. Next to his foot, something dropped and he realized it was the data disk he'd stolen from Rufus along with his mother. The images were foggy for a few moments, but he suddenly heard a weakened, plaintive cry echoing from the recording. <em>"Lucrecia…"<em>

Distracted, he looked down curiously at the device as he saw a series of images pass through of a cave with a woman embedded in a pillar of crystal and then scenes of someone leaving it, walking out onto a cliff jutting out of a waterfall as it fed a river through a large valley before there was a faint image of a cave off in the distance, almost hidden by a stand of trees. Then he saw an image of a black materia, locked in someone's hand… and something in his brain clicked. He knew what this was and more importantly, something deep inside him knew exactly where this was. How it had come to him was incredible, but he could feel Sephiroth inside him like electricity through a live wire. He was excited, and it made Kadaj bristle. As the recording ended, he heard the sound of a motorcycle nearby and as he looked up he saw him coming. Big brother.

* * *

><p>As Cloud wheeled into the dead end of the tunnel where Kadaj had pulled off, he spotted the remnant cradling the container lovingly in his arms and found himself reflecting that if Rufus had just disposed of it when he'd had the chance maybe they wouldn't be in this situation now. Even so, no amount of retrospection would solve the problem now, not with Jenova's container sitting in Kadaj's hand. As he approached, Kadaj looked up and then grinned crazily before gunning the accelerator on his bike and powering past him, only just ducking the first sword as Cloud attempted to strike at him. In frustration, Cloud wheeled Fenrir around and gunned the engine again, following him down the tunnel to a road he knew left the maintenance area and would carry them up to the roof of the building. Kadaj sped out into the sunlight ahead of him over the roof and it wasn't until a few moments later when he saw where the remnant was headed. He was halfway across the roof when the man flew off the edge, hurtling through the air until his motorcycle came to land in between the pistons that stuck out along the sides of the Junon cannon.<p>

Cloud barely had a few moments to decide his course of action before he was to the point of no return. There was nothing for it, he opened the throttle all the way and Fenrir became airborne, coming in to land directly behind Kadaj's motorcycle on the cannon, even as the Remnant was scrambling along the barrel, Jenova still clasped in his hands. Quickly, Cloud checked that the Fusion Swords were all secure on the First Sword as he hurried after the man.

On seeing there was nowhere else he could go aside from further out onto the cannon, Kadaj paused. "Brother! I'm with her at last!"

Cloud paused, his expression more tired than anything else. "So what's going to happen now?"

Kadaj pulled the container closer to his body. "Mother's going to tell me," he said with certainty.

At that moment it struck Cloud anew just how ignorant the remnants really were. In a way, they were just as pathetic as he was. "I guess a remnant wouldn't really know."

Kadaj glared at him. "So what if I'm a puppet?" he drew his sword. "Once upon a time… you were too!" With that he dived forward, and Cloud brought up his blade to block, spinning around to catch the second strike as Kadaj tried to retaliate from behind.

Seeing him coming at the last minute, the remnant backed away, catching the end of his double-bladed katana on the edge of the Fusion Sword and causing sparks before he lunged again. Cloud jumped to the side, lightly running across the pistons as he chased him towards the end of the cannon that stood over the ocean, easily parrying as Kadaj turned to try and stab at his shoulder. The parry mostly worked, though part of the remnant's blade slipped under his pauldron. He barely felt the blade connect with his left shoulder before he disconnected one of the switchblades, using the same motion to seamlessly go after the remnant's legs.

Kadaj leapt backwards again, before going in with two quick strikes, feinting to look like he was going after his opponent's thigh before attempting to go after his head. Cloud used the switchblade to parry the first before ducking and literally sliding under the remnant and using the sword as a shield, forcing Kadaj to leap over him. At that point he turned, attempting to disarm Kadaj with a quick swipe of his switchblade, but the remnant flipped in the air before landing in a crouch and trading several more strikes. Off in the distance, he was peripherally aware that Vincent was climbing a ladder up to the Shera from the building from which he and Kadaj had just jumped. But that was all his focus could be diverted before he noticed that he and his opponent were slowly pushing each other further out along the barrel of the cannon.

They locked blades as Kadaj attempted to push him over the box-shaped regulator system that was mounted over the cannon's primary support pillar and he planted his feet firmly. The Geostigma on his arm seared with pain, but he refused to quit, patiently easing his primary blade up and then reaching out with the switchblade to stab his opponent in the gut. Kadaj was forced to back away, dropping to swing himself forward and run along the curve of the barrel forcing Cloud to chase him further out. He was becoming painfully aware of the fact that he probably couldn't take too much more strain like this in his current condition, but at the same time, there was something exhilarating about it. Maybe because he had set his priorities now, and all that remained was to execute them.

* * *

><p><strong>April 15<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0009 11:15 AM**

It had been a short while after Cloud left the street when Tifa had spotted Barret coming back to the Shera with two children at his side. One, a little girl whom she didn't recognize who was carrying a moogle doll, the other was definitely Matt. The little boy only looked up when he saw Alistor sitting in the crew cabins, looking a little more woe-begone than he had prior to their encounter with the remnants, and when he did, he ran over to the ex-SOLDIER. "I'm so sorry!" Matt had exclaimed. "We should have listened…"

Al let out a breath of relief. "We got out, and that's what matters," he said. "Let's just hope there won't be a next time."

Barret had nodded gruffly in agreement. "We talk about this later. Right now, we gotta find those guys and teach'em a lesson." With that he had left them to rejoin Tifa in the hall just as Marlene and Denzel hurried back from the bridge to see that their friends were all right.

As they passed, Marlene paused. "Cid said we needed to stay back here."

Tifa nodded. "That's probably best. But we'll let you know when it's safe to come out, all right?"

Marlene nodded. "Okay." With that, she hurried into the main cabin, and the gunman and the martial artist had gone to the bridge. It hadn't been long after when everyone else had boarded and they had flown up slightly to see Cloud and Fenrir's tiny silhouette flying across the gap from one of the taller buildings to land on the Mako cannon. Shortly afterward, Vincent had appeared on the building and someone in the cargo bay had thrown down a ladder so he could climb aboard.

As the ex-Turk glided onto the bridge, Cid had brought the Shera around so that they could have a clear view of what was happening on the cannon below. The pilot did, however, have to bring the ship to an abrupt halt in midair so that they could remain stationary. Yuffie ended up tumbling over and had to catch herself on the guardrail. "Hey! Cid! Watch it!" She complained.

"Hey Cid!" Barret shouted. "Park this turkey!"

"Shut up!" Cid barked. "You want off then jump! Get off my back! There's nowhere to land here but the airport and the street we just left!"

"He can handle this…" Vincent murmered, his voice somehow carrying across the bridge effortlessly. Everyone looked at him in surprise and Tifa saw he was holding what looked like a recording disk in his hand. "Kadaj is a remnant of Sephiroth, don't forget. In a way, he's a larval form of Sephiroth."

"Larva? You mean he's an insect?" Yuffie said. Tifa took a deep breath. At the very least, she should probably be relieved the ninja had forgotten she would normally be motion sick under these circumstances.

"Lassie, shut your gob!" Cait Sith made no pretense about his annoyance, much to Nanaki's discomfort, since the cat was sitting on top of him.

His excitement was in stark contrast to Reeve who was also attempting to mollify the situation. "Calm down," the WRO commissioner said gently. "This is no time to be panicking." He had joined them just after the combat had subsided and the remnants had disappeared.

"So the punk's gonna become Sephiroth," Cid observed, taking the attention back to the matter at hand.

"You're right," Tifa decided after a moment. "Kadaj is his fight."

"I don't get it… why can't we help out…?" Yuffie demanded.

"This is man talk," Cid growled.

Yuffie was clearly affronted and she glared at the pilot. "Sexist!" she spat.

"Now is not the time for this." Kunsel's tone was so abrupt that everyone looked over at him. Up until now he'd been leaning against the rail, scanning the rest of the city for any sign of Kadaj's brothers. "We've got other problems to worry about. And while I do agree this fight is his, we need to be prepared to step in if he needs us rather than fighting each other."

"Men don't get it either," Barret murmured.

"Two years ago, even last year," Tifa began. "Think of the strength we had when we fought him the first time, and had to rescue Zack, and when we had to fight to retake Midgar. I think he's fighting to get that strength back. He's trying to find out what he can do on his own."

Barret clicked his tongue in irritation. "He's got 10 minutes."

"Man, that Cloud's a real pain in the ass, like always," Yuffie observed.

Tifa shrugged, but at that moment she looked up and squinted. Off in the distance she saw a black speck on the northern horizon and then she recognized what it was. She smiled at Yuffie, relieved in the knowledge that their other friends were on their way. "Cloud is Cloud."

* * *

><p>As Cloud neared the two upright supports just before the three rows of coolant injectors on the outer half of the barrel, he saw Kadaj flip up to land on top of one of them before diving at him, attempting to knock him over the side and he swayed to the side, deftly striking twice with the two blades in his hands. Kadaj slid around the second of the pair of struts and he brought the switch blade up to block the third strike before using the First Sword in a powerful cleaving swing that would have cut the remnant in half if he hadn't picked that moment to drop down and kick at Cloud's gut. Cloud had a moment where he felt gravity begin to take hold before he jammed the First Sword into the side of the coolant structure, quickly swinging upwards and yanking it out again with the power of his own momentum to flip into the air and land behind the remnant with his back to the sea on the final segment of the barrel.<p>

He ran forward, attempting to skewer Kadaj and the remnant turned, only in the nick of time to lock blades again, but it wasn't soon enough to bear the brunt of the attack. As he watched, Kadaj slipped tumbling through the air only to grab a support girder further down the secondary pillar that held up the cannon. Cloud reconnected the switchblade to the First Sword and hopped down carefully, seeing Kadaj's double-bladed katana falling to the street below, glittering in the sunshine.

He glanced over the side of the girder at Kadaj, hanging on for dear life even as the container with Jenova in it was still grasped in his hands. Kadaj glared at him hatefully, and then he suddenly threw the container at him. Cloud reacted on instinct, lifting his blade and slicing the container in two, sending it flying through the air away from them.

To his surprise however, Kadaj leapt into the air, catching the container and dropping to the ground like a stone. That was when Cloud suddenly realized the horrible mistake he had made. As Kadaj fell past him, he caught the distinct sound of the man crying triumphantly "My reunion… bet you're dying to watch."

Terror freezing his heart as he realized what would happen if he did not act, he dived after Kadaj, already seeing tendrils of corrupted Lifestream starting to fly off of the remnants body. Knowing he had to act fast, he brought up the full Fusion Sword to attack the man, but he could already see the ground rising up to meet them both. As Kadaj landed on the street, he stood, bringing up his arms in a defensive position, though he was quickly obscured by the mists around him and Cloud distinctly heard a loud buzzing in his ears. As he fell on top of the remnant his sword clanged against a blade that had not been there before. It wasn't the true Masamune, he knew, but that didn't make it any less lethal, and as he looked into Kadaj's face, his blood ran cold for Kadaj wasn't the man who stood before him anymore.

"Good to see you, 'Cloud.'"

* * *

><p><em>By the way, I would like to note this fic has received over 500 reviews! Thank you so much for you're continued support. We're almost there, just a few more chapters to go!<em>

_See ya next week!_


	89. Some People Just Can't Seem to Stay Dead

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spin-offs That honor goes to Square-Enix.

Matt and Alistor are original characters.

**Part IV: ****Stigma**

* * *

><p>Chapter 89, Some People Just Can't Seem to Stay Dead<p>

**April 15****th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0009 6:30 PM Mideel Central Time**

Argento had just finished working in her forge. It had been some time ago when she had offered to re-treat Genesis's sword for him, and now that Cloud was gone, she had ample time to do so. The reforged Rapier in her hands with the quote from Loveless freshly engraved as spell runes upon the blade, she reverently carried it past the actual Masamune, carefully preserved on a table near her workspace. She still needed to place it in the goddess's chamber. It had been mutually agreed upon by both herself and Genesis. What better to serve as Sephiroth's grave marker, now that the man himself was no longer physically in existence?

As she neared the entrance to Minerva's cave she saw Genesis standing alert, as though listening to something, and then he quickly whirled on his heel and started towards the exit of the cave.

"Where are you going?" She asked.

Genesis looked at her, as though he'd only just noticed she was there. "I have been called…" he said.

Argento blinked. "You mean…?"

Genesis nodded. "It is time the three friends fulfilled their oath."

The blade smith sighed and then offered him the Rapier, the red metal almost burning in the light from the sunset. "Are you sure?" she asked.

"Beyond the shadow of a doubt," he said, and then with a wry grin he added "I promised. The people I love are waiting." Of course, he would use a line from the play for this. She wanted to laugh but it seemed horribly macabre.

She considered for a moment before saying "I'll be right back," with that, she walked back towards an old desk in the cave. It had once been purposed only for Genesis to display his accomplishments as a boy, but now, he had been using it to keep personal affects, as well as a basket of dumbapples from some of the last living specimens of the Banora White apple tree.

From it, she selected one and walked back to the cave entrance, pressing the fruit into his hand. Genesis seemed surprised, but smiled. "My complements to you and yours, for your family's craftsmanship, and your companionship in these last few months."

"It was what was needed," Argento said. "I do not think we will meet again in this lifetime."

Genesis offered her a respectful bow. "Perhaps in another?"

"Perhaps." She smiled, though she couldn't help feeling genuinely saddened. Possibly the first time she had allowed herself such a luxury in several years. They shared no further words before Minerva's WEAPON took to the sky, and Argento set about cleaning her forge, but not before placing her Deepground uniform almost ceremoniously into the fire to be incinerated. Over the last year or so, she had been periodically venturing out to collect the necessary medical supplies to sustain her mako addiction until she was ready to undergo the arduous process of trying to beat it. Now that she was free to leave, there would be no need to hold off for much longer. Further, there was no need for this place anymore either. She felt a small stab of pain from a patch of infected flesh that lay under a bandage she had hidden under one of her work gloves as she carried the Masamune into Minerva's cave and placed it at the foot of the destroyed statue, and then dutifully walked out and cast the most powerful Fire spell she could muster to make the cave entrance collapse in on itself.

Upon completing this task and making sure the entrance was no more than a pile of impassable rubble, she gathered up her tools and belongings, and walked to the cave exit, slinging a rucksack over her shoulder as she felt her loose traveling clothes fall so much more naturally against her skin than her mako suit ever did.

There was now only one last thing to do before she could leave Mideel. "Father…" she murmured. "As soon as I finish this errand, I will be coming home to you. For the evil my sword helped to bring about in this world will finally begin to be undone."

* * *

><p><strong>April 15<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0009 11:30 AM Junon Western Time**

Marlene was sitting in the main cabins when suddenly she noticed Denzel reach for the bandage on his shoulder. Almost in unison, Sasha curled up on on the floor, Matt suddenly dropped onto a bench nearby, whimpering, and Alistor gritted his teeth. "What's wrong?" she asked, not sure who to go to first.

Alistor gave her a smile through the pain though his voice was calm and even as he spoke. "It's all right. Go… ask Tifa if we have any of Aerith's water…"

Marlene nodded ran out of the main cabin to hurry along the corridor to the front. As she neared the bridge, she caught sight of the cannon just outside, and then a little further away, she saw the Gainsborough coming closer. "Are Zack and Aerith coming?" She asked.

Tifa looked back at her and nodded. "You need to get back to the cabin though. It's dangerous."

Marlene shook her head. "Tifa, Denzel and the others need help!" It was at that moment when she saw something come flying up from near the base of the cannon, and it wasn't until the figure landed in a crouch on the barrel of the gun that she realized it was Cloud.

At the same time, the communications officer spoke up. "Captain Highwind, the Gainsborough is hailing us."

"Patch it through," Cid said.

Almost immediately a familiar voice came through the speakers. _"Guys? What's going on? Aerith said something's really wrong." _Almost at the same time as Zack and Aerith's images appeared over the holoprojector, Marlene saw another fast-moving figure leaping up from the streets below, and she realized it was a man in a dark coat with long hair, though he was quickly obscured as the sky began to darken, and tendrils of corrupted Lifestream began collecting around the cannon in a whirlwind.

* * *

><p>Cloud felt the change in force before he comprehended it as Sephiroth catapulted him back up into the air though he had the presence of mind to angle himself so he landed safely back on top of the cannon. Sephiroth leapt up after him to land on the coolant injectors, looking down at him with a self-assured leer. "I see you've received my invitation…" he said. "Doesn't it feel wonderful?"<p>

"Sephiroth!" Cloud called across the cannon barrel. "What do you want?"

"The last thoughts of Geostigma's dead. Those remnants will gather in the Lifestream and girdle the planet, choking it… corroding it…" He looked up at the sky hungrily before returning his gaze to the swordsman. "What I want Cloud, is to sail the darkness of the cosmos with this planet as my vessel, just as my mother did long ago." With that, he raised his hand and suddenly the sky began to darken and as he watched, tendrils of corrupted Lifestream started swirling down from the sky, covering the area around them, and Cloud lifted his sword, ready for any surprises. "Then one day," Sephiroth continued, "We'll find a new planet, and build a shining future."

"What about this planet?" Cloud demanded.

"Well," Sephiroth drawled, "That's up to you Cloud." With that, the silver-haired demon lunged, his sword out in front of him in a stabbing motion. Cloud deflected the blow and immediately channeled a limit, striking hard and then leaping into the air to finish a Climhazzard, but Sephiroth followed him through the tempest on top of the cannon. They traded several blows in midair before Sephiroth raised his blade and slashed down hard. Cloud blocked but felt himself falling down past the barrel. He grabbed onto one the weapons' support struts, swinging himself around to get to a more secure spot, but that was when, like a wraith from the underworld, Sephiroth glided around the side of the structure to come in for another strike.

Cloud dodged, before he was forced to block again and again and again as the former 1st Class SOLDIER just kept coming. He could see he was no longer near the building but was simply parrying Sephiroth as the other man was knocking him further down. At last, he reached another platform on the mako cannon's secondary pillar and pulled himself out of the air, crouching, his arm beginning to ache a little more, but he gritted his teeth. He had a promise to fulfill. Sephiroth was in his face again as they locked blades. "Oh," Sephiroth smiled at his opponent. "So you do still have some strength?" his voice was mocking.

Cloud glared at him. "Enough to stop you!" He pushed upward with all his might, and Sephiroth was thrown aloft, smashing through the barrel of the cannon above them and he leapt after his quarry through the hole to find the man had already gone behind him, slicing on of the pistons and sending it flying in his direction. He jumped, using his sword to slice the thing in two before realizing it had still somehow knocked him back. Glancing down, he could see he was no long over the ground but standing out above the ocean. Steeling himself for his next move, he saw the harbinger of his nightmares come flying at him, ready to knock him off, but he cast a Fire spell in Sephiroths direction before running forward in a slashing block, using Sephiroth's own force to flip over him and then he leapt across the hole once again as the former SOLDIER turned and came in close to trade several more blows with him.

Cloud's arm was really beginning to hurt now but he knew he couldn't stop. For every blow that he thought he'd landed it felt like his enemy would try to land about five more, but he couldn't get in. For every single one that he blocked, he focused on Sephiroth's next strike, trying to predict from what direction in might come. The two of them were almost to the other end of the cannon, near where the pistons were when Sephiroth suddenly drew back to land on on one of them. Cloud glared up at him before leaping after him to land another deadly strike, but in midair he heard his enemy taunting again.

"I wonder, what it would take to make you crumble," he said, before suddenly slicing off the counterbalance of a large crane that stood near the Junon Shinra Building. Cloud sliced through it, hoping against hope that no one would be crushed by the pieces as they fell. His opponent was suddenly up close to him and his breath caught in his throat as the man leered at him. "Shall I give you despair?" Suddenly Cloud felt his arm seize up and realized he was falling, but somehow, as he landed on the cannon again, he managed to stay standing.

"On your knees," Sephiroth drawled, "Beg for forgiveness and I may let you live long enough to see oblivion." He was distracted at that moment when something huge suddenly came flying at him and Cloud realized it was the remains of the crane, and more. It seemed his opponent had taken the construction site to which the building was attached and was throwing whole segments of it at him. Cloud struck, suddenly finding himself once again airborne as he attempted to slice through as many of the fragments that were coming at him as possible, when he suddenly spotted Sephiroth coming in from behind and he attempted to block before using a fragment of a girder in midair to jump off of and return with a powerful slash. Sephiroth knocked him back in midair and he swung around a pole before parrying several more slashes.

Cloud leapt to another piece of debris, before slicing through it and coming to rest on another, only in time to parry a another series of blows as his enemy came flying in from above. They were standing almost on top of each other between two fragments of rubble, trading blows as the force of the wind around them kept the pieces in line and then suddenly, Cloud felt the pain grow worse, and he knew he had reached his limit for this exercise. Using his good arm, he sliced the Fusion Sword through the debris he was standing on and leapt out of the line of fire to come to rest, just for a moment on the cannon. He dropped into a crouch, his lungs shuddering for breath as his left arm burned.

But at that moment, he was forced to make a rolling dodge as Sephiroth came at him again, and he blocked the attack before he felt himself tossed several feet along the length of the cannon again. Sephiroth struck and struck again, not letting up, and Cloud parried as best he could, but having been caught off guard he found he was being driven further and further back out towards the sea. He managed to leap over the hole he'd knocked his opponent through, barely staying on his feet, before he felt rather than saw the empty air behind him. Knowing he had no other choice, he ran at his opponent, attempting a Cross slash, but Sephiroth managed to parry every single strike, knocking him back, and he only managed to keep from falling off the edge. The pain in his arm seared and he felt himself growing light-headed.

Sephiroth gave him a look of mock pity. "It seems your Geostigma has finally started affecting you." He stood before him, ready to strike a single black wing suddenly appearing behind him, "Tell me what you cherish most?" he said softly, "Give me the pleasure of taking it away…"

For a moment, Cloud was certain he was done for, but then, suddenly, he felt something wet connect with his head. Had it started raining? Not that it mattered… wait… Sephiroth was suddenly looking up, and he felt the droplets coming down harder, and harder. It was only when it started pouring that he felt something tingle under the bandages. He saw Sephiroth glaring at the shadow that had appeared above them, and then he was gone. Cloud stood, perplexed at the fact that he felt strangely refreshed and then he saw what was going on.

About fifty feet up and out, the Gainsborough hovered in the air. Aerith stood next to Zack on the weather deck of the ship, her staff in front of her and her materia in her hand. Cloud felt his eyes widen and his heart nearly stop as Sephiroth came flying in her direction, but Zack stepped forward, deflecting his blow and then a Fire 3 spell was unleashed, blowing the nightmare from the past out over the ocean. As Cloud watched, Sephiroth looked down at him with the utmost hatred. "There you are traitor. I was wondering when you'd show up.

Zack didn't move from in front of Aerith, and Cloud could already see his wife had had cast haste on him. "I have to admit I wondered the same about you," Zack shot back. "But whatever you're after, we're not letting you get what you want."

Sephiroth chuckled. "Well, it matters not, perhaps I should come back for you once my victory is assured. Unless you would choose to follow." He suddenly zoomed downward, and Cloud was about to jump after him when a streak of black suddenly appeared flying due west over the ocean and it wasn't until a moment later when he realized Yazoo and Loz were also being carried aloft, almost like dolls. As he departed, the rain around them was washing the corrupted Lifestream away and suddenly the clouds were giving way to the sunshine.

It was only at that moment when Cloud realized something. Gently, he reached for the sleeve on his arm and ripped it off before unwrapping the bandages beneath. In the afternoon sun, he saw that the diseased and abscessed flesh had vanished to be replaced with healthy skin, fresh and pink.

He looked up to find Aerith and Zack looking down at him. Upon seeing what had happened, Zack knelt down on the deck and smiled in relief. "Looks like we made it in time. You doing all right down there Cloud?" Zack asked.

"Better than I was," Cloud replied. "So you found the cure."

Aerith nodded happily. "Yes, we found it. I'm glad we could help!"

Zack looked off towards the west. "Where did he go?"

"I know," Vincent suddenly appeared at Cloud's shoulder and as Cloud looked down, he saw that the ex-Turk was holding a small disk in his hand. "Did you see this when you were inside the tunnels?" he asked.

Cloud shook his head. "What is it?"

Vincent hit the playback button on the data disk solemnly and Cloud watched, suddenly aware that the object in the hand of the person whose eyes he was looking through, was terribly familiar. "The Black Materia?" He asked, not wanting to believe he was ever seeing that blasted harbinger of death ever again.

Vincent nodded. "It seems Rufus got to Shelke's data before we destroyed the computer she used at the Shinra building, just before the Battle of Midgar."

"Does Sephiroth know where this is?" Cloud asked.

"It is my suspicion." As they both looked up, they saw that the weather deck of the Gainsborough had come level with the edge of the cannon and Zack was tossing them a line. "We must hurry," Vincent said. With that, he folded into his cloak to reappear on the Gainsborough's deck. "We must notify Cid immediately," he said to Zack as his friend hoisted him up onto the deck. "We can probably get to the coordinates I give you before he does if we all take the Shera, but we must not let him have the Black Materia."

* * *

><p><strong>April 15<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0009 1:00 PM Junon Western Time**

"So to be clear about what's happening," Reeve began, "Sephiroth figured out where the Black Materia was because he recognized the location as it was tied to the collective memories of the Lifestream?" All of GUARDIAN's members now stood on the Shera's bridge as Cid guided the airship at top speed towards their destination.

Cloud saw Vincent nod his head slightly to indicate his agreement with Reeve's assessment of the situation. "As he has slowly been corrupting it from the inside he has been learning about what's been happening in the world. There is no telling who saw the landmarks in my memories, but if he's learned to manipulate those currents, then he would have been able to use that information immediately."

"Then there really isn't anywhere on the Planet that's completely safe is there, because if he manages to kill the person who knows where it is or if something like this happens again then he would know, right?" Tifa asked. She was pacing nervously near where Cloud was leaning against the railing of the bridge.

"Unless you propose a solution for destroying it, then I am afraid not," Vincent replied.

"But…" Yuffie looked confused for a moment and then she asked "If that's true, then why didn't he kill you when he had you at the crater Vincent?"

"Because of Chaos," Vincent said, walking towards the guardrail to look out over the water below them. "He is bonded to me at the core of my very being. While Sephiroth could very well stop my body from moving, my connection to him would endure until he has fulfilled his duty at the end of this planet's existence."

Yuffie's eyes widened. "Y-you mean… you're never going to die?"

Vincent looked at her and Cloud detected a hint of gentleness in his expression. "At the least, I seem to be very difficult to kill by normal means."

There was an uncomfortable silence for a while as they considered the meaning behind that statement before Zack spoke up. "Regardless, we can't let him get the materia. This airship should be able to make it there faster than he was flying, so once we get there, we'll fan out around the cave where it's been hidden, and set up an interception net."

"I expect we will use partners and notify each other if Sephiroth or one of the remnants appear?" Cissnei asked.

Zack nodded in confirmation. "Classic Turk tactic, right?"

"She'd be proud," Cissnei agreed.

"Then I'll take Sephiroth when he shows himself," Cloud decided.

Zack looked over at his friend in concern. "You sure about that?"

Cloud glanced down at his arm, now bare of his bandages as he reattached his black sleeve and nodded.

Zack gave him a hard look. "If you do need a hand with him, I can still fight too you know. I'm at least going to back you up. He wants me and Aerith dead almost as much as he wants to kill you."

Cloud nodded. "All right." He turned his attention to the ocean out in front of them. "We're going to win, right?"

To his surprise it wasn't Zack who answered, but Kunsel as the other ex-SOLDIER joined them in standing at the front of the bridge. "We're here now aren't we?"

He nodded feeling Tifa's hand in his as he replied. "There's definitely something waiting for us over that horizon."

Zack looked over at Barret. "What's that thing you always say?"

Barret looked confused for a moment, and then he realized what Zack was talking about. "Oh, that!"

Suddenly a chorus went up from everyone as they spoke the line in unison. "There ain't no getting' offa this train we're on!"

"That's right!" Zack said. "When we get there, this is going to be it, our most important fight. So rest up while we can, we're going to be there before you know it!"

With that, everyone dispersed to make their preparations.

* * *

><p><em>See you next week!<em>


	90. The Final Battle for the Black Materia

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spin-offs That honor goes to Square-Enix.

Matt and Alistor are original characters.

**Part IV: ****Stigma**

* * *

><p>Chapter 90, The Final Battle for the Black Materia<p>

**April 15****th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0009 1:30 PM Junon Western Time**

Aerith stood in the Shera's cargo bay, calling on her limit one more time as Alistor and the children stood around her and a light rain began to fall around them. It had been the best place apart from physically standing outside on the roof, which understandably would have been difficult. As she watched with relief, their infected patches of skin began to melt away, like dirt in a summer rain. She knew almost everyone was watching, even Cid, who had asked one of the other crew members to take on the job of steering for a moment. She smiled as she saw that Denzel seemed to be the first to be completely healed by her rain and he looked up at her with a smile.

She was distracted by the sound of Alistor letting out a happy sigh as he stretched luxuriously, definitely pleased with the fact that his mobility had drastically improved. "I thought I'd forgotten what it was like to feel this good."

"Me too!" Matt exclaimed.

Sasha smiled as Al pulled Matt up onto his shoulders and walked over to the Cetra. "I know it took a while, but… I don't know what we'd have done without you." He turned his attention over to Barret, "Or you."

"Shucks…" Barret muttered. "Weren't nothin'."

Al chuckled lightly before his expression became serious. "There's a big fight that's going to happen isn't there." Aerith nodded and upon confirmation the ex-SOLDIER asked, "Is there anything I can do?"

She smiled. "Actually, if you could, once we get where we're going, I want you to take the children somewhere safe. I'm sure now that you're back to one hundred percent, it should be a lot easier, right?"

He nodded. "Yeah…" he grinned after a moment. "To be honest, I'm a little relieved. That doesn't make me a coward does it?"

Zack walked up at that point. "Not at all. The front lines aren't the only place you can make a difference."

Al nodded. "In that case, you can count on me."

"I'm glad," Aerith said. At that moment, she spotted Denzel walking over to where Cloud was with a big smile on his face and was pleased to see the swordsman return it with a small one of his own. The fight was not yet over, but it would be soon. And when that happened, she was confident everyone would be able to get back to their lives. She touched her abdomen almost unconsciously. It was hard to believe, and yet it couldn't be any other way. For all the loss and sadness, there would also be new life and happiness, she was sure of it.

* * *

><p><strong>April 16<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0009 6:00 AM West-Central Mountain Time**

Sunrise dawned over the valley with Lucrecia's cave as the Shera pulled to a stop over one of the nearest plateaus and everyone prepared to fan out. "All right!" Zack said, squinting against the glare to the east of them. "Does everyone know where their sectors around the caves are located?"

"We're based at the entrance to Lucrecia's cave!" Yuffie affirmed from where she stood next to Cissnei.

"We're to the north of the Black Materia's cave," Cid confirmed. Nanaki nodded as Cait Sith climbed onto his combat mog next to him.

"Me an' Tifa are to the south," Barret thundered.

"And I'll be at the entrance to the cave with Vincent," Kunsel finished, adjusting his sword harness before replacing the gunblade in it. "Cloud will be on standby here, over the entrance to the cave, until Sephiroth appears on the field."

"That's right," Zack confirmed. "If anyone sees Sephiroth, tell Cloud immediately." He looked at his friend, "Are you sure you don't need any help."

"I'm fine Zack," Cloud confirmed.

"Okay, but if you do… just give us the signal, right?" Zack pressed.

Cloud nodded, checking the Fusion Swords to make sure they were secure, before he spun the sword in the air and placed it on his back. "Got it."

"All right people! Let's move!" With that, Yuffie and Cissnei vanished, as did most of the others, leaving Cloud waiting as the Shera pulled slightly towards the center of the valley. Cloud had a clear field of view in all directions and he squinted through the glaring red light of sunrise, searching for the one-winged figure that would be coming this way. For a short while, he stood there, occasionally turning his gaze in other directions in order to make sure he wouldn't be ambushed from a different angle as the burning sun slowly rose through the sky, its warm light searing down on the plateau.

It was about an hour or so later when at last, off in the distance, he saw the figure he had been waiting for, flanked by Loz and Yazoo as they approached. He pulled the Fusion Sword from its harness, and took his time preparing for the battle to come as the black-clad figures came closer. However, they were almost completely visible when something happened.

Sephiroth looked to his left, and then Yazoo and Loz were suddenly catapulted into the air past where Cloud was and down into the valley below. It was at that moment, when another figure clad in red took flight from a mountain peak a short distance away, flying up to meet the one-winged angel with the force of a bullet. Sephiroth had only had a moment to deflect the blow from Genesis' Rapier before whirling around in midair to deflect his opponent and force him to fly past.

Even so, the attack had its intended effect, for Sephiroth was knocked towards the ground and Cloud broke into a run across the plateau. Upon drawing closer, he saw that Genesis had landed and was now approaching his quarry.

"It has been too long, old friend," the WEAPON said.

Sephiroth smirked. "Perhaps it has. Have you come to try your hand against me?"

Genesis smirked back, "You have no idea." He brought up his hand dramatically. "When the war of the beasts brings about the world's end, the goddess descends from the sky, Wings of light and dark spread afar, She guides us to bliss, her gift everlasting."

"I see you haven't changed," Sephiroth replied. "But quoting that piece of trash will neither stop me nor save you from your demise."

"Clearly, you haven't changed either," Genesis said, lifting his sword as the two prepared to attack. "Because otherwise, you would fear my true purpose far more than your own defeat."

Sephiroth scoffed. "Still the same pretender, but in the end, just a worthless distraction. Regardless of that purpose, my victory is assured. It is only a matter of whether it is sooner or later" With that, Sephiroth too, raised his blade again and the two men rushed at each other before trading a series of blows. Cloud only hesitated for a moment before running in their direction. Whatever it was Genesis was trying to do here didn't matter to him, so long as Sephiroth did not walk away from it.

* * *

><p>Kunsel stood at the cave entrance, holding his gunblade at the ready, his eyes on the foliage around him. Vincent stood nearby, Cerberus at his hip, his cloak blowing to the side slightly in the breeze. The gunman in the crimson cloak seemed as calm as if they had come here for a morning stroll and this just happened to be a stopping point on their path. The morning sunlight cast sunbeams down through the foliage, and his eyes narrowed as he watched his surroundings. There was no point nor would it benefit them to make conversation, since that could distract them from what was coming, and he had no intention of being distracted.<p>

The area was silent but for the occasional bird in the distance. It was hard to believe even now that somewhere in the very same valley, another creature could find the desire to sing right now, but at the same time, rationally, he understood. Life would continue. Revenge would not bring back the smile that flitted into view in his mind's eye, but regardless, he wanted it so badly. For all the wrong Jenova had brought to this world and for all the people including himself, his friends, and the woman he loved. It all came back to the monstrosity Shinra had unearthed from the Northern crater. Ending Sephiroth again would only be a preliminary step on the way to ensuring the entirety of her remains were completely and utterly obliterated. That was the reality.

That was when he felt a strange vibration through the soles of his boots. Looking up, he was surprised to see a wave of earth flying in their direction. Vincent had already folded into his cloak and was flitting along the cliff wall on an updraft and Kunsel retreated, gaining speed and running up the cliffside before stabbing his blade into the face like a piton. He hung there with his boots against the wall of the cliff as the wave of earth rushed past just below leaving a nearly opaque cloud of dust in its wake as several trees collapsed, filling the cloud with a mire of branches below.

Kicking off as he drew his blade out of the rock face, Kunsel dropped to one of the stronger branches of the nearest downed tree, taking a balanced stance before scanning the area around him through the dust. Vincent appeared on the branch of a tree that had avoided the destruction, Cerberus out, and that was when he spotted two heads of silver hair running in their direction. Vincent fired three shots and Kunsel fired two more from his gunblade before having to duck as Yazoo returned fired in his direction, diving into the cloud of swirling dust for cover as he moved in the direction of the cave entrance. He couldn't allow either of the two remnants past.

He felt rather than saw his proximity to the darkened cave before he spied Loz running in his direction and he brought up his blade to counter the remnant's gauntlet. Breaking the lock he backed off a step and fired two more shots. Loz jumped upward as the dust was beginning to settle around them, jumping off the cave wall to avoid Vincent's gunfire before backing off further to skirmish with him in the trees.

At that moment, he spotted Yazoo coming at him from the right and leapt to meet him in midair, bringing up a Wall as he did so. Several of Yazoo's bullets ricocheted off the spell and into the surrounding foliage, and the swordsman retaliated with several shots of his own before meeting Yazoo in midair. Their two gunblades sung as they met, knocking them both apart and the remnant ran up one of the trees that still stood, before landing on one of its branches and letting loose another barrage. Kunsel followed in hot pursuit, dodging bullets as he followed him up, flipping into the air to land on the branch Yazoo had just vacated in a crouch, his eyes on his quarry, his blade glittering in the morning sunlight that filtered as white-hot sunbeams through the dust-filled air. Yazoo leapt along several branches, occasionally firing to try and distract his pursuer, but the ex-SOLDIER remained on his tail like a Griffin after a Sahagin, occasionally returning fire, unwilling to show any wavering in his purpose.

They neared the cliff face again, and Kunsel saw the remnant jump to the wall, running along it towards the cave but he ran along the tree branch on which he currently stood before throwing himself across the gap and using his momentum to try and pin the man to the cliff face with his blade. Yazoo barely dodged out of the way, fleeing back into the tree branches as the ex-SOLDIER dropped to the ground, wary for any sign of the remnant pressing his attack. At that moment Vincent appeared next to him as Loz made a try for the cave by attempting to leap over them from a nearby tree.

At almost the same moment, Yazoo sprang into the air slightly below him and Vincent seized his chance. Kunsel was already preparing to meet Yazoo in the air when suddenly the crimson gunman's cloak fell around him. He was already airborne when he realized he was watching his quarry fly closer until as the red cloth unfolded, he found himself whirling around in midair to see Yazoo still headed towards the cave behind him. As he dropped back to the ground, he lifted his gunblade, aimed and fired, hitting the remnant square in the back. Both of them hit the dirt, Kunsel landing in a crouch as Yazoo collapsed like a doll cut loose from his strings.

"See how you like being shot in the back," the SOLDIER muttered, before kneeling down and checking that the remnant was truly neutralized. Almost as soon as he'd confirmed the lack of a pulse, tendrils of Lifestream were swirling around the corpse, and he reflected how disturbingly easy it had been, to just pull the trigger and end this man. He gave the remnant a look of disgust. He certainly didn't feel better about it. If anything, it was just a sense of finality, and relief that one more threat to the Planet had been eliminated. There were still multiple parts of this mission to complete. Freya would have joked that maybe she was rubbing off on him, considering how Turk-like that sounded. He glared at the dissolving body. That thought was way too painful to examine closely right now.

He had just turned to search for their other opponent when Loz let out a yell of desperation and began to desperately scale the cliff above them. Vincent was already headed in that direction, and Kunsel hurried after him. Something drastic must have happened for nothing else could possibly cause Loz to break off his attack.

* * *

><p>As Cloud rushed in, he noticed the Gainsborough off in the distance. He was certain that just sitting there was driving Zack crazy, but at the same time, it was pretty clear putting Aerith anywhere near Sephiroth was a terrible idea.<p>

His attention at that point was diverted as Genesis slashed at Sephiroth and the runes upon his sword flashed crimson. "I remember once I asked you if we were to play the roles of the three friends which roles we would have," Genesis said, not stopping for breath as he spoke.

"And why should that matter?" Sephiroth responded, punctuating his question with a powerful blow that knocked Genesis into the air.

His wing unfurled behind him, holding him airborne as the silver-haired nightmare took to the sky after him. He responded by bringing his sword around to lock blades with the man. "Because I had always wondered would I be the hero, or would you?" he said, "Though as the first act says 'Ripples form on the waters' surface, the wandering soul knows no rest.' Perhaps someone among us does still wander long after he should have gone."

Sephiroth broke the lock and took stance to charge the red-headed swordsman. "I shall gladly bring you rest, if you wish it," he drawled.

Genesis lightly dodged out of the way and Cloud picked that moment to jump in, bringing up the Fusion Sword to come in for a downward blow, but Sephiroth whirled around at the last minute, deflecting and then returning with five more strikes of his own. Cloud parried each one before Genesis attempted to come in at their opponent from the side. Sephiroth deftly brought his sword into a block, somehow managing to catch both their blades with his own.

"Far from it," Genesis spoke, "For regardless of the outcome here, there is no hate, only joy, for the Prisoner has come to fulfill his oath." Sephiroth broke the lock and lunged, first at Cloud who deflected the blow, and then at Genesis who had crouched down to attack as Cloud parried. He brought up his blade, deflecting each strike as he danced backwards and then to the side to come in for another lunge as Cloud raced forward to try and take advantage of the distraction but he wasn't fast enough.

Sephiroth took flight at that point, rising up into the air on his single black wing and that was when Genesis finally looked Cloud in the eye. "Strife. You must end this battle. Because then, the true war can begin."

"Or we could just end the whole thing together now," Cloud suggested. Above them, Sephiroth had angled his sword downward preparing to attack.

"I have enjoyed myself long enough," Genesis murmured. He raced forward on his own, jumping into the air, his own wing catching the air as he rose to meet his opponent, fire raging along his crimson blade, and Cloud distinctly heard him continuing to speak as he lifted himself upward. "My friend, the fates are cruel, there are no dreams, no honor remains, The arrow has left the bow of the goddess," he blocked Sephiroth's blade with Rapier as the force of the nightmare's sword knocked him back towards the ground, but he continued reciting the old familiar mantra, "My soul, corrupted by vengeance, Hath endured torment, to find the journey in my own salvation." He landed in a crouch and jumped again, ready for another attack, "…And your eternal slumber, Legend shall speak of sacrifice at world's end…"

He rose up once again to where Sephiroth waited, and the two skirmished in midair, flying back and forth, two one-winged angels in the morning sun. "The wind sails over the water's surface," Cloud looked around, trying to find a place from which to jump off and join them… "Quietly, but surely…" and then inexplicably, Genesis dropped to the ground. Sephiroth dived after him as the red-head landed in a crouch and this time, the red-head simply lifted up his blade in a thrusting movement, not even bothering to defend. Cloud raced forward, but as he watched almost in slow motion, Sephiroth's blade penetrated Genesis' chest and then went out the other side as the Rapier dropped to the ground still clutched in the WEAPON's hand.

Genesis didn't even look surprised, in fact if anything he looked serene as Sephiroth withdrew the blade and he dropped to his knees. He let out a soft laugh and finished his recitation as tendrils of Lifestream were already beginning to swirl around him. "Even if the morrow is barren of promises, Nothing shall forestall my return, To become the dew that quenches the land, To spare the sands, the seas, the skies, I offer thee this silent sacrifice…" almost as if that had been a code of some kind, his body suddenly dissolved, and the tendrils of Lifestream stopped their random movements. Sephiroth stepped back as he saw the tendrils rocketing towards him but he couldn't evade them as they entered his body and vanished.

The silver-haired former SOLDIER seemed momentarily surprised but otherwise unmoved as he turned his attention back to Cloud. He lifted his blade and flicked it deftly to remove the blood spatter from where Genesis had been stabbed. "What shall I destroy next?" Cloud watched the man take stance to charge him, though Cloud was quite certain from the tone of his voice that his opinion of Genesis' attempt to do whatever he had tried to do would mean nothing. The blond swordsman was quite confused on what exactly that was, but even so he lifted the Fusion Sword and ran forward to meet Sephiroth's blade once more. The force of his opponent's blade against his own would have knocked any lesser man over backwards as he parried the first strike, but as his boots slid over the dirt, he blocked another strike before delivering a crossing slash of his own.

Sephiroth dodged easily before retaliating with a series of high speed strikes which Cloud quickly blocked before coming around with another strike of his own, but this time, Sephiroth was ready for him. The silver nightmare retaliated with a swordstrike that would have connected with his chest if he hadn't managed to block it, but instead, he was knocked backwards across the plateau. A glance behind him told him just how close to the edge he had come before he became distantly aware that Sephiroth was charging him again. Bracing himself for the effort he was about to exert, Cloud ran to meet him channeling a limit as he ran striking at his opponent several times before leaping into the air to bring the Fusion sword down onto his opponent in an Omnislash but then he felt pain sear through his chest followed by a sensation he only vaguely remembered until now, but had hoped he would never feel again…

That gut-wrenching sensation of a piece of metal hoisting him up by his ribcage as Sephiroth skewered him on the end of his blade. He dangled on the end of it for a few moments, trying to gain purchase and not succeeding as Sephiroth leered at him, confident in his victory. "Was this how it felt before, Cloud?" he asked. "Because I never intend to let you forget." He brought his wing out and then, almost effortlessly he tossed Cloud up in the air like he was a ragdoll. As he flew upward, he sensed rather than saw Sephiroth coming up after him and it was perhaps muscle memory that allowed him to block the first few blows, but after that, he felt Sephiroth's blade connect with his body again, and then again, cutting and slicing through his flesh too fast for him to register, and too many times for him to count.

"Cloud!" he heard someone call out just before he hit the ground and as he looked up and realized the Shera had come closer in the time they'd been fighting and Zack had jumped down to the ground behind him.

Sephiroth was still in the air and he heard the man speak again. "Tell me Cloud, what do you value most?"

Cloud felt a full Cure spell envelope him as Zack offered him a hand and he stood up, relieved that the worst of his cuts had healed. "What about Aerith?" he breathed out.

"She's fine," Zack whispered. "You need a hand?"

Cloud shook his head. "It's all right." He glanced sideways at his friend and gave him a wry smile, though his tone was serious as the energy of a final limit break channeled through his body. "Thanks… I know what I'm going to do."

"All right, but if you need me," Zack said.

Cloud nodded. "I know…" With that he ran to a nearby boulder and jumped off of it to meet Sephiroth as he had started a dive down to deliver a finishing strike. The two blades connected, and Cloud was knocked towards another boulder. He pushed off of it to once again meet his opponent. "I feel sorry for you," he whispered. "You'll never understand!" His voice was growing louder as the energy within him was growing more and more powerful and he readied his blade. "There's nothing I don't value! And you're not taking anything else!"

With that he slashed at the one-winged angel and as Sephiroth blocked, energy flowed through the Fusion Swords disconnecting each of the peripheral blades and causing them to disperse into a ring around them. Propelled by the limit itself, Cloud flew to the first notched blade and used it to deliver his initial attack, and then did the same with each of the others in turn. Over and over again, faster and faster. So fast that when the last blade struck he found himself looking at an after image of himself where each blade hung in the air. Six more times he struck at the one-winged angel, until at last he delivered the final blow with the First Sword, dropping back to the ground as his other five blades dropped around him into the dirt.

Above him, he saw Sephiroth floating in the air and he glared up at him. "Stay where you belong, in our memories," he said firmly.

Sephiroth gave him a look of pure disdain. "I will never be a memory." His black wing enveloped him as the corrupted Lifestream began to erode him away, leaving Kadaj to drop to the ground.

The remnant stayed on his knees for a few moments as Cloud noticed Zack was coming closer. But when his friend was almost behind him Kadaj stumbled forward, brandishing his double-bladed katana wildly before collapsing into his arms. "Brother…" the remnant whispered softly. Cloud looked down at him, not sure what to do.

"_So you're one of Jenova's are you?" _Genesis's voice echoed out of nowhere.

Cloud looked around unsure of where it was coming from, but it paid him no heed. _"How pitiful. I'll take you to your mother, if you so wish."_

Kadaj looked confused, but then, slowly, he nodded and held out his hand to someone Cloud couldn't see and then, to his complete surprise Kadaj dissolved into the Lifestream. He stood up, watching the green tendrils disappear over the valley. "Is it over?" he asked.

"I hope so…" Zack began.

Cloud took a step forward, closing his eyes for a moment and letting the cool mountain breeze play over his face. He wasn't sure how he felt. On the one hand, this war had cost them so much, but at the same time, he couldn't help but feel an immense sense of relief that it was over. He opened his eyes as he spotted the Shera coming closer and he spotted Aerith watching them from the bridge. She gave them a wave. "We should probably make sure the other remnants aren't still around though…" Zack was thinking aloud when suddenly he stopped. "Cloud! Look out…!"

At that moment, something painful shot through Cloud's chest. He was more surprised than anything, but as he collapsed to the ground, he spotted Loz at the edge of the cliff, holding his gun and whispering something he couldn't make out through his fading senses. Then darkness took him and he thought no more…

* * *

><p>Two shots rang out over the plateau. One from Kunsel's gunblade, and the other from Loz's. "Cloud!" Zack ran towards his friend as the man dropped, only just hearing Loz whisper "We'll go together…" before collapsing in front of the ex-SOLDIER who had just scaled the cliff after him. Zack didn't care. He felt rain falling from the sky and looked up to see that Aerith had come out onto the Shera's side deck to channel her limit. He quickly checked for any signs of breathing and then felt a moment of terror when he couldn't find a pulse either. Quickly he gave Cloud two rescue breaths and started CPR compressions one-handed. His right arm might be useless for this, but he'd be damned if he let that stop him!<p>

Kunsel hurried over and Zack looked up, seeing Vincent arrive behind him as he worked. "Kunsel, Phoenix!" His friend nodded and started casting. It wasn't long before he felt steam emanated from the firebird's feathers and vaguely noticed the light from its fiery inferno illuminating the falling water in a torrent of tiny prisms before he went for two more rescue breaths. "Hang on Cloud!" he gritted out as he continued with the chest compressions, "After everything we've been through, we're not losing you!"

* * *

><p><em>See ya next week!<em>


	91. Picking Up the Pieces

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spin-offs That honor goes to Square-Enix.

Matt and Alistor are original characters.

**Part IV: ****Stigma**

* * *

><p>Chapter 91, Picking Up the Pieces<p>

**? ? [ ν ] – εуλ ?**

_For a long time, Cloud had the sensation that he was floating. He wasn't sure in what or why, just that he was there. The only thing that really penetrated his thoughts was how peaceful it felt. He wouldn't mind lingering here a while._

_That was when he suddenly felt a hand tucking his bangs away from his face. The presence attached to it felt familiar. He mumbled an incoherent complaint but then he heard a light voice echo through his thoughts. "Come on, Cloud. How are you going to see everyone when you wake up if your hair's in the way?"_

"_Are you finished playing around?" another voice asked._

"_I'll go when I'm good and ready," the first voice replied._

"_Suit yourself, but I won't wait forever."_

"_Go ahead if you want. I still have something I want to do, and I'll catch up. I don't know how long I have before I return to the Planet, but I promised I'd help you as long as I could, so I'll help you. That's my mission, and no mission is impossible for the Turks!"_

"_By the Goddess! In the time we've been here you've repeated that at least three times," The second voice griped._

_Cloud was uncertain if he was dreaming or not, but shortly after, the voices faded and he had the sensation that he was falling…_

* * *

><p><strong>April 17<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0009 4:00 AM Mideel Central Time**

The village outside was quiet as Aerith sat at Cloud's bedside in Seventh Heaven. Tifa had gone to sleep a short while ago after she had traded out with her. Zack would be coming up to take over soon, but for now, she held a book in her hand, occasionally looking over to check on her patient before going back to turning the pages. While he had indeed made it through the night, near death experiences were hardly something a person just got over and it had been a very near miss. Thankfully, Loz had not been nearly as accurate as Yazoo had been in the Ancient City, but it had been enough to throw off his heartbeat for several seconds. According to Dr. Rayleigh his chances for survival had been incredibly low, but Zack had gotten to him quickly enough to help get his heart going again. Unlike Freya, whom according to Rayleigh's assessment of the situation after they'd told her what happened, had probably been dead before she'd hit the ground. She swallowed at that thought, reaching down to touch her abdomen again. If Freya had not protected her when she had…

Cloud stirred and Aerith stood, walking to his bedside. "Cloud?" she asked gently. As she spoke, she heard the sound of someone walking up the stairs and a shadow from the hall light looked in.

"Is he awake?" Zack asked.

"Shh…" Aerith whispered as her husband walked into the room.

"…Mother?" Cloud murmured.

Aerith shook her head sadly. "Sorry Cloud, I'm afraid I'm too young for that…"

Zack put his good arm around her. "Maybe," he said softly, "But it won't be too long."

Aerith looked up at him with a bemused expression. "I think he's a little old to adopt, and besides, he's already part of the family, so does it matter?"

Zack smiled. "I guess that's true…" He turned his attention to his friend, who seemed to have drifted back off to sleep. "You hear that Cloud?"

"Don't make him rush," Aerith whispered. "After what he's been through, he needs rest."

"Yeah, but we'll be here," Zack murmured. The two of them stood there for a few minutes in the comfortable twilight of early morning, contemplating the past, the present, and especially the future. After a while, Zack spoke again. "You know, at some point, we'll need to pick a name."

Aerith nuzzled into his chest. "I think I have a few ideas."

* * *

><p><em>Kunsel was sitting at a booth in Seventh Heaven, a drink at his elbow as he looked over reports from GUARDIAN's scouts. He was vaguely aware that this didn't make any sense. GUARDIAN didn't need recon anymore now that they were no longer a proper army but fighters for hire. But still, he looked over the documents. It was something he had often done during the war. In fact, he could vaguely hear Tifa cooking behind the bar, and the children chattering in the living room though he was pretty sure he didn't actually see them. Zack seemed to be outside with Cloud, talking about something, for he could hear his best friend's voice as it occasionally rose and then broke into laughter as he told a joke. Though he couldn't make out more than a shadow of them outside the picture window with the bar's logo painted on it out front. <em>

_That was when the bell rang as the door opened and there she was. Her faintly glowing copper eyes glanced over the bar, and then she approached him. He was almost afraid to look at her, for fear that she'd disappear. "I'm dreaming again, aren't I?" he said._

"_Yes," she answered and he felt a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry."_

"_You can't help it," he said, still not looking in her direction. "It's not your fault."_

"_Maybe not. Leaving was something I never wanted to do. Sometimes, things happen that we just can't control." She looked out the window thoughtfully before turning her attention back to him. "But before I go, I wanted to tell you something."_

"_What?" He turned in his seat to see her standing there, just as he remembered, her luxurious copper hair and vibrant eyes, so full of confidence and determination to succeed at everything she decided to do._

_He was suddenly standing as she came closer and put her arms around him, and in that moment there were no words, but he knew exactly what she was trying to tell him. For several moments, he just held her not wanting to wake up but knowing he would have to… and when he did, it was far, far too soon…_

Kunsel blinked. Lifting up his head, he realized he had actually fallen asleep at the same booth he'd been sitting at in the dream. Even so, he remembered it so vividly. He reached for a glass of water nearby gripping it tightly in his hand. What he had experienced in that moment still felt as real as though it had actually happened and as irrational as it was, he committed it to memory, even as he fought back tears.

"_I know I can't share it with you anymore, but I want your life to be long, and happy, because if it isn't, you'll regret it, and you know what I think about regrets. I love you Kunsel…"_

* * *

><p><strong>April 17<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0009 10:00 AM**

Cloud was suddenly aware of the warm and soft sensation of bed sheets against his skin and he allowed himself to simply contemplate what had happened. Had he died? He was certain he'd heard Freya's voice for a few moments, and Genesis too… he guessed that made some sense, the other man had just died himself. He'd seen it up close. Vaguely, he wondered what had happened to Rapier. Was Zack okay? Were Tifa and the others all right? As he headed closer to wakefulness, the greater awareness of his own personal condition ruled out death as a possible cause for it. He felt very sore, like a freight train had rammed headlong into his chest. That didn't seem like something that he would feel very much if he was dead. He let out a groan and finally opened his eyes, instinctively trying to pull himself up.

"Cloud?"

He relaxed and turned his head, searching for the person who had called his name. Long dark hair surrounded a familiar face with wine-colored eyes. Sunbeams illuminated the room from a skylight he remembered helping to build into the ceiling. "…Tifa?" The martial artist smiled down at him.

"Welcome back," she said, kneeling down in front of him. "How do you feel?"

"I'll live," he said.

She took his hand and squeezed it. "I'm glad."

At that moment, he heard Zack's voice echoing up the stairs. "Hey, was that Cloud? I could have sworn I heard him say something!" This was followed by the sound of boots coming up the stairs, and then Cloud spotted his friend standing in the doorway. Upon seeing that his eyes were open, Zack walked over to look down at him. "Glad to see you're awake," he said. "You know, your heart stopped for a couple of seconds?"

He blinked. "It did?"

Zack nodded. "We were afraid you weren't going to make it." He sat down on the edge of the bed, looking a bit embarrassed. "The doc said I cracked a few of your ribs trying to get you back, but we'd lost enough people already."

Cloud took that moment to try and pull himself up to a sitting position again, and this time he succeeded, though he was definitely moving very gingerly. "That explains it."

Zack took that moment to put a hand on his shoulder, "I'm just glad you're okay. When you dropped… I thought… well never mind."

"Probably best…" Cloud mused. "It feels good to be back."

* * *

><p><strong>April 17<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0009 11:00 AM**

About an hour later, Cloud found himself ushered down the stairs for a very late breakfast. Kunsel and Aerith were down in the dining area with Barret, Denzel, and Marlene when he arrived, closely flanked by Zack and Tifa. The bar had been closed for the time being but he still could see Jessie working in the kitchen. He was also surprised to see Argento sitting quietly at a table near the center of the dining room. "I see you are conscious again," she commented.

He nodded as Zack sat down next to him, and Tifa walked over to the bar to help Jessie. The bladesmith offered him a small smile. "It would be a shame for the Fusion Swords to lose their master so soon. I am relieved. And I am sure Genesis was grateful for your assistance."

"What does that mean?" Cloud noticed that Denzel had appeared next to his chair.

Argento turned her attention to the boy. "It means that if the rest of the Planet's strategy succeeds then neither Sephiroth nor Jenova will ever return, and the Stigma will finally heal. But there is still much work to do."

"I don't get it," Zack said. "What was Genesis thinking, just throwing his life away like that? I know Aerith said something about how he'd have to die for whatever the Planet had in mind, but I never thought it would be so soon."

"Perhaps you wouldn't understand," Argento murmured. "But that is partly why I have come here. To explain, at least, as best I understand the situation."

"Then, what happened?" Cloud asked.

"As Aerith surmised when she first saw Genesis, what Minerva did when she healed him… it was not simply purifying him of the G-cells that were slowly degrading within him, but to alter his physical structure to contain them," Argento said, threading her fingers together under her chin as she spoke. "Genesis told me himself that during the time he slept under Midgar, the goddess spoke to him often about what the Planet's intentions were. He was also making use of that time to train himself to operate within the Lifestream, as a new sort of WEAPON. One that possessed a sentient awareness, and could absorb Jenova's influence within it. Unlike the WEAPONs that exist at the Northern Crater, which according to him are gigantic, and could level entire cities, as such a being, Genesis, the Planet believed, could make educated decisions about how to target the threat he was reengineered to contain."

"Reengineered?" Kunsel took a step closer. "You mean, physically enhanced beyond what he already was?"

Argento nodded. "He maintained his body to sustain a solid presence for himself until he was mentally strong enough to maintain that presence within the Lifestream. Once he was ready, and the moment was right, he sought out Sephiroth, as you know, and crossed over."

"What did you mean by contain?" It was Tifa who had asked this question.

"Exactly what I meant," Argento said. "Genesis was reengineered by the Planet in order to facilitate a new Reunion." Seeing the horror in everyone's expression she held up a hand. "Calm yourselves. I assure you, this Reunion is nothing like the one GUARDIAN halted two years ago, because this Reunion was not conceived to destroy the Planet. Its design is to expel Jenova permanently."

"How?" Cloud asked, leaning forward attentively.

"By way of Genesis," Argento said. "His part has already begun. By neutralizing and absorbing Sephiroth's influences within the Lifestream, he will travel its recesses until all of Jenova's influence, physical and otherwise have been taken into his being. He will then eject himself from the Planet and will most likely purify Jenova's remains at the heart of the sun."

There was a heavy silence as she finished and then an uproar. "But won't that destroy Genesis for good too?" Zack demanded.

"That's terrible!" Tifa said.

"Why would the Planet do that?" Barret asked.

Argento sighed. "If it makes you feel any better, he chose this of his own free will. But then again. Perhaps you are forgetting the first line of the Fifth Act."

"Who gives a damn about poetry right now?" Zack grumbled.

"Even if the morrow is barren of promises, nothing shall forestall my return," Everyone turned around at that moment to see Cissnei standing at the door. "Am I right?" she asked.

"Quite correct," Argento agreed. "You see, the Planet specifically rebuilt him for this task. You would think it would provide him some way to withstand it. But this is neither here nor there. There is a task that must be fulfilled before this is complete, and by necessity, it won't be completed within any of our lifetimes. Except perhaps, Nanaki, and Mr. Valentine's."

* * *

><p><strong>April 19<strong>**th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0009**

Kunsel put away Freya's cleaning kit before walking back into the living room at the lodge, carrying her shotgun over to the mantelpiece. It had been decided that they would keep it there, as a reminder, and he had spent the last half hour, going over the wood finish, oiling the joints, and cleaning out the barrel so that it practically shined. Now that he was done, he mounted it on a pair of supports they had installed into the mantel's stone-work, and took a step back. He'd say it looked perfect, if not for the reason it was there.

"It looks good," Cissnei commented as she walked into the room.

"I guess," he said, reaching up to run a hand over the wood finish.

"Are you all set? Zack said everyone should be there in a few minutes." It was only when he turned around that he saw she was wearing her Turk uniform.

"Yeah," he said. The two of them stepped out onto the porch and started down the path that led through the trees. It had taken a few days to get an appropriate memory stone carved, but now that everyone had more or less recovered from the physical rigors of the last week or so, Freya needed a proper funeral. As they approached the clearing where the hot spring waited, he saw that Cid and Barret were already there, along with Nanaki, Reeve, Ruvie, Cait Sith, Vincent, Yuffie, Freya's parents, and though he should probably have been less surprised than he was, every single one of the Turks, including Tseng and Veld, as well as Elfe, and Shears. He could also see Shelke, Argento, and Shalua, standing by Aerith's garden, apparently speaking with Tanjuu about the blooms.

He saw Lou had her arm around Elena as they waited by the warm water in the morning air which was starting to chill as the leaves on the trees were beginning to turn.

Yuffie came up to Kunsel as Cissnei left his side to speak to Mao. "Where are Zack and the others? Aren't they coming?"

He nodded. "They should be here pretty soon I would think." He was surprised to see Reno walking over to him. "You didn't have too much trouble finding the place I hope."

"No," The man replied. He looked around. "So this is where you were hiding out all this time?"

Kunsel nodded.

"Dang, no wonder we didn't find you." Reno offered a wry grin.

At that moment, they heard the sound of several more people coming down the path from the lodge, and soon, Aerith, Tifa, and Dr. Rayleigh emerged from the trees with Marlene, Denzel, Alistor, Sasha, Matt, and Zack's parents. Aerith walked over to join them. "Zack and Cloud are coming," she said as the others dispersed, some joining a few of the Turks in looking over her flowers, but for the most part they were waiting.

At long last, they saw the last two members of GUARDIAN arrive, a cart with a large stone in it behind them. As they pulled it to a halt near the edge of the clearing at a lovely spot that overlooked the rocks jutting out of the surf beyond the beach, Zack straightened and looked around "Is everyone here?"

"I think so," Cissnei replied.

Zack nodded. "All right then, I guess we should get started." He considered for a moment before reaching for a scrap of paper that he'd been keeping in one of his pockets. All chatter had gone silent as he gazed over all the people who had come before speaking. "We're here today to honor the memory of someone who is no longer with us, because she made the ultimate sacrifice in the battle to defend the Planet. We may not always have been on the same side, and we may not always have agreed on everything, but Freya faced every challenge with resolve to carry on even when the odds looked hopeless, and to always look to the horizon, because if there was one thing she believed in, it was the future, and that it would always be better, if we just lived up to the potential we all have within us…"

* * *

><p>The ceremony was a muted affair, Veld spoke for a short period of time about her time as a Turk, and her parents thanked everyone for coming. Finally, Zack and Cloud, with the help of Kunsel, and Tanjuu who had wanted to be involved having been her partner during her time as a Turk, lifted the memory stone out of the cart, and put it in place on a high point on the hill, overlooking the sea. It had been inscribed with her name, her date of birth, and her date of death. After they were finished, everyone walked up to the stone, holding one of Aerith's flowers, and placed it in front of the marker before walking up the path to the Lodge, until only Zack, Kunsel, Cloud, Aerith, Cissnei and Argento remained.<p>

The swordsmith picked that moment to walk up to Zack who had reached into the cart, retrieving Rapier to hand to her. "I guess you're planning to take it to Banora?" he asked.

She nodded. "Like Genesis over Sephiroth's destruction, Rapier will watch over the Masamune. It seemed like the thing to do."

"What'll you do after that?" Cissnei asked.

"I will go home," Argento replied.

"That's good," Aerith said. "I'm sure Gin misses you."

Argento nodded, and gestured to her eyepatch as she spoke. "It's been so long since he has seen me, he may not recognize me. But if I can give an old man some piece of mind along with retrieving my own, it can at least be a start. She looked down at her hands, now clean of the Stigma and then offered Aerith a small smile. "I would like to thank you once again."

"Think nothing of it," Aerith said. "We may even come and visit at some point. There are still a lot of people who need the cure, and I expect Zack and I will be traveling a lot in the next few months."

Argento smiled. "Then please, take care until we meet again," with that, she pulled her rucksack over her shoulder and started towards the Lodge to once again find the path leading north.

"You too," Zack called after her. They watched her go, and then Kunsel turned his attention back to the small pile of flowers that lay in front of Freya's memory stone. "Do you want a little time?" Zack asked.

Kunsel looked up at him with a sad smile. "It's all right," he said. "I think I've said what needs saying. And we still have a lot to do. If we just stay here, we'll regret not doing something, and as she used to say, living in regret isn't living at all."

Cloud nodded. "We still need to find the rest of Jenova, and destroy it, right?"

Zack nodded. "Like Argento said. Though if she's right, then nothing'll be able to happen until after the last SOLDIER has passed on. And then once Genesis has done his part…" He trailed off, thoughtfully.

"At that point, the rest will be up to the Planet, I suppose," Aerith said.

"Perhaps," Cissnei agreed.

At that moment, Denzel came running down the path and stopped in front of Cloud. "Everyone's waiting back at the lodge," he said. "Tifa wanted to know when you'd be coming."

Cloud placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "We'll be there soon."

"We should probably get going now," Zack said, putting his good arm around Aerith as the two of them started towards the path. Kunsel and Cloud were following along behind when suddenly they noticed that the two in front of them had stopped and were looking across the hot spring at something in the woods. Looking to see what it was just as Cloud did, he blinked in surprise.

At the edge of the trees, were two figures, illuminated in the sunbeams through the red leaves that still hadn't quite fallen to the ground. A man with familiar red hair and SOLDIER blue eyes stood slightly further into the shade than his companion and was watching the proceedings impatiently, his red leather coat blowing slightly in the chill autumn breeze, while a familiar woman with copper-colored eyes and hair leaned against a nearby tree, her shotgun over her shoulder as she was watching them. When their eyes met, she flashed one of her crazy grins, just as Genesis walked into the light and vanished. Readying her shotgun, the lady Turk gave them an affectionate wave before following after him into the light and disappearing after him. At that moment, Kunsel had the distinct impression that it would be the last time he'd see her for a very long time. Yet, in spite of his sadness at that fact, he determined that eventually, things would be all right. No matter what. He would continue believing in that better future. That something that was definitely waiting for them over that horizon. Because they'd do everything they could to make it so.

* * *

><p><em>We're not quite done. The very last chapter comes out next week! See ya then!<em>


	92. And Life Continues On?

**By a Fraction of a Degree**

A FFVII Fanfiction work by findthetiger129

Rated T for Violence and Language.

I do not own Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters, trademarks or likenesses from Final Fantasy VII or its spin-offs That honor goes to Square-Enix.

**Part IV: ****Stigma**

* * *

><p>Epilogue, And Life Continues On?<p>

**November 12****th**** [ ν ] – εуλ 0022**

Mao brought the WRO helicopter down for a landing at the helipad near Widblain's airship launch with ease and as the rotors slowed to a halt, Cissnei stepped out onto the tarmac and looked out over the town. It had grown ever larger in the last few years. Many of the towns across the planet had grown. Mostly freed from the noose of Shinra's control, other private businesses and local governments had been growing in popularity.

She and her partner walked along the streets, past the town hall and various other structures, and on past the house that Zack and his family now occupied. A couple of Hydrangea bushes stood outside in their front yard and she knew Aerith's backyard was full of flowers, just like the area around the hot spring. As they approached, she walked outside, smiling. "There you are!" she said. "How was your trip?"

"It was all right. The Turks gave us a warm welcome and for once Rufus was actually quite helpful. Maybe we will actually get this thing done after all." Cissnei said.

"I hope so," Aerith agreed. "I do hope you're going to stick around for a while. At least for dinner?"

"Of course," Mao said. "Veld doesn't seem to think we'll be needed."

"So where's Zack and the others?" Cissnei asked.

"Oh, you know," Aerith said, gesturing in the direction of the road leading out of town. "They're all out training at the usual place with the kids. I'm sure they'd love to see you."

Cissnei nodded. "All right, thanks. I guess dinner will be at the lodge?"

"As always," Aerith agreed.

With that, Cissnei continued past Seventh Heaven, where Mao parted from her company to avail himself of a drink. She waved to Tifa as she spotted the martial artist working at the bar, though she noticed that Cloud's garage was closed.

She felt the warm breeze on her face as she hurried into the trees. It wasn't long before she came close to the clearing where they had once landed their stolen helicopter, and she heard the sound of clashing swords. It was when she reached the end of the path that she finally saw where it was coming from.

"Okay, there was some good form on that strike!" Zack said to his daughter, with whom he had locked blades. "Let's try it again."

Freya backed away a step, her green eyes looking out from under the wild black locks she had tied back in a short pony tail so they would stay out of her face. Her bangs had still somehow managed to fly free very much like her father's. She'd also inherited her father's smile and talent for the sword.

Across the clearing, he could see Cloud and Kunsel practicing advanced techniques with Denzel, while Zack's two other children, Ifalna and Angeal watched with Marlene, all sitting comfortably in the grass. Denzel and Cloud struck and parried across the clearing as Kunsel counted off strokes. The boy had definitely grown into a strong young man, and even though he had never gone anywhere near SOLDIER enhancements (they had been ruled to be unethical and illegal under WRO statutes a long time ago and she doubted Cloud would have approved it even if they weren't) through training, he was still managing to hold his own. Cissnei walked over and seated herself next to Marlene as they watched the training continue.

Over on Zack's side of the clearing, Freya spoke up, "Dad, how am I going to be able to use your sword one day if I don't train with heavier weapons?"

Zack put his hand on her shoulder. "Just be patient. We'll get there. I just don't want us taking things too far, too fast, all right?"

The young teenager sighed. "All right…" This had been going on from the moment his little girl had announced at the age of five that she wanted to learn how to use the Buster Sword to help Aunt Yuffie fight for justice. Though she'd definitely matured a bit since then, her aspiration had not gone away, much to Zack's chagrin, and Aerith's worry.

Zack turned his attention to the others. "I'd say we've done enough for today, now that Cissnei's here." Cloud and Denzel halted their exercises.

"It's about time," Kunsel said. He walked over to Cissnei. "Any news?"

"Some," she replied. "We'll talk once dinner's over."

* * *

><p>The lodge was especially full that night, since Barret and Cid were in town, and Reeve had come with Cait Sith from Edge, which had been named a WRO protectorate following an unfortunate accident that had befallen Mutton Kylegate. They had had nothing to do with it, in spite of the rumors. It seemed a disgruntled Shinra loyalist had just become comepletely fed up with his leadership, and acted rashly, but it had been an opportunity to clean things up over there that Reeve had definitely taken. Ruvie was also still there, though in her old age, she had become a little more quiet and frail, often preferring to sit by the fireplace while the others talked. Vincent, Yuffie, and Nanaki had also come, though over the years, the gunman had become a little more distant, preferring to travel in his own company more often than not, much to Yuffie's consternation.<p>

While the chatter continued in the kitchen, Cissnei found herself looking at the shotgun, still over the mantel. Kunsel had kept it in excellent condition, as though it were just waiting for its owner to come pick it up and take it out hunting.

At that moment, the laughter stopped at the table when Zack raised his voice to get everyone's attention. "Now that we're finished eating," he said, and the chatter died down as he turned his attention to her. She returned to the kitchen area as Zack continued, "How did your research turn out?"

Cissnei brought out the report she and Mao had put together. "Well, we conducted a thorough investigation of the new documents that Tseng retrieved from Deepground and we've pinpointed about five different locations where Jenova samples might be stored." She reached into her shirt pocket and retrieved a map of the underground facilities, as best they'd been able to reconstruct it and pointed out the various locations.

"We'll need to get down there then," Cloud observed. He was standing just behind Zack, peering over him to get a better view of the map.

"Can I go this time?" It was Freya who had spoken up.

Zack considered for a moment. Seeing the look on his wife's face, he gave her an apologetic look. "Sorry, but we're waiting until you're fifteen at least. That's when Denzel started helping out."

"Aww, but that's two whole years from now!" Freya complained.

"It'll be here before you know it," Tifa offered, as there were a few chuckles from around the room.

Zack turned his attention back to the task at hand. "I think a team of three for each location should cut it."

Kunsel nodded. "I agree. So who are the teams?"

Zack looked around the room at everyone who was there and started going through GUARDIAN's roster in his head. "I'm for doing it like this…" everyone leaned in as he laid out the plan.

* * *

><p><strong>[ ν ] – εуλ 0507<strong>

As the sun rose high over the plains on the Eastern continent, a cloud of dust was forming behind Nanaki as he traveled through the Midgar Wastes. His two cubs were running behind him as he travelled south from the nearest port. He had just come from the Northern Continent and was traveling towards the southernmost settlement in order to catch a boat to Mideel. At the moment though, he pause to climb a towering cliff face that had once been part of the wasteland's canyons, and upon reaching the summit, he let out a roar.

Out in the distance, he could see the bustling metropolis that was Midgar, though it looked very different from the times in his memory. The city had long ago been decontaminated, and after the plate had been removed and much of the walls had been slowly taken down to be used in other structures, it had become a much happier place, especially once nuclear power had been discovered. The city today, while definitely one of the most urbanized places on the planet, had maintained a healthy respect for growing things, as evidenced by the vast number of parks that had been built in the residential neighborhoods.

Giving his cubs a little time to survey the metropolis, he then turned his attention south. Aerith no longer tended the garden behind the lodge, and he didn't speak to GUARDIAN's descendants as much. Many of them had long ago dispersed, even if a few were still around. But Vincent would be there, as he had always been, like clockwork every year, and Nanaki could hardly wait to see him.

**The End**

* * *

><p><em>To everyone who's stuck with me throughout this fic, and those who are just tuning in, I would just like to say thank you, for your feedback and support. This fic started going live about 2 years ago. It's been a journey that I've thoroughly enjoyed, and I'm grateful for everyone who's been kind enough to share it with me, as wells as to Square-Enix for producing a game with a story from which I've gotten so much enjoyment. <em>


End file.
